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Amos 7-9
New American Standard Bible
Amos 7-9
New American Standard Bible
Warning through Visions
7 This is what the Lord [a]God showed me, and behold, He was forming a (A)swarm of locusts [b]when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. 2 And it came about, [c]when it had (B)finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,
“(C)Lord God, please pardon!
How can Jacob stand?
For he is (D)small.”
3 The Lord (E)relented of this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.
4 So the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by (F)fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the [d]farmland. 5 Then I said,
“(G)Lord God, please stop!
(H)How can Jacob stand?
For he is small.”
6 The Lord (I)relented of this.
“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.
7 So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing [e]by a [f]vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “(J)What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold I am about to put a (K)plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will not [g](L)spare them any longer.
9 The (M)high places of Isaac will become deserted,
And the (N)sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.
Then I will (O)rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos Accused; Gives an Answer
10 Then Amaziah, the (P)priest of Bethel, sent word to (Q)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has (R)conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. 11 For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” 12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “(S)Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! 13 But (T)do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a (U)sanctuary of the king and a royal [h]residence.”
14 Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the (V)son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a [i]grower of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from [j]following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go (W)prophesy to My people Israel.’ 16 So now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You (X)shall not prophesy against Israel (Y)nor shall you [k]prophesy against the house of Isaac.’ 17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your (Z)wife will become a prostitute in the city, your (AA)sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die [l]upon (AB)unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”
Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity
8 This is what the Lord [m]God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 And He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And (AC)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The (AD)end has come for My people Israel. I will not [n](AE)spare them any longer. 3 [o]The (AF)songs of the palace will turn to (AG)wailing on that day,” declares the Lord God. “The (AH)corpses will be many; in every place [p]they will throw them out. [q]Hush!”
4 Hear this, you who [r](AI)trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, 5 saying,
“When will the (AJ)new moon [s]be over,
So that we may sell grain;
And the (AK)Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the [t]ephah smaller and the [u]shekel bigger,
And to (AL)cheat with dishonest scales,
6 So as to (AM)buy the helpless for [v]money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has (AN)sworn by the (AO)pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will (AP)never forget any of their deeds.
8 Because of this will the land not (AQ)quake,
And everyone who lives in it (AR)mourn?
Indeed, all of it will (AS)rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
9 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the (AT)sun go down at noon,
And (AU)make the earth dark in [w]broad daylight.
10 Then I will (AV)turn your festivals into mourning,
And all your songs into songs of mourning;
And I will put (AW)sackcloth around everyone’s waist,
And [x]baldness on every head.
And I will make it (AX)like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
But rather (AY)for hearing the words of the Lord.
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will roam about to (AZ)seek the word of the Lord,
But they will not find it.
13 On that day the beautiful (BA)virgins
And the young men will (BB)faint from thirst.
14 As for those who swear by the [y](BC)guilt of Samaria,
And say, ‘As your god lives, (BD)Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of (BE)Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and (BF)not rise again.”
God’s Judgment Unavoidable
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the (BG)altar, and He said,
“Strike the pillar capitals so that the (BH)thresholds will shake,
And (BI)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (BJ)put to death the rest of them with the sword;
They will (BK)not have a fugitive who will flee,
Nor a survivor who will escape.
2 Though they dig into (BL)Sheol,
From there My hand will take them;
And though they (BM)ascend to heaven,
From there I will bring them down.
3 And though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
I will (BN)track them down and take them from there;
And though they (BO)hide themselves from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
I will command the (BP)serpent from there, and it will bite them.
4 And though they go into (BQ)captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword and it will kill them,
And I will (BR)set My eyes against them for harm and not for good.”
5 The Lord [z]God of armies,
The One who (BS)touches the land so that it quakes,
And (BT)all those who live in it mourn,
And all of it rises up like the Nile
And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
6 The One who builds His (BU)upper chambers in the heavens
And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,
He who (BV)calls for the waters of the sea
And (BW)pours them out on the face of the earth,
(BX)The Lord is His name.
7 “Are you not as the sons of (BY)Ethiopia to Me,
You sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the (BZ)Philistines from Caphtor and the (CA)Arameans from (CB)Kir?
8 Behold, the (CC)eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I will (CD)eliminate it from the face of the earth;
Nevertheless, I will (CE)not totally eliminate the house of Jacob,”
Declares the Lord.
9 “For behold, I am commanding,
And I will (CF)shake the house of Israel among all nations
As grain is shaken in a sieve,
But not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the (CG)sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘(CH)The catastrophe will not overtake or confront us.’
The Restoration of Israel
11 “On that day I will (CI)raise up the fallen [aa](CJ)shelter of David,
And wall up its (CK)gaps;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the (CL)days of old;
12 (CM)So that they may [ab]possess the remnant of (CN)Edom
And all the [ac]nations who are (CO)called by My name,”
Declares the Lord who does this.
13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When the (CP)plowman will overtake the reaper,
And the one who treads grapes will overtake him who sows the seed;
When the (CQ)mountains will drip grape juice,
And all the hills will come apart.
14 I will also (CR)restore the fortunes of My people Israel,
And they will (CS)rebuild the desolated cities and live in them;
They will also (CT)plant vineyards and drink their wine,
And make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will also plant them on their land,
And (CU)they will not be uprooted again from their land
Which I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.
Footnotes
- Amos 7:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Amos 7:1 Lit at the beginning of the coming up of
- Amos 7:2 Lit if
- Amos 7:4 Lit plot of land
- Amos 7:7 Or on
- Amos 7:7 Lit wall of a plumb line
- Amos 7:8 Lit pass him by
- Amos 7:13 Lit house
- Amos 7:14 Or picker
- Amos 7:15 Lit behind
- Amos 7:16 Lit drivel
- Amos 7:17 Or in an unclean land
- Amos 8:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Amos 8:2 Lit pass him by
- Amos 8:3 Lit They will howl the palace songs
- Amos 8:3 Lit he has thrown
- Amos 8:3 An order for sacred silence
- Amos 8:4 Or snap at
- Amos 8:5 Lit pass by
- Amos 8:5 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
- Amos 8:5 About 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
- Amos 8:6 Lit silver
- Amos 8:9 Lit a day of light
- Amos 8:10 I.e., shaved as a sign of mourning
- Amos 8:14 Or Ashimah
- Amos 9:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Amos 9:11 Heb sukkah; i.e., hut or dwelling
- Amos 9:12 Or take possession of
- Amos 9:12 Or Gentiles
Amos 7-9
New International Version
Amos 7-9
New International Version
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(A) He was preparing swarms of locusts(B) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean,(C) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(D) He is so small!(E)”
3 So the Lord relented.(F)
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(G)
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(H) it dried up the great deep and devoured(I) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(J)”
6 So the Lord relented.(K)
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(L)
7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[a] with a plumb line[b] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(M) Amos?(N)”
“A plumb line,(O)” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(P)
9 “The high places(Q) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries(R) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(S)”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(T) sent a message to Jeroboam(U) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(V) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(W) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,(X)
away from their native land.’”(Y)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(Z) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(AA) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(AB) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(AC) of the kingdom.(AD)”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(AE) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(AF) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(AG) and said to me, ‘Go,(AH) prophesy(AI) to my people Israel.’(AJ) 16 Now then, hear(AK) the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against(AL) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(AM) in the city,
and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
and you yourself will die in a pagan[c] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(AN)
away from their native land.(AO)’”
A Basket of Ripe Fruit
8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(AP) a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see,(AQ) Amos?(AR)” he asked.
“A basket(AS) of ripe fruit,” I answered.
Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(AT)
3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[d](AU) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(AV)”
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon(AY) be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market(AZ) wheat?”(BA)—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating(BB) with dishonest scales,(BC)
6 buying the poor(BD) with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(BE)
7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(BF) “I will never forget(BG) anything they have done.(BH)
8 “Will not the land tremble(BI) for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt.(BJ)
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.(BK)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(BL) into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.(BM)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(BN)
and shave(BO) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(BP)
and the end of it like a bitter day.(BQ)
11 “The days are coming,”(BR) declares the Sovereign Lord,
“when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine(BS) of hearing the words of the Lord.(BT)
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the Lord,
but they will not find it.(BU)
13 “In that day
“the lovely young women and strong young men(BV)
will faint because of thirst.(BW)
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria(BX)—
who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’(BY)
or, ‘As surely as the god[e] of Beersheba(BZ) lives’—
they will fall,(CA) never to rise again.(CB)”
Israel to Be Destroyed
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
“Strike the tops of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads(CC) of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.(CD)
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,(CE)
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(CF)
from there I will bring them down.(CG)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(CH)
there I will hunt them down and seize them.(CI)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(CJ)
there I will command the serpent(CK) to bite them.(CL)
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword(CM) to slay them.
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(CQ)
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;(CR)
6 he builds his lofty palace[f](CS) in the heavens
and sets its foundation[g] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(CT)
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[h]?”(CU)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines(CV) from Caphtor[i](CW)
and the Arameans from Kir?(CX)
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(CY) it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(CZ)
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain(DA) is shaken in a sieve,(DB)
and not a pebble will reach the ground.(DC)
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,(DD)
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(DE)
Israel’s Restoration
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s(DF) fallen shelter(DG)—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins(DH)—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,(DI)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(DJ)
and all the nations that bear my name,[j](DK)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(DL)
13 “The days are coming,”(DM) declares the Lord,
“when the reaper(DN) will be overtaken by the plowman(DO)
and the planter by the one treading(DP) grapes.
New wine(DQ) will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,(DR)
14 and I will bring(DS) my people Israel back from exile.[k](DT)
“They will rebuild the ruined cities(DU) and live in them.
They will plant vineyards(DV) and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(DW)
15 I will plant(DX) Israel in their own land,(DY)
never again to be uprooted(DZ)
from the land I have given them,”(EA)
says the Lord your God.(EB)
Footnotes
- Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
- Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean
- Amos 8:3 Or “the temple singers will wail
- Amos 8:14 Hebrew the way
- Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
- Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
- Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
- Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel
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