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Thus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and lo, He is forming locusts at the beginning of the ascending of the latter growth, and lo, the latter growth [is] after the mowings of the king;

and it hath come to pass, when it hath finished to consume the herb of the land, that I say: `Lord Jehovah, forgive, I pray Thee, How doth Jacob arise -- for he [is] small?'

Jehovah hath repented of this, `It shall not be,' said Jehovah.

Thus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and lo, the Lord Jehovah is calling to contend by fire, and it consumeth the great deep, yea, it hath consumed the portion, and I say:

`Lord Jehovah, cease, I pray Thee, How doth Jacob arise -- for he [is] small?'

Jehovah hath repented of this, `It also shall not be,' said the Lord Jehovah.

Thus hath He shewed me, and lo, the Lord is standing by a wall [made according to] a plumb-line, and in His hand a plumb-line;

and Jehovah saith unto me, `What art thou seeing, Amos?' And I say, `A plumb-line;' and the Lord saith: `Lo, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of My people Israel, I do not add any more to pass over to it.

And desolated have been high places of Isaac, And sanctuaries of Israel are wasted, And I have risen against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.'

10 And Amaziah priest of Beth-El sendeth unto Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, `Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words,

11 for thus said Amos: By sword die doth Jeroboam, And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'

12 And Amaziah saith unto Amos, `Seer, go flee for thee unto the land of Judah, and eat there bread, and there thou dost prophesy;

13 and [at] Beth-El do not add to prophesy any more, for it [is] the king's sanctuary, and it [is] the royal house.'

14 And Amos answereth and saith unto Amaziah, `I [am] no prophet, nor a prophet's son [am] I, but a herdsman I [am], and a cultivator of sycamores,

15 and Jehovah taketh me from after the flock, and Jehovah saith unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.

16 And now, hear a word of Jehovah: thou art saying, Do not prophesy against Israel, nor drop [any thing] against the house of Isaac,

17 therefore thus said Jehovah: Thy wife in the city doth go a-whoring, And thy sons and thy daughters by sword do fall, And thy land by line is apportioned, And thou on an unclean land diest, And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'

Thus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and, lo, a basket of summer-fruit.

And He saith, `What art thou seeing, Amos?' and I say, `A basket of summer-fruit.' And Jehovah saith unto me: `The end hath come unto My people Israel, I do not add any more to pass over to it.

And howled have songstresses of a palace in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Many [are] the carcases, into any place throw -- hush!

Hear this, ye who are swallowing up the needy, To cause to cease the poor of the land,

Saying, When doth the new moon pass, And we sell ground corn? And the sabbath, and we open out pure corn? To make little the ephah, And to make great the shekel, And to use perversely balances of deceit.

To purchase with money the poor, And the needy for a pair of sandals, Yea, the refuse of the pure corn we sell.

Sworn hath Jehovah by the excellency of Jacob: `I forget not for ever any of their works.

For this doth not the land tremble, And mourned hath every dweller in it? And come up as a flood hath all of it. And it hath been cast out, and hath sunk, Like the flood of Egypt.

And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I have caused the sun to go in at noon, And caused darkness on the land in a day of light,

10 And have turned your festivals to mourning, And all your songs to lamentation, And caused sackcloth to come up on all loins, And on every head -- baldness, And made it as a mourning [of] an only one, And its latter end as a day of bitterness.

11 Lo, days are coming, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And I have sent a famine into the land, Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water But of hearing the words of Jehovah.

12 And they have wandered from sea unto sea, And from north even unto east, They go to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, And they do not find.

13 In that day faint do the fair virgins, And the young men, with thirst.

14 Those swearing by the guilt of Samaria, And have said, Live doth thy god, O Dan, And, Live doth the way of Beer-Sheba, And they have fallen -- and rise not again!'

I have seen the Lord standing by the altar, and He saith: `Smite the knob, and the thresholds shake, And cut them off by the head -- all of them, And their posterity with a sword I do slay, Not flee to them doth the fleer, Nor escape to them doth a fugitive.

If they dig through into sheol, From thence doth My hand take them, And if they go up the heavens, From thence I cause them to come down.

And if they be hid in the top of Carmel, From thence I search out, and have taken them, And if they be hid from Mine eyes in the bottom of the sea, From thence I command the serpent, And it hath bitten them.

And if they go into captivity before their enemies, From thence I command the sword, And it hath slain them, And I have set Mine eye on them for evil, And not for good.

And [it is] the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Who is striking against the land, and it melteth, And mourned have all the inhabitants in it, And come up as a flood hath all of it, And it hath sunk -- like the flood of Egypt.

Who is building in the heavens His upper chambers; As to His troop, Upon earth He hath founded it, Who is calling for the waters of the sea, And poureth them out on the face of the land, Jehovah [is] His name.

As sons of Cushim are ye not to Me? O sons of Israel -- an affirmation of Jehovah. Israel did I not bring up out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?

Lo, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah [are] on the sinful kingdom, And I have destroyed it from off the face of the ground, Only, I destroy not utterly the house of Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.

For lo, I am commanding, And I have shaken among all the nations the house of Israel, As [one] doth shake with a sieve, And there falleth not a grain [to] the earth.

10 By sword die do all sinners of My people, Who are saying, `Not overtake, or go before, For our sakes, doth evil.'

11 In that day I raise the tabernacle of David, that is fallen, And I have repaired their breaches, And its ruins I do raise up, And I have built it up as in days of old.

12 So that they possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations on whom My name is called, An affirmation of Jehovah -- doer of this.

13 Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And come nigh hath the ploughman to the reaper, And the treader of grapes to the scatterer of seed, And the mountains have dropt juice, And all the hills do melt.

14 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of My people Israel, And they have built desolate cities, and inhabited, And have planted vineyards, and drunk their wine, And made gardens, and eaten their fruit.

15 And I have planted them on their own ground, And they are not plucked up any more from off their own ground, That I have given to them, said Jehovah thy God!

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

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. When they had stripped the land clean,(C) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(D) He is so small!(E)

So the Lord relented.(F)

“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(G)

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. Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(J)

So the Lord relented.(K)

“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(L)

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. 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)

“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

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(AP) a basket of ripe fruit. “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)

“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)

Hear this, you who trample the needy
    and do away with the poor(AW) of the land,(AX)

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)
buying the poor(BD) with silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(BE)

The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(BF) “I will never forget(BG) anything they have done.(BH)

“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)

“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

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)
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)
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)
Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
    there I will command the sword(CM) to slay them.

“I will keep my eye on them
    for harm(CN) and not for good.(CO)(CP)

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)
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)

“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)

“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)
“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

  1. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
  3. Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean
  4. Amos 8:3 Or “the temple singers will wail
  5. Amos 8:14 Hebrew the way
  6. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  7. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  8. Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
  9. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
  10. Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
  11. Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel