Amos 4

New American Standard Bible

“Yet You Have Not Returned to Me”

4 Hear this word, you ^[a]cows of ^(A)Bashan who are on the ^(B)mountain of Samaria,
Who ^(C)exploit the poor, who oppress the needy,
^[b]And say to their ^[c]husbands, “Bring now, that we may ^(D)drink!”
²The Lord ^[d]God has ^(E)sworn by His ^(F)holiness,
“For behold, the days are coming upon you
When ^[e]they will take you away with ^(G)meat hooks,
And the last of you with ^(H)fish hooks.
³You will ^(I)go out through holes in the walls,
One in front of the other,
And you ^[f]will be hurled to Harmon,” declares the Lord.

⁴“Enter Bethel and do wrong;
In Gilgal multiply wrongdoing!
^(J)Bring your sacrifices every morning,
Your tithes every three days.
⁵^[g]Offer a ^(K)thanksgiving offering also from that which is leavened,
And proclaim ^(L)^[h]voluntary offerings, make them known.
For so you ^(M)love to do, you sons of Israel,”
Declares the Lord God.

⁶“But I gave you also ^(N)cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
Yet you have ^(O)not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
⁷“Furthermore, I ^(P)withheld the rain from you
While there were still three months until harvest.
Then I would send rain on one city,
But on ^(Q)another city I would not send rain;
One part would be rained on,
While the part not rained on would dry up.
⁸So the people of two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink ^(R)water,
But would ^(S)not be satisfied;
Yet you have ^(T)not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
⁹“I ^(U)struck you with scorching wind and mildew;
The ^(V)caterpillar was devouring
Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;
Yet you have ^(W)not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
¹⁰“I sent a ^(X)plague among you ^[i]as in Egypt;
I ^(Y)killed your young men with the sword, along with your ^(Z)captured horses,
And I made the ^(AA)stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;
Yet you have ^(AB)not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
¹¹“I overthrew you, as ^(AC)God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a ^(AD)log snatched from a fire;
Yet you have ^(AE)not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.
¹²“Therefore so I will do to you, Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
Prepare to ^(AF)meet your God, Israel.”
¹³For behold, He who ^(AG)forms mountains and ^(AH)creates the wind,
And ^(AI)declares to a person what are His thoughts,
He who ^(AJ)makes dawn into darkness
And ^(AK)treads on the high places of the earth,
^(AL)The Lord God of armies is His name.