Bible in 90 Days
7 So I will be like a lion(A) to them;
I will lurk like a leopard(B) on the path.
8 I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,(C)
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9 I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but Me.[a](D)
10 Where now is your king,[b](E)
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the[c] rulers[d](F) you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?
11 I give you a king in My anger(G)
and take away a king in My wrath.(H)
12 Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.(I)
13 Labor pains come on him.(J)
He is not a wise son;(K)
when the time comes,
he will not be born.[e](L)
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem[f] them from death.(M)
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?(N)
Compassion is hidden from My eyes.(O)
The Coming Judgment
15 Although he flourishes among his brothers,[g](P)
an east wind will come,(Q)
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.(R)
The wind[h] will plunder the treasury(S)
of every precious item.
16 [i]Samaria(T) will bear her guilt(U)
because she has rebelled against her God.(V)
They will fall by the sword;(W)
their little ones will be dashed to pieces,(X)
and their pregnant women ripped open.(Y)
A Plea to Repent
14 Israel, return to Yahweh your God,(Z)
for you have stumbled in your sin.(AA)
2 Take words of repentance with you(AB)
and return to the Lord.
Say to Him: “Forgive all our sin
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay You
with praise[j] from our[k] lips.(AC)
3 Assyria will not save us,(AD)
we will not ride on horses,(AE)
and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods!’(AF)
to the work of our hands.(AG)
For the fatherless receives compassion in You.”(AH)
A Promise of Restoration
4 I will heal their apostasy;(AI)
I will freely love them,(AJ)
for My anger will have turned from him.(AK)
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;(AL)
he will blossom like the lily(AM)
and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.(AN)
6 His new branches will spread,
and his splendor will be like the olive tree,(AO)
his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.(AP)
7 The people will return and live beneath his shade.(AQ)
They will grow grain(AR)
and blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, why should I[l] have anything more
to do with idols?(AS)
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing pine tree;(AT)
your fruit comes from Me.(AU)
9 Let whoever is wise(AV) understand these things,
and whoever is insightful recognize them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,(AW)
and the righteous walk in them,(AX)
but the rebellious stumble in them.(AY)
1 The word of the Lord that came(AZ) to Joel son of Pethuel:
A Plague of Locusts
2 Hear this,(BA) you elders;
listen, all you inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days(BB)
or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Tell your children about it,(BC)
and let your children tell their children,
and their children the next generation.
4 What the devouring locust(BD) has left,
the swarming locust has eaten;
what the swarming locust has left,
the young locust(BE) has eaten;
and what the young locust has left,
the destroying locust(BF) has eaten.
5 Wake up, you drunkards,(BG) and weep;
wail, all you wine drinkers,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been taken from your mouth.
6 For a nation has invaded My land,(BH)
powerful and without number;
its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.(BI)
7 It has devastated My grapevine
and splintered My fig tree.
It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away;
its branches have turned white.
8 Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth,(BJ)
mourning for the husband of her youth.
9 Grain and drink offerings have been cut off(BK)
from the house of the Lord;
the priests, who are ministers of the Lord, mourn.(BL)
10 The fields are destroyed;(BM)
the land grieves;
indeed, the grain is destroyed;
the new wine is dried up;(BN)
and the olive oil fails.(BO)
11 Be ashamed, you farmers,(BP)
wail, you vinedressers,[m]
over the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.(BQ)
12 The grapevine is dried up,(BR)
and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate,(BS) the date palm,(BT) and the apple(BU)—
all the trees of the orchard—have withered.
Indeed, human joy has dried up.(BV)
13 Dress in sackcloth and lament,(BW) you priests;(BX)
wail,(BY) you ministers of the altar.
Come and spend the night in sackcloth,(BZ)
you ministers of my God,
because grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Announce a sacred fast;(CA)
proclaim an assembly!
Gather the elders(CB)
and all the residents of the land
at the house of the Lord your God,(CC)
and cry out to the Lord.(CD)
The Day of the Lord
15 Woe because of that day!(CE)
For the Day of the Lord is near
and will come as devastation from the Almighty.(CF)
16 Hasn’t the food been cut off
before our eyes,(CG)
joy and gladness(CH)
from the house of our God?
17 The seeds lie shriveled in their casings.[n](CI)
The storehouses are in ruin,
and the granaries are broken down,
because the grain has withered away.
18 How the animals groan!(CJ)
The herds of cattle wander in confusion
since they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
19 I call to You, Lord,(CK)
for fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness,(CL)
and flames have devoured
all the trees of the countryside.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to[o] You,(CM)
for the river beds are dried up,(CN)
and fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness.
2 Blow the horn in Zion;(CO)
sound the alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the Day of the Lord is coming;(CP)
in fact, it is near—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,(CQ)
a day of clouds and dense overcast,(CR)
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people(CS) appears,
such as never existed in ages past(CT)
and never will again
in all the generations to come.(CU)
3 A fire destroys[p] in front of them,(CV)
and behind them a flame devours.
The land in front of them
is like the Garden of Eden,(CW)
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland;(CX)
there is no escape from them.
4 Their appearance is like that of horses,(CY)
and they gallop like war horses.
5 They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots,(CZ)
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,(DA)
like a mighty army deployed for war.
6 Nations writhe in horror before them;(DB)
all faces turn pale.
7 They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,(DC)
and they do not change their course.
8 They do not push each other;
each man proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
9 They storm the city;
they run on the wall;
they climb into the houses;(DD)
they enter through the windows like thieves.(DE)
10 The earth quakes before them;(DF)
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,(DG)
and the stars cease their shining.(DH)
11 The Lord raises His voice(DI)
in the presence of His army.(DJ)
His camp is very large;
Those who carry out His command are powerful.(DK)
Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful(DL)—
who can endure it?(DM)
God’s Call for Repentance
12 Even now—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
turn to Me with all your heart,(DN)
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.(DO)
13 Tear your hearts,(DP)
not just your clothes,(DQ)
and return to the Lord your God.
For He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, rich in faithful love,
and He relents from sending disaster.(DR)
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent(DS)
and leave a blessing behind Him,(DT)
so you can offer grain and wine
to the Lord your God.(DU)
15 Blow the horn in Zion!(DV)
Announce a sacred fast;(DW)
proclaim an assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation;(DX)
assemble the aged;[q](DY)
gather the children,
even those nursing at the breast.
Let the groom leave his bedroom,(DZ)
and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
17 Let the priests,(EA) the Lord’s ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.(EB)
Let them say:
“Have pity on Your people, Lord,(EC)
and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace,(ED)
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”(EE)
God’s Response to His People
18 Then the Lord became jealous for His land(EF) and spared His people.(EG) 19 The Lord answered His people:
Look, I am about to send you
grain, new wine, and olive oil.(EH)
You will be satiated with them,
and I will no longer make you
a disgrace among the nations.(EI)
20 I will drive the northerner far from you(EJ)
and banish him to a dry and desolate land,
his front ranks into the Dead Sea,(EK)
and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.(EL)
His stench will rise;
yes, his rotten smell will rise,(EM)
for he has done catastrophic things.
21 Don’t be afraid, land;(EN)
rejoice and be glad,
for the Lord has done great things.(EO)
22 Don’t be afraid, wild animals,
for the wilderness pastures have turned green,(EP)
the trees bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.
23 Children of Zion,(EQ) rejoice and be glad
in the Lord your God,(ER)
because He gives you the autumn rain
for your vindication.[r](ES)
He sends showers for you,
both autumn and spring rain(ET) as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,(EU)
and the vats will overflow
with new wine and olive oil.
25 I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate,(EV)
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust—
My great army that I sent against you.
26 You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.(EW)
You will praise the name of Yahweh your God,(EX)
who has dealt wondrously with you.(EY)
My people will never again be put to shame.(EZ)
27 You will know that I am present in Israel(FA)
and that I am Yahweh your God,
and there is no other.(FB)
My people will never again be put to shame.(FC)
God’s Promise of His Spirit
28 [s] After this(FD)
I will pour out My Spirit(FE) on all humanity;(FF)
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 I will even pour out My Spirit
on the male and female slaves in those days.(FG)
30 I will display wonders
in the heavens and on the earth:(FH)
blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood(FI)
before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes.(FJ)
32 Then everyone who calls
on the name of Yahweh will be saved,(FK)
for there will be an escape
for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
as the Lord promised,(FL)
among the survivors the Lord calls.
Judgment of the Nations
3 [t]Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,(FM)
2 I will gather all the nations(FN)
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[u](FO)
I will enter into judgment with them there(FP)
because of My people, My inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries(FQ)
and divided up My land.(FR)
3 They cast lots for My people;(FS)
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink.(FT)
4 And also: Tyre,(FU) Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia(FV)—what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.(FW) 5 For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures(FX) to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks(FY) to remove them far from their own territory. 7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them;(FZ) I will bring retribution on your heads. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah,(GA) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,[v](GB) to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the nations:(GC)
Prepare for holy war;(GD)
rouse the warriors;(GE)
let all the men of war advance and attack!
10 Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.(GF)
Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”
11 Come quickly,[w] all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves.(GG)
Bring down Your warriors there, Lord.(GH)
12 Let the nations be roused
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations.(GI)
13 Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe.(GJ)
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full;(GK)
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is great.(GL)
14 Multitudes, multitudes(GM)
in the valley of decision!
For the Day of the Lord is near(GN)
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining.(GO)
16 The Lord will roar from Zion(GP)
and raise His voice from Jerusalem;(GQ)
heaven and earth will shake.(GR)
But the Lord will be a refuge for His people,(GS)
a stronghold for the Israelites.(GT)
Israel Blessed
17 Then you will know
that I am Yahweh your God,(GU)
who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain.(GV)
Jerusalem will be holy,(GW)
and foreigners will never overrun it again.(GX)
18 In that day
the mountains will drip with sweet wine,(GY)
and the hills will flow with milk.(GZ)
All the streams of Judah will flow with water,(HA)
and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house,(HB)
watering the Valley of Acacias.[x](HC)
19 Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah(HD)
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever,(HE)
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 I will pardon their bloodguilt,[y](HF)
which I have not pardoned,
for the Lord dwells in Zion.
1 The words of Amos, who was one of the sheep breeders[z](HG) from Tekoa(HH)—what he saw regarding Israel in the days of Uzziah,(HI) king of Judah, and Jeroboam(HJ) son of Jehoash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.(HK)
2 He said:
The Lord roars(HL) from Zion
and raises His voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds mourn,[aa](HM)
and the summit of Carmel(HN) withers.
Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
3 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Damascus(HO)
for three crimes, even four,(HP)
because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
4 Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace,
and it will consume Ben-hadad’s(HQ) citadels.
5 I will break down the gates[ab](HR) of Damascus.
I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven,
and the one who wields the scepter from Beth-eden.
The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir.(HS)
The Lord has spoken.
6 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Gaza(HT)
for three crimes, even four,
because they exiled a whole community,
handing them over to Edom.
7 Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Gaza,
and it will consume its citadels.
8 I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod,(HU)
and the one who wields the scepter from Ashkelon.(HV)
I will also turn My hand against Ekron,
and the remainder of the Philistines(HW) will perish.
The Lord God has spoken.
9 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Tyre(HX)
for three crimes, even four,
because they handed over
a whole community of exiles to Edom
and broke[ac] a treaty of brotherhood.(HY)
10 Therefore, I will send fire(HZ) against the walls of Tyre,
and it will consume its citadels.
11 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Edom(IA)
for three crimes, even four,
because he pursued his brother with the sword.(IB)
He stifled his compassion,
his anger tore at them(IC) continually,
and he harbored his rage incessantly.
12 Therefore, I will send fire against Teman,(ID)
and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.
13 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites(IE)
for three crimes, even four,
because they ripped open
the pregnant women of Gilead(IF)
in order to enlarge their territory.(IG)
14 Therefore, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah,(IH)
and it will consume its citadels.
There will be shouting on the day of battle(II)
and a violent wind on the day of the storm.(IJ)
15 Their king and his princes
will go into exile together.(IK)
The Lord has spoken.
2 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Moab(IL)
for three crimes, even four,
because he burned the bones
of the king of Edom to lime.(IM)
2 Therefore, I will send fire against Moab,
and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth.(IN)
Moab will die with a tumult,(IO)
with shouting and the sound of the ram’s horn.
3 I will cut off the judge(IP) from the land
and kill all its officials(IQ) with him.
The Lord has spoken.
Judgment on Judah
4 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Judah(IR)
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord(IS)
and have not kept His statutes.(IT)
The lies(IU) that their ancestors followed(IV)
have led them astray.
5 Therefore, I will send fire(IW) against Judah,
and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.
Judgment on Israel
6 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Israel(IX)
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals.(IY)
7 They trample the heads of the poor(IZ)
on the dust of the ground
and block the path of the needy.(JA)
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,(JB)
profaning My holy name.(JC)
8 They stretch out beside every altar(JD)
on garments taken as collateral,(JE)
and in the house of their God,
they drink wine obtained through fines.(JF)
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite(JG) as Israel advanced;
his height(JH) was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit(JI) above and his roots beneath.
10 And I brought you from the land of Egypt(JJ)
and led you 40 years in the wilderness(JK)
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.(JL)
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets(JM)
and some of your young men as Nazirites.(JN)
Is this not the case, Israelites?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.”(JO)
13 Look, I am about to crush[ad] you in your place(JP)
as a wagon full of sheaves crushes grain.
14 Escape will fail the swift,(JQ)
the strong one will not prevail by his strength,(JR)
and the brave will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,(JS)
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life.(JT)
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day(JU)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel
3 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt:(JV)
2 I have known only you(JW)
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.(JX)
3 Can two walk together(JY)
without agreeing to meet?[ae]
4 Does a lion roar(JZ) in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from its lair
unless it has captured something?
5 Does a bird land in a trap on the ground
if there is no bait for it?
Does a trap spring from the ground
when it has caught nothing?
6 If a ram’s horn(KA) is blown in a city,
aren’t people afraid?(KB)
If a disaster(KC) occurs in a city,
hasn’t the Lord done it?(KD)
7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing His counsel
to His servants the prophets.(KE)
8 A lion has roared;(KF)
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;(KG)
who will not prophesy?(KH)
9 Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod(KI)
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria(KJ)
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it.(KK)
10 The people are incapable of doing right(KL)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
those who store up violence and destruction(KM)
in their citadels.
11 Therefore, the Lord God says:
An enemy(KN) will surround the land;
he will destroy(KO) your strongholds
and plunder your citadels.(KP)
12 The Lord says:
As the shepherd snatches two legs
or a piece of an ear
from the lion’s mouth,(KQ)
so the Israelites who live in Samaria
will be rescued
with only the corner of a bed(KR)
or the[af] cushion[ag] of a couch.[ah](KS)
13 Listen and testify(KT) against the house of Jacob—
this is the declaration of the Lord God,
the God of Hosts.
14 I will punish the altars of Bethel(KU)
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altar(KV) will be cut off
and fall to the ground.(KW)
15 I will demolish the winter house(KX)
and the summer house;(KY)
the houses inlaid with ivory(KZ) will be destroyed,
and the great houses(LA) will come to an end.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Social and Spiritual Corruption
4 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan(LB)
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,(LC)
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink.”(LD)
2 The Lord God has sworn(LE) by His holiness:(LF)
Look, the days are coming[ai]
when you will be taken away with hooks,(LG)
every last one of you with fishhooks.(LH)
3 You will go through breaches in the wall,(LI)
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be driven along toward Harmon.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
4 Come to Bethel and rebel;
rebel even more at Gilgal!(LJ)
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(LK)
your tenths every three days.
5 Offer leavened bread as a thank offering,(LL)
and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings,(LM)
for that is what you Israelites love to do!(LN)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
God’s Discipline and Israel’s Apostasy
6 I gave you absolutely nothing to eat[aj](LO)
in all your cities,
a shortage of food in all your communities,
yet you did not return to Me.(LP)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
7 I also withheld the rain from you(LQ)
while there were still three months until harvest.
I sent rain on one city
but no rain on another.(LR)
One field received rain
while a field with no rain withered.(LS)
8 Two or three cities staggered
to another city to drink water(LT)
but were not satisfied,(LU)
yet you did not return(LV) to Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 I struck you with blight and mildew;(LW)
the locust devoured(LX)
your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees,(LY)
yet you did not return to Me.(LZ)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
10 I sent plagues like those of Egypt;(MA)
I killed your young men with the sword,(MB)
along with your captured horses.(MC)
I caused the stench of your camp
to fill your nostrils,(MD)
yet you did not return to Me.(ME)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 I overthrew some of you
as I[ak] overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,(MF)
and you were like a burning stick
snatched from a fire,(MG)
yet you did not return to Me(MH)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
12 Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,
and since I will do that to you,
Israel, prepare to meet your God!(MI)
13 He is here:
the One who forms the mountains,(MJ)
creates the wind,(MK)
and reveals His[al] thoughts to man,(ML)
the One who makes the dawn out of darkness
and strides on the heights of the earth.(MM)
Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name.(MN)
Lamentation for Israel
5 Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament,(MO) house of Israel:
2 She has fallen;
Virgin Israel(MP) will never rise again.(MQ)
She lies abandoned on her land,
with no one to raise her up.(MR)
3 For the Lord God says:
The city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left,(MS)
and the one that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left(MT) in the house of Israel.
Seek God and Live
4 For the Lord says to the house of Israel:
Seek Me and live!(MU)
5 Do not seek Bethel(MV)
or go to Gilgal(MW)
or journey to Beer-sheba,(MX)
for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
6 Seek Yahweh(MY) and live,
or He will spread like fire(MZ)
throughout the house of Joseph;
it will consume everything,
with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.(NA)
7 Those who turn justice into wormwood(NB)
throw righteousness to the ground.
8 The One who made the Pleiades and Orion,(NC)
who turns darkness[am] into dawn(ND)
and darkens day into night,(NE)
who summons the waters of the sea(NF)
and pours them out over the face of the earth(NG)—
Yahweh is His name.(NH)
9 He brings destruction[an] on the strong,[ao](NI)
and it falls on the stronghold.(NJ)
10 They hate the one who convicts the guilty(NK)
at the city gate
and despise(NL) the one who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor(NM)
and exact a grain tax from him,
you will never live in the houses of cut stone(NN)
you have built;
you will never drink the wine
from the lush vineyards
you have planted.(NO)
12 For I know your crimes are many
and your sins innumerable.
They oppress the righteous,(NP) take a bribe,
and deprive the poor of justice(NQ) at the gates.
13 Therefore, the wise person will keep silent[ap](NR)
at such a time,
for the days are evil.
14 Seek good and not evil
so that you may live,
and the Lord, the God of Hosts,
will be with you,
as you have claimed.(NS)
15 Hate evil and love good;(NT)
establish justice in the gate.(NU)
Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious(NV)
to the remnant of Joseph.(NW)
16 Therefore Yahweh, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says:
There will be wailing in all the public squares;(NX)
they will cry out in anguish[aq] in all the streets.
The farmer will be called on to mourn,(NY)
and professional mourners[ar](NZ) to wail.
17 There will be wailing in all the vineyards,(OA)
for I will pass among you.(OB)
The Lord has spoken.
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord!(OC)
What will the Day of the Lord be for you?
It will be darkness and not light.(OD)
19 It will be like a man who flees from a lion(OE)
only to have a bear confront him.
He goes home and rests his hand against the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Won’t the Day of the Lord
be darkness rather than light,(OF)
even gloom without any brightness in it?(OG)
21 I hate, I despise your feasts!(OH)
I can’t stand the stench
of your solemn assemblies.(OI)
22 Even if you offer Me
your burnt offerings and grain offerings,(OJ)
I will not accept them;(OK)
I will have no regard
for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle.(OL)
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.(OM)
24 But let justice flow like water,
and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.(ON)
25 “House of Israel, was it sacrifices and grain offerings that you presented to Me during the 40 years in the wilderness?(OO) 26 But you have taken up[as] Sakkuth[at][au] your king[av] and Kaiwan[aw] your star god, images you have made for yourselves.(OP) 27 So I will send you into exile beyond Damascus.”(OQ) Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name.(OR) He has spoken.
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion(OS)
and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria—
the notable people in this first of the nations,
those the house of Israel comes to.
2 Cross over to Calneh(OT) and see;
go from there to great Hamath;(OU)
then go down to Gath(OV) of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
3 You dismiss any thought of the evil day(OW)
and bring in a reign of violence.(OX)
4 They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,(OY)
sprawled out on their couches,(OZ)
and dine on lambs from the flock(PA)
and calves from the stall.
5 They improvise songs[ax] to the sound of the harp(PB)
and invent[ay] their own musical instruments like David.(PC)
6 They drink wine by the bowlful(PD)
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.(PE)
7 Therefore, they will now go into exile
as the first of the captives,(PF)
and the feasting(PG) of those who sprawl out
will come to an end.
Israel’s Pride Judged
8 The Lord God has sworn by Himself(PH)—this is the declaration of Yahweh, the God of Hosts:
I loathe Jacob’s pride(PI)
and hate his citadels,(PJ)
so I will hand over the city(PK) and everything in it.
9 And if there are 10 men left in one house, they will die.(PL) 10 A close relative[az] and burner[ba](PM) will remove his corpse[bb] from the house. He will call to someone in the inner recesses of the house, “Any more with you?”
That person will reply, “None.”
Then he will say, “Silence, because Yahweh’s name must not be invoked.”(PN)
11 For the Lord commands:
The large house will be smashed to pieces,
and the small house to rubble.(PO)
12 Do horses gallop on the cliffs;
does anyone plow there with oxen?[bc]
Yet you have turned justice into poison(PP)
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood(PQ)—
13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar(PR)
and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim
for ourselves by our own strength?”(PS)
14 But look, I am raising up a nation
against you, house of Israel(PT)—
this is the declaration of the Lord,
the God of Hosts—
and they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath[bd](PU)
to the Brook of the Arabah.[be]
First Vision: Locusts
7 The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts(PV) at the time the spring crop first began to sprout—after the cutting of the king’s hay. 2 When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land,(PW) I said, “Lord God, please forgive!(PX) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”(PY)
3 The Lord relented concerning this.(PZ) “It will not happen,” He said.
Second Vision: Fire
4 The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire.(QA) It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I said, “Lord God, please stop!(QB) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”
6 The Lord relented concerning this.(QC) “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.
Third Vision: A Plumb Line
7 He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”(QD)
I replied, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel;(QE) I will no longer spare them:(QF)
9 Isaac’s high places(QG) will be deserted,
and Israel’s sanctuaries will be in ruins;(QH)
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam
with a sword.”
Amaziah’s Opposition
10 Amaziah the priest(QI) of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you(QJ) right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words, 11 for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.’”(QK)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer!(QL) Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living[bf] and give your prophecies there, 13 but don’t ever prophesy(QM) at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary(QN) and a royal temple.”
14 So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was[bg] not a prophet or the son of a prophet;[bh](QO) rather, I was[bi] a herdsman,(QP) and I took care of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock(QQ) and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’”(QR)
16 Now hear the word of the Lord. You say:
17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,(QU)
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,(QV)
and your land will be divided up
with a measuring line.
You yourself will die on pagan[bj] soil,(QW)
and Israel will certainly go into exile(QX)
from its homeland.
Fourth Vision: A Basket of Summer Fruit
8 The Lord God showed me this: A basket of summer fruit. 2 He asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”(QY)
I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.”(QZ)
The Lord said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel;(RA) I will no longer spare them.(RB) 3 In that day the temple[bk] songs(RC) will become wailing”(RD)—this is the Lord God’s declaration. “Many dead bodies, thrown everywhere!(RE) Silence!”(RF)
4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy(RG)
and do away with the poor of the land,(RH)
5 asking, “When will the New Moon be over
so we may sell grain,(RI)
and the Sabbath,
so we may market wheat?(RJ)
We can reduce the measure
while increasing the price[bl]
and cheat with dishonest scales.(RK)
6 We can buy the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals(RL)
and even sell the chaff!”
7 The Lord has sworn(RM) by the Pride of Jacob:[bm](RN)
I will never forget all their deeds.(RO)
8 Because of this, won’t the land quake(RP)
and all who dwell in it mourn?(RQ)
All of it will rise like the Nile;(RR)
it will surge and then subside
like the Nile in Egypt.(RS)
9 And in that day—
this is the declaration of the Lord God—
I will make the sun go down at noon;(RT)
I will darken the land in the daytime.(RU)
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning(RV)
and all your songs into lamentation;(RW)
I will cause everyone[bn] to wear sackcloth(RX)
and every head to be shaved.(RY)
I will make that grief
like mourning for an only son(RZ)
and its outcome like a bitter day.
11 Hear this! The days are coming—
this is the declaration of the Lord God—
when I will send a famine through the land:
not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.(SA)
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
and roam from north to east,
seeking the word of the Lord,(SB)
but they will not find it.
13 In that day the beautiful young women,(SC)
the young men also, will faint from thirst.(SD)
14 Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria(SE)
and say, “As your god lives, Dan,”(SF)
or “As the way[bo][bp] of Beer-sheba lives”(SG)—
they will fall, never to rise again.(SH)
Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar,(SI) and He said:
Strike the capitals of the pillars(SJ)
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.(SK)
None of those who flee will get away;(SL)
none of the fugitives will escape.
2 If they dig down to Sheol,(SM)
from there My hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven,(SN)
from there I will bring them down.
3 If they hide themselves
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down(SO)
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from My sight on the sea floor,(SP)
from there I will command
the sea serpent to bite them.(SQ)
4 And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,(SR)
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.(SS)
I will fix My eyes on them
for harm and not for good.(ST)
5 The Lord, the God of Hosts—
He touches the earth;(SU)
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.(SV)
6 He builds His upper chambers
in the heavens(SW)
and lays the foundation of His vault
on the earth.(SX)
He summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the face of the earth.(SY)
Yahweh is His name.(SZ)
Announcement of Judgment
7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to Me?(TA)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,[bq](TB)
and the Arameans from Kir?(TC)
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom,(TD)
and I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.(TE)
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob(TF)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
9 for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel(TG)
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among My people(TH)
who say: “Disaster will never overtake[br]
or confront us,”(TI)
will die by the sword.
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