Amos 1:1-7:15

1The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash was king of Israel.

2He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers.”

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors 3This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,

4I will send fire on the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.

5I will break down the gate of Damascus; I will destroy the king who is in Or the inhabitants of the Valley of Aven Aven means wickedness. and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden. The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,” says the LORD .

6This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not relent. Because she took captive whole communities and sold them to Edom,

7I will send fire on the walls of Gaza that will consume her fortresses.

8I will destroy the king Or inhabitants of Ashdod and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn my hand against Ekron, till the last of the Philistines are dead,” says the Sovereign LORD .

9This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Tyre, even for four, I will not relent. Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom, disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,

10I will send fire on the walls of Tyre that will consume her fortresses.”

11This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not relent. Because he pursued his brother with a sword and slaughtered the women of the land, because his anger raged continually and his fury flamed unchecked,

12I will send fire on Teman that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”

13This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not relent. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders,

14I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah that will consume her fortresses amid war cries on the day of battle, amid violent winds on a stormy day. 15Her king Or / Molek will go into exile, he and his officials together,” says the LORD .

1This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not relent. Because he burned to ashes the bones of Edom’s king,

2I will send fire on Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth. Or of her cities Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.

3I will destroy her ruler and kill all her officials with him,” says the LORD .

4This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, Or by lies the gods Or lies their ancestors followed,

5I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel 6This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.

7They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name.

8They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.

9“Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.

10I brought you up out of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to give you the land of the Amorites.

11“I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths. Is this not true, people of Israel?” declares the LORD .

12“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

13“Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.

14The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life.

15The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life. 16Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD .

Witnesses Summoned Against Israel 1Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the LORD has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:

2“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

3Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?

4Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?

5Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there? Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything?

6When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?

7Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

8The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken— who can but prophesy?

9Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.”

10“They do not know how to do right,” declares the LORD, “who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted.”

11Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.”

12This is what the LORD says: “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. from a couch. Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches. ”

13“Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.

14“On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. 15I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,” declares the LORD .

Israel Has Not Returned to God 1Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”

2The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness: “The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks. Or away in baskets, / the last of you in fish baskets

3You will each go straight out through breaches in the wall, and you will be cast out toward Harmon, Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew (see Septuagint) out, you mountain of oppression ” declares the LORD .

4“Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years. Or days

5Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings— boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do,” declares the Sovereign LORD .

6“I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD .

7“I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.

8People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD .

9“Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD .

10“I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD .

11“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD .

12“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.” 13He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name.

A Lament and Call to Repentance 1Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:

2“Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.”

3This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Israel: “Your city that marches out a thousand strong will have only a hundred left; your town that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left.”

4This is what the LORD says to Israel: “Seek me and live;

5do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15. ”

6Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.

7There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.

8He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the LORD is his name.

9With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin.

10There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth.

11You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.

12For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.

13Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil.

14Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.

15Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

16Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: “There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail.

17There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the LORD .

The Day of the LORD 18Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD ! Why do you long for the day of the LORD ? That day will be darkness, not light.

19It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.

20Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?

21“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.

22Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.

23Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

24But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

25“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?

26You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols — which you made for yourselves. 27Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.

Woe to the Complacent 1Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

2Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?

3You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror.

4You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.

5You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.

6You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

7Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.

The LORD Abhors the Pride of Israel 8The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.” 9If ten people are left in one house, they too will die.

10And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD .”

11For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits.

12Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—

13you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar Lo Debar means nothing. and say, “Did we not take Karnaim Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength. by our own strength?” 14For the LORD God Almighty declares, “I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.”

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line 1This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up.

2When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

3So the LORD relented. “This will not happen,” the LORD said. 4This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.

5Then I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

6So the LORD relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign LORD said. 7This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. with a plumb line The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8. in his hand.

8And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

9“The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”

Amos and Amaziah 10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.

11For this is what Amos is saying: “ ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’ ” 12Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.

13Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.” 14Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’