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Amos 1-9
New Living Translation
Amos 1-9
New Living Translation
1 This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash,[a] was king of Israel.
2 This is what he saw and heard:
“The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem!
The lush pastures of the shepherds will dry up;
the grass on Mount Carmel will wither and die.”
God’s Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
3 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Damascus have sinned again and again,[b]
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They beat down my people in Gilead
as grain is threshed with iron sledges.
4 So I will send down fire on King Hazael’s palace,
and the fortresses of King Ben-hadad will be destroyed.
5 I will break down the gates of Damascus
and slaughter the people in the valley of Aven.
I will destroy the ruler in Beth-eden,
and the people of Aram will go as captives to Kir,”
says the Lord.
6 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Gaza have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sent whole villages into exile,
selling them as slaves to Edom.
7 So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza,
and all its fortresses will be destroyed.
8 I will slaughter the people of Ashdod
and destroy the king of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn to attack Ekron,
and the few Philistines still left will be killed,”
says the Sovereign Lord.
9 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Tyre have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They broke their treaty of brotherhood with Israel,
selling whole villages as slaves to Edom.
10 So I will send down fire on the walls of Tyre,
and all its fortresses will be destroyed.”
11 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Edom have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords,
showing them no mercy.
In their rage, they slashed them continually
and were unrelenting in their anger.
12 So I will send down fire on Teman,
and the fortresses of Bozrah will be destroyed.”
13 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Ammon have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders,
they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.
14 So I will send down fire on the walls of Rabbah,
and all its fortresses will be destroyed.
The battle will come upon them with shouts,
like a whirlwind in a mighty storm.
15 And their king[c] and his princes will go into exile together,”
says the Lord.
2 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Moab have sinned again and again,[d]
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They desecrated the bones of Edom’s king,
burning them to ashes.
2 So I will send down fire on the land of Moab,
and all the fortresses in Kerioth will be destroyed.
The people will fall in the noise of battle,
as the warriors shout and the ram’s horn sounds.
3 And I will destroy their king
and slaughter all their princes,”
says the Lord.
God’s Judgment on Judah and Israel
4 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Judah have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They have rejected the instruction of the Lord,
refusing to obey his decrees.
They have been led astray by the same lies
that deceived their ancestors.
5 So I will send down fire on Judah,
and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”
6 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver
and poor people for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample helpless people in the dust
and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
corrupting my holy name.
8 At their religious festivals,
they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their gods,[e]
they drink wine bought with unjust fines.
9 “But as my people watched,
I destroyed the Amorites,
though they were as tall as cedars
and as strong as oaks.
I destroyed the fruit on their branches
and dug out their roots.
10 It was I who rescued you from Egypt
and led you through the desert for forty years,
so you could possess the land of the Amorites.
11 I chose some of your sons to be prophets
and others to be Nazirites.
Can you deny this, my people of Israel?”
asks the Lord.
12 “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’
13 “So I will make you groan
like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.
14 Your fastest runners will not get away.
The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
15 The archers will not stand their ground.
The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape.
Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.
16 On that day the most courageous of your fighting men
will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”
says the Lord.
3 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:
2 “From among all the families on the earth,
I have been intimate with you alone.
That is why I must punish you
for all your sins.”
Witnesses against Guilty Israel
3 Can two people walk together
without agreeing on the direction?
4 Does a lion ever roar in a thicket
without first finding a victim?
Does a young lion growl in its den
without first catching its prey?
5 Does a bird ever get caught in a trap
that has no bait?
Does a trap spring shut
when there’s nothing to catch?
6 When the ram’s horn blows a warning,
shouldn’t the people be alarmed?
Does disaster come to a city
unless the Lord has planned it?
7 Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything
until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
so who isn’t frightened?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
so who can refuse to proclaim his message?
9 Announce this to the leaders of Philistia[f]
and to the great ones of Egypt:
“Take your seats now on the hills around Samaria,
and witness the chaos and oppression in Israel.”
10 “My people have forgotten how to do right,”
says the Lord.
“Their fortresses are filled with wealth
taken by theft and violence.
11 Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord,
“an enemy is coming!
He will surround them and shatter their defenses.
Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep from a lion’s mouth
will recover only two legs or a piece of an ear.
So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds,
and for the people of Damascus reclining on couches.[g]
13 “Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel,[h]” says the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
14 “On the very day I punish Israel for its sins,
I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel.
The horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 And I will destroy the beautiful homes of the wealthy—
their winter mansions and their summer houses, too—
all their palaces filled with ivory,”
says the Lord.
Israel’s Failure to Learn
4 Listen to me, you fat cows[i]
living in Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
and who are always calling to your husbands,
“Bring us another drink!”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness:
“The time will come when you will be led away
with hooks in your noses.
Every last one of you will be dragged away
like a fish on a hook!
3 You will be led out through the ruins of the wall;
you will be thrown from your fortresses,[j]”
says the Lord.
4 “Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel.
Keep on disobeying at Gilgal.
Offer sacrifices each morning,
and bring your tithes every three days.
5 Present your bread made with yeast
as an offering of thanksgiving.
Then give your extra voluntary offerings
so you can brag about it everywhere!
This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do,”
says the Sovereign Lord.
6 “I brought hunger to every city
and famine to every town.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
7 “I kept the rain from falling
when your crops needed it the most.
I sent rain on one town
but withheld it from another.
Rain fell on one field,
while another field withered away.
8 People staggered from town to town looking for water,
but there was never enough.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
9 “I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew.
Locusts devoured all your fig and olive trees.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues on you
like the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago.
I killed your young men in war
and led all your horses away.[k]
The stench of death filled the air!
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
11 “I destroyed some of your cities,
as I destroyed[l] Sodom and Gomorrah.
Those of you who survived
were like charred sticks pulled from a fire.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
12 “Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced.
Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!”
13 For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains,
stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind.
He turns the light of dawn into darkness
and treads on the heights of the earth.
The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
A Call to Repentance
5 Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing:
2 “The virgin Israel has fallen,
never to rise again!
She lies abandoned on the ground,
with no one to help her up.”
3 The Sovereign Lord says:
“When a city sends a thousand men to battle,
only a hundred will return.
When a town sends a hundred,
only ten will come back alive.”
4 Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel:
“Come back to me and live!
5 Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel;
don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba.
For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile,
and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
6 Come back to the Lord and live!
Otherwise, he will roar through Israel[m] like a fire,
devouring you completely.
Your gods in Bethel
won’t be able to quench the flames.
7 You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed.
You treat the righteous like dirt.
8 It is the Lord who created the stars,
the Pleiades and Orion.
He turns darkness into morning
and day into night.
He draws up water from the oceans
and pours it down as rain on the land.
The Lord is his name!
9 With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong,
crushing all their defenses.
10 How you hate honest judges!
How you despise people who tell the truth!
11 You trample the poor,
stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent.
Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses,
you will never live in them.
Though you plant lush vineyards,
you will never drink wine from them.
12 For I know the vast number of your sins
and the depth of your rebellions.
You oppress good people by taking bribes
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13 So those who are smart keep their mouths shut,
for it is an evil time.
14 Do what is good and run from evil
so that you may live!
Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper,
just as you have claimed.
15 Hate evil and love what is good;
turn your courts into true halls of justice.
Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies
will have mercy on the remnant of his people.[n]
16 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says:
“There will be crying in all the public squares
and mourning in every street.
Call for the farmers to weep with you,
and summon professional mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing in every vineyard,
for I will destroy them all,”
says the Lord.
Warning of Coming Judgment
18 What sorrow awaits you who say,
“If only the day of the Lord were here!”
You have no idea what you are wishing for.
That day will bring darkness, not light.
19 In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion—
only to meet a bear.
Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—
and he’s bitten by a snake.
20 Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless,
without a ray of joy or hope.
21 “I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
23 Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
an endless river of righteous living.
25 “Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel? 26 No, you served your pagan gods—Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god—the images you made for yourselves. 27 So I will send you into exile, to a land east of Damascus,[o]” says the Lord, whose name is the God of Heaven’s Armies.
6 What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem,[p]
and you who feel secure in Samaria!
You are famous and popular in Israel,
and people go to you for help.
2 But go over to Calneh
and see what happened there.
Then go to the great city of Hamath
and down to the Philistine city of Gath.
You are no better than they were,
and look at how they were destroyed.
3 You push away every thought of coming disaster,
but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.
4 How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds
and lounge on your couches,
eating the meat of tender lambs from the flock
and of choice calves fattened in the stall.
5 You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp
and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful
and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions.
You care nothing about the ruin of your nation.[q]
7 Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives.
Suddenly, all your parties will end.
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says:
“I despise the arrogance of Israel,[r]
and I hate their fortresses.
I will give this city
and everything in it to their enemies.”
9 (If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die. 10 And when a relative who is responsible to dispose of the dead[s] goes into the house to carry out the bodies, he will ask the last survivor, “Is anyone else with you?” When the person begins to swear, “No, by . . . ,” he will interrupt and say, “Stop! Don’t even mention the name of the Lord.”)
11 When the Lord gives the command,
homes both great and small will be smashed to pieces.
12 Can horses gallop over boulders?
Can oxen be used to plow them?
But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison
and the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.
13 And you brag about your conquest of Lo-debar.[t]
You boast, “Didn’t we take Karnaim[u] by our own strength?”
14 “O people of Israel, I am about to bring an enemy nation against you,”
says the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
“They will oppress you throughout your land—
from Lebo-hamath in the north
to the Arabah Valley in the south.”
A Vision of Locusts
7 The Sovereign Lord showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up. 2 In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israel[v] is so small.”
3 So the Lord relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said.
A Vision of Fire
4 Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. 5 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.”
6 Then the Lord relented from this plan, too. “I will not do that either,” said the Sovereign Lord.
A Vision of a Plumb Line
7 Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I answered, “A plumb line.”
And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. 9 The pagan shrines of your ancestors[w] will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. 11 He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’”
12 Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! 13 Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”
14 But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one.[x] I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ 16 Now then, listen to this message from the Lord:
“You say,
‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.
Stop preaching against my people.[y]’
17 But this is what the Lord says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city,
and your sons and daughters will be killed.
Your land will be divided up,
and you yourself will die in a foreign land.
And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile,
far from their homeland.’”
A Vision of Ripe Fruit
8 Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. In it I saw a basket filled with ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked.
I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.”
Then the Lord said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again. 3 In that day the singing in the temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
4 Listen to this, you who rob the poor
and trample down the needy!
5 You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over
and the religious festivals to end
so you can get back to cheating the helpless.
You measure out grain with dishonest measures
and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.[z]
6 And you mix the grain you sell
with chaff swept from the floor.
Then you enslave poor people
for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals.
7 Now the Lord has sworn this oath
by his own name, the Pride of Israel[aa]:
“I will never forget
the wicked things you have done!
8 The earth will tremble for your deeds,
and everyone will mourn.
The ground will rise like the Nile River at floodtime;
it will heave up, then sink again.
9 “In that day,” says the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth while it is still day.
10 I will turn your celebrations into times of mourning
and your singing into weeping.
You will wear funeral clothes
and shave your heads to show your sorrow—
as if your only son had died.
How very bitter that day will be!
11 “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord,
“when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread or water
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from border to border[ab]
searching for the word of the Lord,
but they will not find it.
13 Beautiful girls and strong young men
will grow faint in that day,
thirsting for the Lord’s word.
14 And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria—
who take oaths in the name of the god of Dan
and make vows in the name of the god of Beersheba[ac]—
they will all fall down,
never to rise again.”
A Vision of God at the Altar
9 Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said,
“Strike the tops of the Temple columns,
so that the foundation will shake.
Bring down the roof
on the heads of the people below.
I will kill with the sword those who survive.
No one will escape!
2 “Even if they dig down to the place of the dead,[ad]
I will reach down and pull them up.
Even if they climb up into the heavens,
I will bring them down.
3 Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel,
I will search them out and capture them.
Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean,
I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them.
4 Even if their enemies drive them into exile,
I will command the sword to kill them there.
I am determined to bring disaster upon them
and not to help them.”
5 The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
touches the land and it melts,
and all its people mourn.
The ground rises like the Nile River at floodtime,
and then it sinks again.
6 The Lord’s home reaches up to the heavens,
while its foundation is on the earth.
He draws up water from the oceans
and pours it down as rain on the land.
The Lord is his name!
7 “Are you Israelites more important to me
than the Ethiopians?[ae]” asks the Lord.
“I brought Israel out of Egypt,
but I also brought the Philistines from Crete[af]
and led the Arameans out of Kir.
8 “I, the Sovereign Lord,
am watching this sinful nation of Israel.
I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.
But I will never completely destroy the family of Israel,[ag]”
says the Lord.
9 “For I will give the command
and will shake Israel along with the other nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
yet not one true kernel will be lost.
10 But all the sinners will die by the sword—
all those who say, ‘Nothing bad will happen to us.’
A Promise of Restoration
11 “In that day I will restore the fallen house[ah] of David.
I will repair its damaged walls.
From the ruins I will rebuild it
and restore its former glory.
12 And Israel will possess what is left of Edom
and all the nations I have called to be mine.[ai]”
The Lord has spoken,
and he will do these things.
13 “The time will come,” says the Lord,
“when the grain and grapes will grow faster
than they can be harvested.
Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel
will drip with sweet wine!
14 I will bring my exiled people of Israel
back from distant lands,
and they will rebuild their ruined cities
and live in them again.
They will plant vineyards and gardens;
they will eat their crops and drink their wine.
15 I will firmly plant them there
in their own land.
They will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant spelling of Jehoash.
- 1:3 Hebrew have committed three sins, even four; also in 1:6, 9, 11, 13.
- 1:15 Hebrew malcam, possibly referring to their god Molech.
- 2:1 Hebrew have committed three sins, even four; also in 2:4, 6.
- 2:8 Or their God.
- 3:9 Hebrew Ashdod.
- 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew in this sentence is uncertain.
- 3:13 Hebrew the house of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 4:1 Hebrew you cows of Bashan.
- 4:3 Or thrown out toward Harmon, possibly a reference to Mount Hermon.
- 4:10 Or and slaughtered your captured horses.
- 4:11 Hebrew as when God destroyed.
- 5:6 Hebrew the house of Joseph.
- 5:15 Hebrew the remnant of Joseph.
- 5:26-27 Greek version reads No, you carried your pagan gods—the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made for yourselves. So I will send you into exile, to a land east of Damascus. Compare Acts 7:43.
- 6:1 Hebrew in Zion.
- 6:6 Hebrew of Joseph.
- 6:8 Hebrew Jacob. See note on 3:13.
- 6:10 Or to burn the dead. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 6:13a Lo-debar means “nothing.”
- 6:13b Karnaim means “horns,” a term that symbolizes strength.
- 7:2 Hebrew Jacob; also in 7:5. See note on 3:13.
- 7:9 Hebrew of Isaac.
- 7:14 Or I’m not a prophet nor the son of a prophet.
- 7:16 Hebrew against the house of Isaac.
- 8:5 Hebrew You make the ephah [a unit for measuring grain] small and the shekel [a unit of weight] great, and you deal falsely by using deceitful balances.
- 8:7 Hebrew the pride of Jacob. See note on 3:13.
- 8:12 Hebrew from north to east.
- 8:14 Hebrew the way of Beersheba.
- 9:2 Hebrew to Sheol.
- 9:7a Hebrew the Cushites?
- 9:7b Hebrew Caphtor.
- 9:8 Hebrew the house of Jacob. See note on 3:13.
- 9:11a Or kingdom; Hebrew reads tent.
- 9:11b-12 Greek version reads and restore its former glory, / so that the rest of humanity, including the Gentiles— / all those I have called to be mine—might seek me. Compare Acts 15:16-17.
Amos 1-9
New International Version
Amos 1-9
New International Version
1 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa(A)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,(B) when Uzziah(C) was king of Judah and Jeroboam(D) son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.(E)
2 He said:
“The Lord roars(F) from Zion
and thunders(G) from Jerusalem;(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel(I) withers.”(J)
Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
3 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Damascus,(K)
even for four, I will not relent.(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
with sledges having iron teeth,
4 I will send fire(M) on the house of Hazael(N)
that will consume the fortresses(O) of Ben-Hadad.(P)
5 I will break down the gate(Q) of Damascus;
I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.(R)
The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,(S)”
says the Lord.(T)
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Gaza,(U)
even for four, I will not relent.(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,(W)
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
8 I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod(X)
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(Y) against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistines(Z) are dead,”(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.(AB)
9 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Tyre,(AC)
even for four, I will not relent.(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,(AE)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses.(AF)”
11 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Edom,(AG)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(AH)
and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,(AI)
12 I will send fire on Teman(AJ)
that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(AK)”
13 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Ammon,(AL)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(AM) of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah(AN)
that will consume(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries(AP) on the day of battle,
amid violent winds(AQ) on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
he and his officials together,(AR)”
says the Lord.(AS)
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Moab,(AT)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(AU)
the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[f](AV)
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries(AW) and the blast of the trumpet.(AX)
3 I will destroy her ruler(AY)
and kill all her officials with him,”(AZ)
says the Lord.(BA)
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Judah,(BB)
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(BC) of the Lord
and have not kept his decrees,(BD)
because they have been led astray(BE) by false gods,[g](BF)
the gods[h] their ancestors followed,(BG)
5 I will send fire(BH) on Judah
that will consume the fortresses(BI) of Jerusalem.(BJ)”
Judgment on Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.(BK)
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.(BL)
7 They 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.(BM)
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.(BN)
In the house of their god
they drink wine(BO) taken as fines.(BP)
9 “Yet I destroyed the Amorites(BQ) before them,
though they were tall(BR) as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.(BS)
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots(BT) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(BU)
and led(BV) you forty years in the wilderness(BW)
to give you the land of the Amorites.(BX)
11 “I also raised up prophets(BY) from among your children
and Nazirites(BZ) 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.(CA)
13 “Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(CB)
14 The swift will not escape,(CC)
the strong(CD) will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.(CE)
15 The archer(CF) will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman(CG) will not save his life.(CH)
16 Even the bravest warriors(CI)
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
3 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(CJ)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(CK)
2 “You only have I chosen(CL)
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(CM) you
for all your sins.(CN)”
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar(CO) in the thicket
when it has no prey?(CP)
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait(CQ) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet(CR) sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster(CS) comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?(CT)
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan(CU)
to his servants the prophets.(CV)
8 The lion(CW) has roared(CX)—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?(CY)
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod(CZ)
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;(DA)
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,(DB)” declares the Lord,
“who store up in their fortresses(DC)
what they have plundered(DD) and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.(DE)”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(DF) 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[i] from a couch.[j](DG)”
13 “Hear this and testify(DH) against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 “On the day I punish(DI) Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(DJ)
the horns(DK) of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(DL)
along with the summer house;(DM)
the houses adorned with ivory(DN) will be destroyed
and the mansions(DO) will be demolished,(DP)”
declares the Lord.(DQ)
Israel Has Not Returned to God
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(DR) on Mount Samaria,(DS)
you women who oppress the poor(DT) and crush the needy(DU)
and say to your husbands,(DV) “Bring us some drinks!(DW)”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
“The time(DX) will surely come
when you will be taken away(DY) with hooks,(DZ)
the last of you with fishhooks.[k]
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,(EA)
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,[l]”
declares the Lord.
4 “Go to Bethel(EB) and sin;
go to Gilgal(EC) and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(ED)
your tithes(EE) every three years.[m](EF)
5 Burn leavened bread(EG) as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings(EH)—
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.(EI)
7 “I also withheld(EJ) rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.(EK)
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water(EL)
but did not get enough(EM) to drink,
yet you have not returned(EN) to me,”
declares the Lord.(EO)
9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew.(EP)
Locusts(EQ) devoured your fig and olive trees,(ER)
yet you have not returned(ES) to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues(ET) among you
as I did to Egypt.(EU)
I killed your young men(EV) with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench(EW) of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,”(EX)
declares the Lord.(EY)
11 “I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.(EZ)
You were like a burning stick(FA) snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(FB)
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.”
13 He who forms the mountains,(FC)
who creates the wind,(FD)
and who reveals his thoughts(FE) to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth(FF)—
the Lord God Almighty is his name.(FG)
A Lament and Call to Repentance
5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament(FH) I take up concerning you:
2 “Fallen is Virgin(FI) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.(FJ)”
3 This 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.(FK)”
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek(FL) me and live;(FM)
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,(FN)
do not journey to Beersheba.(FO)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[n](FP)”
6 Seek(FQ) the Lord and live,(FR)
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;(FS)
it will devour them,
and Bethel(FT) will have no one to quench it.(FU)
7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness(FV)
and cast righteousness(FW) to the ground.(FX)
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(FY)
who turns midnight into dawn(FZ)
and darkens day into night,(GA)
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(GB)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.(GC)
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court(GD)
and detest the one who tells the truth.(GE)
11 You levy a straw tax on the poor(GF)
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,(GG)
you will not live in them;(GH)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.(GI)
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.(GJ)
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes(GK)
and deprive the poor(GL) of justice in the courts.(GM)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet(GN) in such times,
for the times are evil.(GO)
14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.(GP)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil,(GQ) love good;(GR)
maintain justice in the courts.(GS)
Perhaps(GT) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy(GU)
on the remnant(GV) of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing(GW) in all the streets(GX)
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(GY) will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(GZ) in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through(HA) your midst,”
says the Lord.(HB)
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!(HC)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(HD)
That day will be darkness,(HE) not light.(HF)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,(HG)
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.(HH)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(HI) not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(HJ)
21 “I hate,(HK) I despise your religious festivals;(HL)
your assemblies(HM) are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings(HN) and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.(HO)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.(HP)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.(HQ)
24 But let justice(HR) roll on like a river,
righteousness(HS) like a never-failing stream!(HT)
25 “Did you bring me sacrifices(HU) and offerings
forty years(HV) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,(HW)
the star of your god[o]—
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile(HX) beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.(HY)
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to you(HZ) who are complacent(IA) in Zion,
and to you who feel secure(IB) on Mount Samaria,(IC)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!(ID)
2 Go to Kalneh(IE) and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,(IF)
and then go down to Gath(IG) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(IH) your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.(II)
4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.(IJ)
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.(IK)
5 You strum away on your harps(IL) like David
and improvise on musical instruments.(IM)
6 You drink wine(IN) by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve(IO) over the ruin of Joseph.(IP)
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(IQ)
your feasting and lounging will end.(IR)
The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(IS)—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor(IT) the pride of Jacob(IU)
and detest his fortresses;(IV)
I will deliver up(IW) the city
and everything in it.(IX)”
9 If ten(IY) people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[p](IZ) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(JA) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash(JB) the great house(JC) into pieces
and the small house into bits.(JD)
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea[q] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(JE)
and the fruit of righteousness(JF) into bitterness(JG)—
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[r]
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[s] by our own strength?(JH)”
14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation(JI) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath(JJ) to the valley of the Arabah.(JK)”
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(JL) He was preparing swarms of locusts(JM) 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,(JN) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(JO) He is so small!(JP)”
3 So the Lord relented.(JQ)
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(JR)
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(JS) it dried up the great deep and devoured(JT) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(JU)”
6 So the Lord relented.(JV)
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(JW)
7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[t] with a plumb line[u] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(JX) Amos?(JY)”
“A plumb line,(JZ)” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(KA)
9 “The high places(KB) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries(KC) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(KD)”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(KE) sent a message to Jeroboam(KF) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(KG) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(KH) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,(KI)
away from their native land.’”(KJ)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(KK) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(KL) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(KM) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(KN) of the kingdom.(KO)”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(KP) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(KQ) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(KR) and said to me, ‘Go,(KS) prophesy(KT) to my people Israel.’(KU) 16 Now then, hear(KV) the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against(KW) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(KX) 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[v] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(KY)
away from their native land.(KZ)’”
A Basket of Ripe Fruit
8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(LA) a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see,(LB) Amos?(LC)” he asked.
“A basket(LD) 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.(LE)
3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[w](LF) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(LG)”
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon(LJ) be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market(LK) wheat?”(LL)—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating(LM) with dishonest scales,(LN)
6 buying the poor(LO) with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(LP)
7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(LQ) “I will never forget(LR) anything they have done.(LS)
8 “Will not the land tremble(LT) 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.(LU)
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.(LV)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(LW) into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.(LX)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(LY)
and shave(LZ) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(MA)
and the end of it like a bitter day.(MB)
11 “The days are coming,”(MC) 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(MD) of hearing the words of the Lord.(ME)
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.(MF)
13 “In that day
“the lovely young women and strong young men(MG)
will faint because of thirst.(MH)
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria(MI)—
who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’(MJ)
or, ‘As surely as the god[x] of Beersheba(MK) lives’—
they will fall,(ML) never to rise again.(MM)”
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(MN) of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.(MO)
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,(MP)
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(MQ)
from there I will bring them down.(MR)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(MS)
there I will hunt them down and seize them.(MT)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(MU)
there I will command the serpent(MV) to bite them.(MW)
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword(MX) to slay them.
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(NB)
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;(NC)
6 he builds his lofty palace[y](ND) in the heavens
and sets its foundation[z] 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.(NE)
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[aa]?”(NF)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines(NG) from Caphtor[ab](NH)
and the Arameans from Kir?(NI)
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(NJ) it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(NK)
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain(NL) is shaken in a sieve,(NM)
and not a pebble will reach the ground.(NN)
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,(NO)
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(NP)
Israel’s Restoration
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s(NQ) fallen shelter(NR)—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins(NS)—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,(NT)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(NU)
and all the nations that bear my name,[ac](NV)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(NW)
13 “The days are coming,”(NX) declares the Lord,
“when the reaper(NY) will be overtaken by the plowman(NZ)
and the planter by the one treading(OA) grapes.
New wine(OB) will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,(OC)
14 and I will bring(OD) my people Israel back from exile.[ad](OE)
“They will rebuild the ruined cities(OF) and live in them.
They will plant vineyards(OG) and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(OH)
15 I will plant(OI) Israel in their own land,(OJ)
never again to be uprooted(OK)
from the land I have given them,”(OL)
says the Lord your God.(OM)
Footnotes
- Amos 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
- Amos 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
- Amos 1:5 Aven means wickedness.
- Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
- Amos 1:15 Or / Molek
- Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
- Amos 2:4 Or by lies
- Amos 2:4 Or lies
- Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.
- Amos 4:2 Or away in baskets, / the last of you in fish baskets
- Amos 4:3 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew (see Septuagint) out, you mountain of oppression
- Amos 4:4 Or days
- Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
- Amos 5:26 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
- Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
- Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
- Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
- Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.
- 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
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.