Add parallel Print Page Options

The Lord God showed these things to me; and lo! a maker of locust(s) in the beginning of burgeoning things of eventide rain, and lo! eventide rain after the clipper of the king. (The Lord God showed these things to me; and lo! he made locusts at the beginning of the burgeoning things of the late growth, and lo! it was the late growth after the king’s clippings, or the first cutting.)

And it was done, when he had ended for to eat the herb of (the) earth, I said, Lord God, I beseech, be thou merciful; who shall raise Jacob, for he is little? (And it was done, when the locusts had finished eating the herbs of the earth, I said, Lord God, I beseech thee, be thou merciful; who shall raise up Jacob, for he is so small?/for they be so weak?)

The Lord had mercy on this thing; It shall not be, said the Lord God.

The Lord God showed to me these things; and lo! the Lord God shall call doom to fire, and it shall devour much depth of water, and it ate (al)together a part. (The Lord God showed me these things; and lo! the Lord God called judgement into the fire, and it devoured a great depth of water, and it ate a part of it.)

And I said, Lord God, I beseech, rest thou; who shall raise Jacob, for he is little? (And I said, Lord God, I beseech thee, rest thou; for who shall raise up Jacob, for he is so small?/for they be so weak?)

The Lord had mercy on this thing; But also and this thing shall not be, said the Lord God. (The Lord had mercy on this thing; And also this shall not be, said the Lord God.)

The Lord God showed to me these things; and lo! the Lord standing on a wall pargeted, or plastered, and in the hand of him was a trowel of a mason. (The Lord God showed me these things; and lo! the Lord was standing by a plastered wall; and in his hand was a mason’s trowel/was a plumb line.)

And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, A trowel of a mason. And the Lord said, Lo! I shall put a trowel in the middle of my people Israel; I shall no more put to, for to over-lead it; (And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, A mason’s trowel/A plumb line. And the Lord said, Lo! I shall put a trowel in the midst of my people Israel/I shall put a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; no more shall I pass them by;)

and the high things of idol shall be destroyed, and the hallowings of Israel shall be desolate; and I shall rise on the house of Jeroboam by sword. (and the high places, or the hill shrines, of Isaac shall be destroyed, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be made desolate; and I shall rise against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.)

10 And Amaziah, priest of Bethel, sent to Jeroboam, king of Israel, and said, Amos rebelled against thee, in the middle of the house of Israel; the land may not sustain all his words. (And Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, the king of Israel, and said, Amos is conspiring against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land cannot survive all his words.)

11 For Amos saith these things, Jeroboam shall die by sword, and Israel (taken) captive shall pass from his land. (For Amos saith these things; Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and the people of Israel shall be taken away captive from their own land.)

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, Thou that seest, go; flee thou into the land of Judah, and eat thou there thy bread; and there thou shalt prophesy. (And then Amaziah said to Amos, Go thou away, O seer/O prophet; flee thou into the land of Judah, and eat thy food there; and there thou shalt prophesy.)

13 And thou shalt no more put to, that thou prophesy in Bethel, for it is the hallowing of the king, and is the house of the realm. (But no more shalt thou come forth here, so that thou prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s place of worship, and the house of the realm/for it is the sanctuary of the king, and a royal palace.)

14 And Amos answered, and said to Amaziah, I am not a prophet, and I am not [the] son of a prophet; but an herder of neat I am, drawing up sycamores. (And Amos answered, and said to Amaziah, I am not a prophet, and I am not the son of a prophet; but I am a herdsman, and a gatherer of the figs of the sycamores.)

15 And the Lord took me, when I followed the flock; and the Lord said to me, Go, and prophesy thou to my people Israel.

16 And now hear thou the word of the Lord. Thou sayest, Thou shalt not prophesy on Israel, and thou shalt not drop (thy word) on the house of idol. (And so now hear the word of the Lord. Thou hast said, Thou shalt not prophesy against Israel, and thou shalt not drop thy word against the house of Isaac.)

17 For this thing the Lord saith these things, Thy wife shall do fornication in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by sword, and thy land shall be meted with a little cord; and thou shalt die in a polluted land, and Israel (taken) captive shall pass from his land. (For this thing the Lord saith these things, Thy wife shall go a whoring in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be measured with a little cord; and thou shalt die in a polluted land, and the people of Israel shall be taken away captive from their own land.)

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(A) He was preparing swarms of locusts(B) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. When they had stripped the land clean,(C) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(D) He is so small!(E)

So the Lord relented.(F)

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

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(H) it dried up the great deep and devoured(I) the land. Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(J)

So the Lord relented.(K)

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

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[a] with a plumb line[b] in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(M) Amos?(N)

“A plumb line,(O)” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(P)

“The high places(Q) of Isaac will be destroyed
    and the sanctuaries(R) of Israel will be ruined;
    with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(S)

Amos and Amaziah

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(T) sent a message to Jeroboam(U) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(V) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(W) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:

“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
    and Israel will surely go into exile,(X)
    away from their native land.’”(Y)

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(Z) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(AA) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(AB) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(AC) of the kingdom.(AD)

14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(AE) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(AF) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(AG) and said to me, ‘Go,(AH) prophesy(AI) to my people Israel.’(AJ) 16 Now then, hear(AK) the word of the Lord. You say,

“‘Do not prophesy against(AL) Israel,
    and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(AM) in the city,
    and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
    and you yourself will die in a pagan[c] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(AN)
    away from their native land.(AO)’”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
  3. Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean