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The Lord's Judgments

I saw the Lord standing by the altar. He gave the command: “Strike the tops of the Temple columns so hard that the foundation will shake. Break them off and let them fall on the heads of the people. I will kill the rest of the people in war. No one will get away; not one will escape. Even if they dig their way down to the world of the dead, I will catch them. Even if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down. If they hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I will search for them and catch them. If they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command the sea monster[a] to bite them. If they are taken away into captivity by their enemies, I will order them to be put to death. I am determined to destroy them, not to help them.”

The Sovereign Lord Almighty touches the earth,
    and it quakes;
    all who live there mourn.
The whole world rises and falls like the Nile River.
The Lord builds his home in the heavens,
    and over the earth he puts the dome of the sky.
He calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out on the earth.
His name is the Lord!

The Lord says, “People of Israel, I think as much of the people of Ethiopia[b] as I do of you. I brought the Philistines from Crete and the Syrians from Kir, just as I brought you from Egypt. I, the Sovereign Lord, am watching this sinful kingdom of Israel, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will not destroy all the descendants of Jacob.

“I will give the command and shake the people of Israel like grain in a sieve. I will shake them among the nations to remove all who are worthless. 10 The sinners among my people will be killed in war—all those who say, ‘God will not let any harm come near us.’”

The Future Restoration of Israel

11 (A)The Lord says, “A day is coming when I will restore the kingdom of David, which is like a house fallen into ruins. I will repair its walls and restore it. I will rebuild it and make it as it was long ago. 12 And so the people of Israel will conquer what is left of the land of Edom and all the nations that were once mine,” says the Lord, who will cause this to happen.

13 “The days are coming,” says the Lord,
    “when grain will grow faster than it can be harvested,
    and grapes will grow faster than the wine can be made.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
    and the hills will flow with it.
14 I will bring my people back to their land.
    They will rebuild their ruined cities and live there;
    they will plant vineyards and drink the wine;
    they will plant gardens and eat what they grow.
15 I will plant my people on the land I gave them,
    and they will not be pulled up again.”
The Lord your God has spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:3 It was believed that the sea was inhabited by a great monster. This creature, like all others, was regarded as under God's control.
  2. Amos 9:7 Hebrew Cush: Cush is the ancient name of the extensive territory south of the First Cataract of the Nile River. This region was called Ethiopia in Graeco-Roman times, and included within its borders most of modern Sudan and some of present-day Ethiopia (Abyssinia).

Israel to Be Destroyed

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(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.(B)
Though they dig down to the depths below,(C)
    from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(D)
    from there I will bring them down.(E)
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(F)
    there I will hunt them down and seize them.(G)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(H)
    there I will command the serpent(I) to bite them.(J)
Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
    there I will command the sword(K) to slay them.

“I will keep my eye on them
    for harm(L) and not for good.(M)(N)

The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(O)
    and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
    then sinks like the river of Egypt;(P)
he builds his lofty palace[a](Q) in the heavens
    and sets its foundation[b] 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.(R)

“Are not you Israelites
    the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”(S)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
    the Philistines(T) from Caphtor[d](U)
    and the Arameans from Kir?(V)

“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
    are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(W) it
    from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
    the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(X)
“For I will give the command,
    and I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations
as grain(Y) is shaken in a sieve,(Z)
    and not a pebble will reach the ground.(AA)
10 All the sinners among my people
    will die by the sword,(AB)
all those who say,
    ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(AC)

Israel’s Restoration

11 “In that day

“I will restore David’s(AD) fallen shelter(AE)
    I will repair its broken walls
    and restore its ruins(AF)
    and will rebuild it as it used to be,(AG)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(AH)
    and all the nations that bear my name,[e](AI)
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(AJ)

13 “The days are coming,”(AK) declares the Lord,

“when the reaper(AL) will be overtaken by the plowman(AM)
    and the planter by the one treading(AN) grapes.
New wine(AO) will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,(AP)
14     and I will bring(AQ) my people Israel back from exile.[f](AR)

“They will rebuild the ruined cities(AS) and live in them.
    They will plant vineyards(AT) and drink their wine;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(AU)
15 I will plant(AV) Israel in their own land,(AW)
    never again to be uprooted(AX)
    from the land I have given them,”(AY)

says the Lord your God.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
  4. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
  5. Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
  6. Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel