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Israel Will Be Destroyed

I saw the Lord standing next to the altar in the temple. He said to me,

“Strike the tops of the temple pillars.
    Then the heavy stones at the base of the entrance will shake.
Bring everything down on the heads of everyone there.
    I will kill with my swords
    those who are left alive.
None of the Israelites will escape.
    None will get away.
They might dig down deep.
    But my powerful hand will take them out of there.
They might climb up to the heavens.
    But I will bring them down from there.
They might hide on top of Mount Carmel.
    But I will hunt them down
    and grab them.
They might hide from me at the bottom of the ocean.
    But even there I will command the serpent to bite them.
Their enemies might take them away
    as prisoners to another country.
But there I will command Israel’s enemies
    to cut them down with swords.
I will keep my eye on Israel to harm them.
    I will not help them.”

The Lord rules over all.
    The Lord touches the earth, and it melts.
    Everyone who lives in it mourns.
The whole land rises like the Nile River.
    Then it settles back down again
    like that river in Egypt.
The Lord builds his palace high in the heavens.
    He lays its foundation on the earth.
He sends for the waters in the clouds.
    Then he pours them out on the surface of the land.
    His name is the Lord.

“You Israelites are just like
    the people of Cush to me,”
    announces the Lord.
“I brought Israel up from Egypt.
    I also brought the Philistines from Crete
    and the Arameans from Kir.

“I am the Lord and King.
    My eyes are watching the sinful kingdom of Israel.
I will wipe it off the face of the earth.
    But I will not totally destroy the people of Jacob,”
    announces the Lord.
“I will give an order.
    I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations.
They will be like grain that is shaken through a screen.
    Not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
    will be killed by swords.
    They say, ‘Nothing bad will ever happen to us.’

Israel Will Be Made Like New Again

11 “The time will come when I will set up
    David’s fallen shelter.
I will repair its broken walls.
    I will rebuild what was destroyed.
    I will make it what it used to be.
12 Then my people will take control of those
    who are left alive in Edom.
They will also possess all the nations
    that belong to me,”
    announces the Lord.
    He will do all these things.

13 “The days are coming,” announces the Lord.

“At that time those who plow the land
    will catch up with those who harvest the crops.
Those who stomp on grapes
    will catch up with those who plant the vines.
Fresh wine will drip from the mountains.
    It will flow down from all the hills.
14 I will bring my people Israel back home.
    I will bless them with great success again.
    They will rebuild the destroyed cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce.
    They will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land.
    They will never again be removed
    from the land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

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