1The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoaa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,b when Uzziahc was king of Judah and Jeroboamd son of Jehoash1 was king of Israel.e
2He said:
Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
3This 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, Photo
4I will send firem on the house of Hazaeln
that will consume the fortresseso of Ben-Hadad.p
5I will break down the gateq of Damascus;
I will destroy the king who is in2 the Valley of Aven3
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
6This 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
7I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
8I will destroy the king4 of Ashdodx
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my handy against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistinesz are dead,”a
says the Sovereign LORD.b
9This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Tyre,c
even for four, I will not relent.d
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,e
10I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses.f”
11This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Edom,g
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a swordh
and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,i
that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.k”
13This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Ammon,l
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant womenm of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
14I will set fire to the walls of Rabbahn
that will consumeo her fortresses
amid war criesp on the day of battle,
amid violent windsq on a stormy day.
15Her king5 will go into exile,
he and his officials together,r”
says the LORD.s
1This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Moab,a
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashesb
the bones of Edom’s king,
2I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.1c
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war criesd and the blast of the trumpet.e
3I will destroy her rulerf
and kill all her officials with him,”g
says the LORD.h
4This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Judah,i
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the lawj of the LORD
and have not kept his decrees,k
because they have been led astrayl by false gods,2m
the gods3 their ancestors followed,n
5I will send fireo on Judah
Judgment on Israel
6This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.r
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.s
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.t
8They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.u
In the house of their god
they drink winev taken as fines.w
9“Yet I destroyed the Amoritesx before them,
though they were tally as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.z
I destroyed their fruit above
and their rootsa below.
10I brought you up out of Egyptb
and ledc you forty years in the wildernessd
to give you the land of the Amorites.e
11“I also raised up prophetsf from among your children
and Naziritesg 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.h
13“Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.i
14The swift will not escape,j
the strongk will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.l
15The archerm will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horsemann will not save his life.o
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 youa—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:b
2“You only have I chosenc
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punishd you
for all your sins.e”
3Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4Does a lion roarf in the thicket
when it has no prey?g
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no baith is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6When a trumpeti sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disasterj comes to a city,
has not the LORD caused it?k
7Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing
without revealing his planl
to his servants the prophets.m
who will not fear?
The Sovereign LORD has spoken—
who can but prophesy?p
9Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdodq
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;r
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10“They do not know how to do right,s” declares the LORD,
“who store up in their fortressest
what they have plunderedu and looted.”
11Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
12This is what the LORD says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’sw 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
13“Hear this and testifyy against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.
14“On the day I punishz Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;a
the hornsb of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15I will tear down the winter housec
along with the summer house;d
the houses adorned with ivorye will be destroyed
and the mansionsf will be demolished,g”
declares the LORD.h
Israel Has Not Returned to God
1Hear this word, you cows of Bashana on Mount Samaria,b
you women who oppress the poorc and crush the needyd
and say to your husbands,e “Bring us some drinks!f”
2The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness:
“The timeg will surely come
when you will be taken awayh with hooks,i
the last of you with fishhooks.1
3You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,j
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,2”
declares the LORD.
go to Gilgall and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,m
your tithesn every three years.3o
5Burn leavened breadp as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offeringsq—
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.r
7“I also withhelds rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.t
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8People staggered from town to town for wateru
but did not get enoughv to drink,
yet you have not returnedw to me,”
declares the LORD.x
9“Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew.y
Locustsz devoured your fig and olive trees,a
yet you have not returnedb to me,”
declares the LORD.
10“I sent plaguesc among you
as I did to Egypt.d
I killed your young mene with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stenchf of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,”g
declares the LORD.h
11“I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.i
You were like a burning stickj snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the LORD.k
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,l
who creates the wind,m
and who reveals his thoughtsn to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads on the heights of the eartho—
the LORD God Almighty is his name.p
A Lament and Call to Repentance
1Hear this word, Israel, this lamenta I take up concerning you:
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.d”
4This is what the LORD says to Israel:
5do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,g
do not journey to Beersheba.h
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.1i”
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;l
it will devour them,
and Bethelm will have no one to quench it.n
7There are those who turn justice into bitternesso
and cast righteousnessp to the ground.q
8He who made the Pleiades and Orion,r
who turns midnight into dawns
and darkens day into night,t
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the LORD is his name.u
9With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.v
10There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in courtw
and detest the one who tells the truth.x
11You levy a straw tax on the poory
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,z
you will not live in them;a
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.b
12For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.c
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribesd
and deprive the poore of justice in the courts.f
13Therefore the prudent keep quietg in such times,
for the times are evil.h
14Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.i
Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
maintain justice in the courts.l
Perhapsm the LORD God Almighty will have mercyn
on the remnanto of Joseph.
16Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailingp in all the streetsq
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmersr will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17There will be wailings in all the vineyards,
for I will pass throught your midst,”
says the LORD.u
The Day of the LORD
18Woe to you who long
for the day of the LORD!v
Why do you long for the day of the LORD?w
That day will be darkness,x not light.y
19It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,z
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.a
20Will not the day of the LORD be darkness,b not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?c
21“I hate,d I despise your religious festivals;e
your assembliesf are a stench to me.
22Even though you bring me burnt offeringsg and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.h
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.i
23Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.j
24But let justicek roll on like a river,
righteousnessl like a never-failing stream!m
25“Did you bring me sacrificesn and offerings
forty yearso in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,p
the star of your god2—
which you made for yourselves.
27Therefore I will send you into exileq beyond Damascus,”
says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.r
Woe to the Complacent
1Woe to youa who are complacentb in Zion,
and to you who feel securec on Mount Samaria,d
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!e
2Go to Kalnehf and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,g
and then go down to Gathh in Philistia.
Are they better off thani your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.j
4You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.k
You dine on choice lambs
5You strum away on your harpsm like David
and improvise on musical instruments.n
6You drink wineo by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grievep over the ruin of Joseph.q
7Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;r
your feasting and lounging will end.s
The LORD Abhors the Pride of Israel
8The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himselft—the LORD God Almighty declares:
9If tenz 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 them1a asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!b We must not mention the name of the LORD.”
11For the LORD has given the command,
and he will smashc the great housed into pieces
and the small house into bits.e
12Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea2 with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poisonf
and the fruit of righteousnessg into bitternessh—
13you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar3
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim4 by our own strength?i”
14For the LORD God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nationj against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
1This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me:a He was preparing swarms of locustsb after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2When they had stripped the land clean,c I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive?d He is so small!e”
3So the LORD relented.f
“This will not happen,” the LORD said.g
4This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire;h it dried up the great deep and devouredi the land. 5Then I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!j”
6So the LORD relented.k
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign LORD said.l
7This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,1 with a plumb line2 in his hand. 8And 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
9“The high placesq of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuariesr of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.s”
Amos and Amaziah
10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethelt sent a message to Jeroboamu king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracyv against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.w 11For 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
12Then 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.a 13Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,b because this is the king’s sanctuary and the templec of the kingdom.d”
14Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophete nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.f 15But the LORD took me from tending the flockg and said to me, ‘Go,h prophesyi to my people Israel.’j 16Now then, heark the word of the LORD. You say,
“ ‘Do not prophesy againstl Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17“Therefore this is what the LORD says:
A Basket of Ripe Fruit
1This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me:a a basket of ripe fruit. 2“What do you see,b Amos?c” he asked.
“A basketd 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.e
3“In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.1f Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!g”
5saying,
“When will the New Moonj be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheatingm with dishonest scales,n
6buying the pooro with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.p
7The LORD has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:q “I will never forgetr anything they have done.s
8“Will not the land tremblet 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.u
9“In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.v
10I will turn your religious festivalsw into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.x
I will make all of you wear sackclothy
and shavez your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only sona
and the end of it like a bitter day.b
11“The days are coming,”c 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 famined of hearing the words of the LORD.e
12People 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.f
13“In that day
Israel to Be Destroyed
1I 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 headsa of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.b
2Though 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
3Though 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 serpenti to bite them.j
4Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the swordk to slay them.
“I will keep my eye on them
for harml and not for good.m”n
5The 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
6he builds his lofty palace1q in the heavens
and sets its foundation2 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
7“Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites3?”s
declares the LORD.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistinest from Caphtor4u
and the Arameans from Kir?v
8“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroyw it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the LORD.x
9“For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grainy is shaken in a sieve,z
and not a pebble will reach the ground.a
10All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,b
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’c
Israel’s Restoration
11“In that day
“I will restore David’sd fallen sheltere—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruinsf—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,g
12so that they may possess the remnant of Edomh
and all the nations that bear my name,5i”
declares the LORD, who will do these things.j
13“The days are coming,”k declares the LORD,
“when the reaperl will be overtaken by the plowmanm
and the planter by the one treadingn grapes.
New wineo will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,p
14and I will bringq my people Israel back from exile.6r
“They will rebuild the ruined citiess and live in them.
They will plant vineyardst and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.u
15I will plantv Israel in their own land,w
never again to be uprootedx
from the land I have given them,”y
says the LORD your God.z