Amos 1

Introduction

1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied.¹ He² was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him³ during the time of⁴ King Uzziah of Judah and⁵ King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.⁶

God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations

1:2 Amos⁷ said:

“The Lord comes roaring⁸ out of Zion;
from Jerusalem he comes bellowing!⁹
The shepherds’ pastures wilt;¹⁰
the summit of Carmel¹¹ withers.”¹²

2:4 This is what the Lord says: 
“Because Judah has committed three treaty violations¹⁵
—  make that four!¹⁶—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.¹⁷
They rejected the Lord’s law;¹⁸
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods,¹⁹
the idols to which their fathers were loyal,²⁰
led them astray.
2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”

God Will Judge Israel

2:6 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Israel has committed three treaty violations²¹—
make that four!²²—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.²³
They sold the innocent²⁴ for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals.²⁵
2:7 They trample²⁶ on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;²⁷
they push the destitute away.²⁸
Father and son have sex with the same girl,²⁹
in this way they show disrespect³⁰ for my moral purity.³¹
2:8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do this right³² beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do this right in the temple³³ of their God!³⁴

2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites.³⁵
They were as tall as cedars,³⁶
and as strong as oaks;
but I destroyed the fruit on their branches,³⁷
and their roots in the ground.³⁸
2:10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt;
I led you through the wilderness for forty years,
so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.
2:11 I made some of your sons prophets,
and some of your young men religious devotees.³⁹
Is this not true, you Israelites?”
The Lord is speaking!

2:12 “But you made the religious devotees drink wine;⁴⁰
you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
2:13 Look! I am creaking beneath you,
like a cart loaded down with grain creaks.⁴¹
2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide;⁴²
strong men will have no strength left;⁴³
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
2:15 Archers⁴⁴ will not hold their ground;⁴⁵
fast runners will not save their lives,
nor will those who ride horses.⁴⁶
2:16 Brave-hearted warriors will run away naked in that day.”
The Lord is speaking!

5:14 Long for what is right, not what is wrong,⁴⁴ so you can live!
Then the Lord, the God who leads armies, just might be with you,
as you claim he is.
5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right!
Promote⁴⁵ justice at the city gate!⁴⁶
Maybe the Lord, the God who leads armies, will have mercy on⁴⁷ those who are left from⁴⁸ Joseph.⁴⁹

5:16 Because of Israel’s sins⁵⁰ this is what the Lord, the God who leads armies, the Sovereign One,⁵¹ says:
“In all the squares there will be wailing,
in all the streets they will mourn the dead.⁵²
They will tell the field workers⁵³ to lament
and the professional mourners⁵⁴ to wail.
5:17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing,
for I will pass through⁵⁵ your midst,” says the Lord.
The Lord Demands Justice

5:18 Those who wish for the Lord’s day of judgment⁵⁶ are as good as dead!⁵⁷
Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?
It will bring darkness, not light.
5:19 Disaster will be inescapable,⁵⁸
as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,
then escaped⁵⁹ into a house,
leaned his hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light—
gloomy black, not bright light?
5:21 “I absolutely despise⁶⁰ your festivals.
I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies.
5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings,⁶¹ I will not be satisfied;
I will not look with favor on the fattened calves you offer in peace.⁶²
5:23 Take away from me your noisy songs;
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.⁶³
5:24 Justice must flow like water,
right actions⁶⁴ like a stream that never dries up.
5:25 You did not bring me⁶⁵ sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the
wilderness, family⁶⁶ of Israel.
5:26 You will pick up your images of Ninurta,⁶⁷ your king,
and Saturn,⁶⁸ your star god, which you made for yourselves,
5:27 and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord. He is called⁶⁹ the God who leads
armies.

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent this message¹⁹ to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel!²⁰ The land cannot endure all his prophecies.²¹  
7:11 As a matter of fact,²² Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile²³ away from its land.’”

7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary!²⁴ Run away to the land of Judah! Earn money²⁵ and prophesy there! 7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!”²⁶

7:14 Amos replied²⁷ to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession.²⁸ No,²⁹ I was a herdsman who also took care of³⁰ sycamore fig trees.³¹  
7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending³² flocks and gave me this commission,³³ ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’ 
7:16 So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach³⁴ against the family of Isaac!’

7:17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets³⁵
and your sons and daughters will die violently.³⁶
Your land will be given to others³⁷
and you will die in a foreign³⁸ land.
Israel will certainly be carried into exile³⁹ away from its land.’”

More Visions and Messages of Judgment

8:1 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw¹ a basket of summer fruit.²
8:2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” 
Then the Lord said to me, “The end³ has come for my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sins.⁴
8:3 The women singing in the temple⁵ will wail in that day.”

The sovereign Lord is speaking.
“There will be many corpses littered everywhere!⁶ Be quiet!”
8:4 Listen to this, you who trample⁷ the needy,
and get rid of⁸ the destitute in the land.
8:5 You say,
“When will the new moon festival⁹ be over,¹⁰ so we can sell grain?
When will the Sabbath end,¹¹ so we can open up the grain bins?¹²
We’re eager¹³ to sell less for a higher price,¹⁴
and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales.¹⁵
8:6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor,¹⁶
a pair of sandals¹⁷ for the needy.
We want to mix in some chaff with the grain.”¹⁸
8:7 The Lord confirms this oath¹⁹ by the arrogance of Jacob:²⁰
“I swear²¹ I will never forget all you have done!²²
8:8 Because of this the earth²³ will quake,²⁴
and all who live in it will mourn.

The whole earth will rise like the River Nile,²⁵
it will surge upward²⁶ and then grow calm,²⁷ like the Nile in Egypt.²⁸
8:9 In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon,
and make the earth dark in the middle of the day.²⁹
8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals,³⁰
and all your songs into funeral dirges.
I will make everyone wear funeral clothes³¹
and cause every head to be shaved bald.³²
I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son;³³
when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day.³⁴

9:1 I saw the Sovereign One¹ standing by the altar² and he said, 
“Strike the tops of the support pillars,³ so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people,⁴
and I will kill the survivors⁵ with the sword.
No one will be able to run away;⁶
no one will be able to escape.⁷
9:2 Even if they could dig down into the subterranean world,⁸
my hand would pull them up from there.
Even if they could go up to heaven,
I would bring them down from there.

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,
I would hunt them down and take them from there.
Even if they tried to hide from me⁹ at the bottom of the sea,
from there¹⁰ I would command the Sea Serpent¹¹ to bite them.
9:4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity,¹²
from there¹³ I will command the sword to kill them.
I will not let them out of my sight;
they will experience disaster, not prosperity.”¹⁴
9:5 The sovereign Lord who leads armies will do this.¹⁵
He touches the earth and it dissolves;¹⁶
all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth¹⁷ rises like the River Nile,¹⁸
and then grows calm¹⁹ like the Nile in Egypt.²⁰
9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace²¹ in heaven
and sets its foundation supports²² on the earth.²³
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.

9:7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,”²⁴ says the Lord.
“Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,
but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor²⁵ and the Arameans from Kir.²⁶
9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching²⁷ the sinful nation,²⁸
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the family²⁹ of Jacob,” says the Lord.
9:9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground.³⁰
9:10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword,
the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’

The Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty

9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut³¹ of David.
I will seal its³² gaps, repair its³³ ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.³⁴
9:12 As a result they³⁵ will conquer those left in Edom³⁶
and all the nations subject to my rule.”³⁷
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!
9:13 “Be sure of this,³⁸ the time is³⁹ coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper⁴⁰
and the one who stomps the grapes⁴¹ will overtake⁴² the planter.⁴³
Juice will run down the slopes,⁴⁴
it will flow down all the hillsides.⁴⁵

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel;
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble⁴⁶ and settle down.⁴⁷
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;⁴⁸
they will grow orchards⁴⁹ and eat the fruit they produce.⁵⁰
9:15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from the⁵¹ land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.