\NormalFont\ShortTitle{AMOS}

{\MT Amos



\par }\ChapOne{1}{\MM \VerseOne{1}These are the words of Amos, one of the sheep farmers from Tekoa. He saw
{\ADD{⌞a vision⌟}} about Israel during the reigns of Judah’s King Uzziah and Israel’s King Jeroboam, son of Joash. This happened two years before the earthquake.


\par }{\PP \VS{2}He said:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} roars from Zion,

\par }{\Q and his voice thunders from Jerusalem.

\par }{\Q The pastures of the shepherds are turning brown,

\par }{\Q and the top of
{\ADD{⌞Mount⌟}} Carmel is dried up.


\par }{\SH Damascus Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VS{3}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Damascus has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The Arameans have crushed
{\ADD{⌞the people of⌟}} Gilead

\par }{\Q with iron-spiked threshing \FTNT{*}{{\FR 1:3 }{\FK{Threshing
}}{\FT{is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain.}}} sledges.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}I will send a fire on the house of Hazael

\par }{\Q and burn down the palaces of Ben Hadad.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}I will break the bars
{\ADD{⌞on the gates⌟}} of Damascus.

\par }{\Q I will cut off those living in Aven Valley

\par }{\Q and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.

\par }{\Q The people of Aram will go into captivity at Kir.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The
{\ND{Lord}} has said this.


\par }{\SH Gaza Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VS{6}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Gaza has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The Philistines have taken all the people captive

\par }{\Q in order to hand them over to the Edomites.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza

\par }{\Q and burn down its palaces.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}I will cut off those living in Ashdod

\par }{\Q and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.

\par }{\Q I will turn my power against Ekron.

\par }{\Q The rest of the Philistines will die.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} has said this.


\par }{\SH Tyre Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VS{9}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Tyre has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The Tyrians have handed all the people over to the Edomites.

\par }{\Q The Tyrians didn’t remember their treaty with their relatives.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}I will send a fire on the walls of Tyre

\par }{\Q and burn down its palaces.


\par }{\SH Edom Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VS{11}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Edom has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The Edomites pursued their relatives with swords.

\par }{\Q They refused to show any compassion to them.

\par }{\Q Their anger was unstoppable.

\par }{\Q They refused to control their fury.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}I will send a fire on Teman

\par }{\Q and burn down the palaces of Bozrah.


\par }{\SH Ammon Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VS{13}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Ammon has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The Ammonites enlarged their territory

\par }{\Q by ripping open pregnant women in Gilead.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah

\par }{\Q and burn down its palaces

\par }{\Q while troops are shouting on the day of battle

\par }{\Q and winds are howling on the day of the storm.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Their king will go into captivity along with his officials.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The
{\ND{Lord}} has said this.




\par }\Chap{2}{\SH Moab Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VerseOne{1}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Moab has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The Moabites have cremated Edom’s king.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}I will send a fire on Moab

\par }{\Q and burn down the palaces of Kerioth.

\par }{\Q Moab will die during the noise of battle

\par }{\Q while troops are shouting and rams’ horns are blowing.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}I will take their judges away from them.

\par }{\Q I will kill all their officials at the same time.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The
{\ND{Lord}} has said this.


\par }{\SH Judah Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VS{4}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Judah has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The people of Judah have rejected the
{\ND{Lord}}’s Teachings

\par }{\Q and haven’t kept his laws.

\par }{\Q They have been led astray by false teachings,

\par }{\Q the same ones their ancestors followed.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}I will send a fire on Judah

\par }{\Q and burn down the palaces of Jerusalem.


\par }{\SH Israel Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
\par }
{\MM \VS{6}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Because Israel has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,

\par }{\Q I will not change my plans.

\par }{\Q The people of Israel sell the righteous for money

\par }{\Q and the needy for a pair of sandals.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}They stomp the heads of the poor into the dust.

\par }{\Q They push the humble out of the way.

\par }{\Q Father and son sleep with the same woman.

\par }{\Q They dishonor my holy name.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Beside every altar, they spread themselves out on clothes

\par }{\Q taken as security.

\par }{\Q In the temples of their gods, they drink the wine

\par }{\Q that they bought with fines.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}I destroyed the Amorites in front of them,

\par }{\Q although the Amorites were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks.

\par }{\Q I destroyed their fruit above the ground and their roots below it.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{10}I brought you out of Egypt.

\par }{\Q I led you through the desert for 40 years

\par }{\Q so that you could take possession of the land of the Amorites.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}I also sent you prophets from among your children

\par }{\Q and Nazirites from among your youths.

\par }{\Q Isn’t that so, people of Israel?

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The
{\ND{Lord}} has declared this.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}You made the Nazirites drink wine.

\par }{\Q You commanded the prophets to stop prophesying.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}I am going to crush you as an overloaded wagon crushes a person.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Runners will not be able to escape.

\par }{\Q Strong men will find that their strength is useless.

\par }{\Q Soldiers will not be able to save themselves.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Archers will not stand their ground.

\par }{\Q Fast runners will not be able to escape.

\par }{\Q Horsemen will not be able to save themselves.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}Brave soldiers will run away naked that day.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The
{\ND{Lord}} has declared this.




\par }\Chap{3}{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Will Punish Israel for Its Immoral Behavior
\par }
{\MM \VerseOne{1}Listen to this message which I, the
{\ND{Lord}}, have spoken against you Israelites, against your whole family that I brought out of Egypt.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{2}Out of all the families on earth, I have known no one else but you.

\par }{\Q That is why I am going to punish you for all your sins.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{3}Do two people ever walk together without meeting first?


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Does a lion roar in the forest if it has no prey?

\par }{\Q Does a young lion growl in its den unless it has caught something?


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Does a bird land in a trap on the ground if there’s no bait in it?

\par }{\Q Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has caught something?


\par }{\Q \VS{6}If a ram’s horn sounds an alarm in a city, won’t the people be alarmed?

\par }{\Q If there is a disaster in a city, hasn’t the
{\ND{Lord}} done it?


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Certainly, the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} doesn’t do anything

\par }{\Q unless he
{\ADD{⌞first⌟}} reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}The lion has roared. Who isn’t afraid?

\par }{\Q The Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} has spoken. Who can keep from prophesying?


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}Announce in the palaces of Ashdod and in the palaces of Egypt,

\par }{\Q “Gather together on the mountains of Samaria.

\par }{\Q See the widespread confusion and oppression in Samaria.”


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Those who collect profits in their palaces

\par }{\Q through violent and destructive acts

\par }{\Q don’t know how to do what is right, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM \VS{11}This is what the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q An enemy will surround your land,

\par }{\Q strip you of your defenses,

\par }{\Q and loot your palaces.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM \VS{12}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q As a shepherd rescues two legs or a piece of an ear out of a lion’s mouth,

\par }{\Q so the Israelites living in Samaria will be rescued,

\par }{\Q {\ADD{⌞having only⌟}} a corner of a bed or a piece of a couch.\FTNT{*}{{\FR 3:12 }{\FT{Or
}}{\FQA{“a couch of Damascus.”}}}


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Listen, and testify against the descendants of Jacob,

\par }{\Q declares the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}}, the God of Armies.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}On the day I punish Israel for its disobedience,

\par }{\Q I will also destroy the altars at Bethel.

\par }{\Q The horns of the altar will be cut off and will fall to the ground.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}I will tear down winter houses as well as summer houses.

\par }{\Q Houses
{\ADD{⌞decorated⌟}} with ivory will be destroyed.

\par }{\Q Mansions will be demolished, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.




\par }\Chap{4}{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Will Punish the Women of Samaria
\par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria.

\par }{\Q You women oppress the poor and abuse the needy.

\par }{\Q You say to your husbands, “Get some wine! Let’s drink!”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM \VS{2}The Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} has taken an oath on his holiness:

\par }{\Q Surely, the time is going to come

\par }{\Q when you will be taken away on hooks,

\par }{\Q and the rest of you on fishhooks.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Each of you will leave
{\ADD{⌞the city⌟}}

\par }{\Q through breaks in the wall, one woman ahead of another.

\par }{\Q You will be thrown into a garbage dump.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The
{\ND{Lord}} declares this.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{4}Go to Bethel and sin.

\par }{\Q Go to Gilgal and sin even more.

\par }{\Q Bring your sacrifices every morning.

\par }{\Q Bring a tenth of your income every three days.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Burn bread as a thank offering.

\par }{\Q Brag and boast about your freewill offerings.

\par }{\Q This is what you people of Israel love to do.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} declares this.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{6}I left you with nothing to eat in any of your cities.

\par }{\Q I left you with no food in your entire land.

\par }{\Q And you still didn’t return to me, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}I stopped the rain from falling

\par }{\Q three months before the harvest.

\par }{\Q I sent rain on one city and not on another.

\par }{\Q One field had rain.

\par }{\Q Another field had none and dried up.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}So people from two or three cities staggered

\par }{\Q as they walked to another city in order to get a drink of water.

\par }{\Q But they couldn’t get enough.

\par }{\Q And you still didn’t return to me, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}I struck your
{\ADD{⌞crops⌟}} with blight and mildew.

\par }{\Q Locusts repeatedly devoured your gardens, vineyards,

\par }{\Q fig trees, and olive trees.

\par }{\Q And you still didn’t return to me, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{10}I sent plagues on you as I did to Egypt.

\par }{\Q With swords I killed your best young men along with your captured horses.

\par }{\Q I made the stench from your camps fill your noses.

\par }{\Q And you still didn’t return to me, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}I destroyed some of you as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

\par }{\Q You were like a burning log snatched from a fire.

\par }{\Q And you still didn’t return to me, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}This is what I will do to you, Israel.

\par }{\Q Prepare to meet your God.

\par }{\Q This is what I will do to you, Israel!


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}God forms the mountains and creates the wind.

\par }{\Q He reveals his thoughts to humans.

\par }{\Q He makes dawn and dusk
{\ADD{⌞appear⌟}}.

\par }{\Q He walks on the high places of the earth.

\par }{\Q His name is the
{\ND{Lord}} God of Armies.




\par }\Chap{5}{\SH A Funeral Song about Israel
\par }
{\MM \VerseOne{1}Listen to this message, this funeral song that I sing about you, nation of Israel:


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{2}The people of Israel have fallen,

\par }{\Q never to rise again.

\par }{\Q They lie abandoned in their own land.

\par }{\Q There is no one to help them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM \VS{3}This is what the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} says:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q The city that sends 1,000 troops off to war

\par }{\Q will have
{\ADD{⌞only⌟}} 100 left.

\par }{\Q The one that sends 100 troops off to war

\par }{\Q will have
{\ADD{⌞only⌟}} 10 left for the nation of Israel.


\par }{\SH A Threefold Call to Turn Away from Sin
\par }
{\MM \VS{4}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says to the nation of Israel:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Search for me and live!


\par }{\Q \VS{5}But don’t search
{\ADD{⌞for me⌟}} at Bethel.

\par }{\Q Don’t go to Gilgal.

\par }{\Q Don’t travel to Beersheba.

\par }{\Q Gilgal will certainly go into exile.

\par }{\Q Bethel will come to nothing.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}Search for the
{\ND{Lord}} and live!

\par }{\Q If you don’t, he will spread like a fire through the house of Joseph

\par }{\Q and burn it down.

\par }{\Q Bethel will have no one to put it out.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}You, Israel, turn justice into poison

\par }{\Q and throw righteousness on the ground.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}God made the
{\ADD{⌞constellations⌟}} Pleiades and Orion.

\par }{\Q He turns deep darkness into dawn.

\par }{\Q He turns day into night.

\par }{\Q He calls for water from the sea

\par }{\Q to pour it over the face of the earth.

\par }{\Q His name is the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}He destroys strongholds and ruins fortresses.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{10}Israel, you hate anyone who speaks out against injustice.

\par }{\Q You are disgusted by anyone who speaks the truth.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}You trample on the poor

\par }{\Q and take their wheat from them for taxes.

\par }{\Q That is why you build houses from hand-cut stones,

\par }{\Q but you will not live in them.

\par }{\Q You plant beautiful vineyards,

\par }{\Q but you will not drink their wine.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}I know that your crimes are numerous and your sins are many.

\par }{\Q You oppress the righteous by taking bribes.

\par }{\Q You deny the needy access to the courts.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}That is why a wise person remains silent at such times,

\par }{\Q because those times are so evil.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{14}Search for good instead of evil so that you may live.

\par }{\Q Then the
{\ND{Lord}} God of Armies will be with you, as you have said.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Hate evil and love good.

\par }{\Q Then you will be able to have justice in your courts.

\par }{\Q Maybe the
{\ND{Lord}} God of Armies

\par }{\Q will have pity on the faithful few of Joseph.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM \VS{16}This is what the
{\ND{Lord}}, the Almighty God of Armies, says:

\par }{\Q There will be loud crying in every city square,

\par }{\Q and people will say in every street, “Oh, no!”

\par }{\Q They will call on farmers to mourn

\par }{\Q and on professional mourners to cry loudly.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}There will be loud crying in every vineyard,

\par }{\Q because I will pass through your land
{\ADD{⌞with death⌟}}.

\par }{\BB \par }
{\MM The
{\ND{Lord}} has said this.


\par }{\SH The Terrifying Day of the
{\ND{LORD}}
\par }
{\Q \VS{18}How horrible it will be for those who long for the day of the
{\ND{Lord}}!

\par }{\Q Why do you long for that day?

\par }{\Q The day of the
{\ND{Lord}} is one of darkness and not light.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}It is like a person who flees from a lion

\par }{\Q only to be attacked by a bear.

\par }{\Q It is like a person who goes home and puts his hand on the wall

\par }{\Q only to be bitten by a snake.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}The day of the
{\ND{Lord}} brings darkness and not light.

\par }{\Q It is pitch black, with no light.


\par }{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Rejects Israel’s Worship
\par }
{\Q \VS{21}I hate your festivals; I despise them.

\par }{\Q I’m not pleased with your religious assemblies.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,

\par }{\Q I won’t accept them.

\par }{\Q I won’t even look at the fellowship offerings of your choicest animals.


\par }{\Q \VS{23}Spare me the sound of your songs.

\par }{\Q I won’t listen to the music of your harps.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}But let justice flow like a river

\par }{\Q and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{25}Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings

\par }{\Q in the desert for 40 years, nation of Israel?


\par }{\Q \VS{26}You carried along the statues of
{\ADD{⌞the god⌟}} Sikkuth as your king

\par }{\Q and the star Kiyyun,

\par }{\Q the gods you made for yourselves.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{27}I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,

\par }{\Q says the
{\ND{Lord}}, whose name is the God of Armies.




\par }\Chap{6}{\SH The Fall of Samaria
\par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}How horrible it will be for those who are at ease in Zion,

\par }{\Q for those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,

\par }{\Q and for the heads of the leading nations,

\par }{\Q to whom the nation of Israel comes.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{2}Go to Calneh and look.

\par }{\Q Go from there to the great city of Hamath.

\par }{\Q Then go to Gath, the city of the Philistines.

\par }{\Q Are you better than these kingdoms?

\par }{\Q Is their territory larger than yours?


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{3}How horrible it will be for those who think that a day of disaster is far away.

\par }{\Q They bring the reign of violence closer.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}How horrible it will be for those who sleep on ivory beds.

\par }{\Q They sprawl out on their couches

\par }{\Q and eat lambs from their flocks and calves from their stalls.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}How horrible it will be for those who make up songs as they strum a harp.

\par }{\Q Like David, they write all kinds of songs for themselves.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}How horrible it will be for those who drink wine by the jugful.

\par }{\Q They rub the finest oils all over themselves

\par }{\Q and are not sorry for the ruin
{\ADD{⌞of the descendants⌟}} of Joseph.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}That is why they will now be the first to go into exile.

\par }{\Q The celebrating of those sprawled around the banquet table will stop.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}The Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} has sworn an oath on himself.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} God of Armies declares:

\par }{\Q I am disgusted with Jacob’s pride,

\par }{\Q and I hate his palaces.

\par }{\Q So I will hand over the city and everything in it.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}If ten people are left in one house, they will die.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}If a relative or a mortician

\par }{\Q comes to take the dead bodies out of the house

\par }{\Q and asks someone who is inside the house,

\par }{\Q “Is there anyone else with you?”

\par }{\Q that person will answer, “No.”

\par }{\Q “Hush,” he will add. “We shouldn’t mention the name of the
{\ND{Lord}}!”


\par }{\Q \VS{11}The
{\ND{Lord}} is going to give the command

\par }{\Q to level big houses and flatten little houses.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{12}Do horses run on rocks?

\par }{\Q Does a farmer plow the sea with oxen?

\par }{\Q Yet, you have turned justice into something deadly

\par }{\Q and what is righteous into poison.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}How horrible it will be for those who rejoice over Lo Debar

\par }{\Q and who say, “We were strong enough to capture Karnaim by ourselves.”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{14}I am going to lead a nation to attack you, nation of Israel,

\par }{\Q declares the
{\ND{Lord}} God of the Armies of the Nations.

\par }{\Q They will oppress you from the border of Hamath to the valley of Arabah.




\par }\Chap{7}{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Threatens to Bring a Famine by Locusts
\par }
{\MM \VerseOne{1}This is what the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts when the second crop was being harvested. It was the harvest that followed the harvest for the king.

\VS{2}When the locusts had finished eating every plant in the land, I said, “Almighty
{\ND{Lord}}, please forgive us! How can
{\ADD{⌞the descendants of⌟}} Jacob survive? There are so few of them.”


\par }{\PP \VS{3}The
{\ND{Lord}} changed his plans about this. “This won’t happen,” the
{\ND{Lord}} said.


\par }{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Threatens to Bring a Drought by Fire
\par }
{\MM \VS{4}This is what the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} showed me: The Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} was calling for judgment by fire. The fire dried up the ocean and burned up the land.

\VS{5}Then I said, “Almighty
{\ND{Lord}}, please stop! How can
{\ADD{⌞the descendants of⌟}} Jacob survive? There are so few of them.”


\par }{\PP \VS{6}The
{\ND{Lord}} changed his plans about this. “This won’t happen either,” the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} said.


\par }{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Refuses to Overlook Israel’s Sin
\par }
{\MM \VS{7}This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall built with the use of a plumb line, and he had a plumb line in his hand.

\VS{8}He asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”

\par }{\PP I answered, “A plumb line.”

\par }{\PP Then the Lord said, “I’m going to hold a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will no longer overlook what they have done.

\VS{9}The worship sites of Isaac will be destroyed, and the holy places of Israel will be in ruins. I will attack Jeroboam’s heirs with my sword.”


\par }{\SH Amaziah Opposes Amos
\par }
{\MM \VS{10}Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent a message to King Jeroboam of Israel. It read, “Amos is plotting against you among the people of Israel. The country isn’t able to endure everything he is saying.

\VS{11}Amos says that Jeroboam will be killed with a sword and that Israel cannot avoid being taken from its land into exile.”


\par }{\PP \VS{12}Then Amaziah said to Amos, “You seer,\FTNT{*}{{\FR 7:12 }{\FT{A
}}{\FK{seer
}}{\FT{is a prophet.}}} run away to Judah! Eat there, and prophesy there!

\VS{13}But don’t
{\ADD{⌞ever⌟}} prophesy again in Bethel, because this is the king’s holy place and the king’s palace.”


\par }{\PP \VS{14}Amos responded, “I’m not a prophet, and I’m not a disciple of the prophets. I am a rancher and a grower of figs.

\VS{15}But the
{\ND{Lord}} took me away from herding the flock and said to me, ‘Prophesy to my people Israel.’


\par }{\PP \VS{16}“Now listen to the
{\ND{Lord}}’s word: You said, ‘Stop prophesying against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’


\par }{\PP \VS{17}“However, this is what the
{\ND{Lord}} says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Your land will be surveyed and divided up, and you will die in an unclean \FTNT{†}{{\FR 7:17 }{\FT{“}}{\FK{Unclean}}{\FT{” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.}}} land. Israel cannot avoid being taken from its land into exile.”




\par }\Chap{8}{\SH The End Has Come for Israel
\par }
{\MM \VerseOne{1}This is what the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} showed me: a basket of ripe summer fruit.


\par }{\PP \VS{2}He asked, “What do you see, Amos?”

\par }{\PP “A basket of ripe summer fruit,” I answered.

\par }{\PP Then the
{\ND{Lord}} said to me, “My people Israel are now ripe. I will no longer overlook what they have done.

\VS{3}On that day the songs of the temple will become loud cries,” declares the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}}. “There will be dead bodies scattered everywhere. Hush!”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{4}Listen to this, those who trample on the needy

\par }{\Q and ruin those who are oppressed in the world.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}You say to yourselves,

\par }{\Q “When will the New Moon Festival be over

\par }{\Q so that we can sell more grain?

\par }{\Q When will the day of rest—a holy day, be over

\par }{\Q so that we can sell more wheat?

\par }{\Q We can shrink the size of the bushel baskets,

\par }{\Q increase the cost,

\par }{\Q and cheat with dishonest scales.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}We can buy the poor with money

\par }{\Q and the needy for a pair of sandals.

\par }{\Q We can sell the husks mixed in with the wheat.”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}The
{\ND{Lord}} has sworn an oath by Jacob’s pride:

\par }{\Q “I will never forget anything that they have done.”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}The land will tremble because of this.

\par }{\Q Everyone who lives in it will mourn.

\par }{\Q The entire land will rise like the Nile,

\par }{\Q be tossed about, and then sink like Egypt’s river.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{9}On that day, declares the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}},

\par }{\Q I will make the sun go down at noon

\par }{\Q and darken the earth in broad daylight.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}I will turn your festivals into funerals

\par }{\Q and all your songs into funeral songs.

\par }{\Q I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist

\par }{\Q and shave everyone’s head.

\par }{\Q I will make that day seem like a funeral for an only child,

\par }{\Q and its end will be bitter.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{11}The days are going to come, declares the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}},

\par }{\Q when I will send a famine throughout the land.

\par }{\Q It won’t be an ordinary famine or drought.

\par }{\Q Instead, there will be a famine of hearing the words of the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}People will wander from sea to sea

\par }{\Q and roam from the north to the east,

\par }{\Q searching for the
{\ND{Lord}}’s word.

\par }{\Q But they won’t find it.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}On that day beautiful young women and strong young men

\par }{\Q will faint because of their thirst.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}{\ADD{⌞How horrible it will be for⌟}} those who swear by Ashimah,

\par }{\Q the idol of Samaria, and say,

\par }{\Q “I solemnly swear, Dan, as your god lives….”

\par }{\Q “I solemnly swear as long as there is a road to Beersheba….”

\par }{\Q Those who say this will fall and never get up again.




\par }\Chap{9}{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Will Sift Israel out of All the Nations
\par }
{\MM \VerseOne{1}I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Strike the tops of the pillars so that the foundations shake.

\par }{\Q Cut off everyone’s head.

\par }{\Q I will kill with a sword all who are left.

\par }{\Q None of them will be able to get away.

\par }{\Q None of them will be able to escape.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{2}Even if they dig their way into Sheol,

\par }{\Q my hand will take them from there.

\par }{\Q Even if they go up to heaven,

\par }{\Q I will bring them down from there.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Even if they hide on top of Mount Carmel,

\par }{\Q I will look for them and take them from there.

\par }{\Q Even if they hide from me at the bottom of the sea,

\par }{\Q I will command a sea snake to bite them.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Even if they go into exile ahead of their enemies,

\par }{\Q I will command a sword to kill them.

\par }{\Q I will keep my eyes on them

\par }{\Q so that I can bring disaster on them and not help them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{5}The Almighty
{\ND{Lord}} of Armies touches the earth.

\par }{\Q It quakes, and all who live on it mourn.

\par }{\Q All of it rises like the Nile

\par }{\Q and sinks like Egypt’s river.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}The one who builds stairs up to heaven

\par }{\Q and sets their foundation on the earth,

\par }{\Q the one who calls for the water in the sea

\par }{\Q and pours it over the face of the earth—

\par }{\Q His name is the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}You people of Israel are like the people from Sudan, says the
{\ND{Lord}}.

\par }{\Q Didn’t I bring Israel from Egypt?

\par }{\Q Didn’t I bring the Philistines from Crete and the Arameans from Kir?


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{8}I, the Almighty
{\ND{Lord}}, have my eyes on this sinful kingdom.

\par }{\Q I will wipe it off the face of the earth.

\par }{\Q But I won’t totally destroy the descendants of Jacob, declares the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}I’m going to give the order.

\par }{\Q I will sift the nation of Israel out of all the nations

\par }{\Q as if I were using a sieve.

\par }{\Q Not one pebble will fall to the ground.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}All the sinners among my people are thinking,

\par }{\Q “Destruction will not catch up to us or run into us.”

\par }{\Q In spite of this, they will be killed with swords.


\par }{\SH The
{\ND{LORD}} Will Restore His People
\par }
{\Q \VS{11}On that day I will set up David’s fallen tent.

\par }{\Q I will repair the holes in it.

\par }{\Q I will restore its ruined places.

\par }{\Q I will rebuild them as they were a long time ago.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}They will capture the few survivors of Edom

\par }{\Q and all the other nations that were under my authority,

\par }{\Q declares the
{\ND{Lord}}, who will do these things.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{13}The days are going to come, declares the
{\ND{Lord}},

\par }{\Q when the one who plows will catch up to the one who harvests,

\par }{\Q and the one who stomps on grapes will catch up to the one who plants.

\par }{\Q New wine will drip from the mountains

\par }{\Q and flow from all the hills.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}I will restore my people Israel.

\par }{\Q They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.

\par }{\Q They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them.

\par }{\Q They will plant gardens and eat their fruit.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}I will plant the people of Israel in their land,

\par }{\Q and they won’t be uprooted again from the land that I gave them,

\par }{\Q says the
{\ND{Lord}} your God.

\par }