1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. 1 He 2 was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him 3 during the time of 4 King Uzziah of Judah and 5 King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 6
1:2 Amos 7 said:
“The Lord comes roaring 8 out of Zion;
from Jerusalem 9 he comes bellowing! 10
The shepherds’ pastures wilt; 11
the summit of Carmel 12 withers.” 13
1:3 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Damascus has committed three crimes 14 –
make that four! 15 – I will not revoke my
decree of judgment. 16
They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. 17
1:4 So I will set Hazael’s house 18 on fire;
fire 19 will consume Ben Hadad’s 20 fortresses.
1:5 I will break the bar 21 on the gate of Damascus.
I will remove 22 the ruler 23 from Wicked Valley, 24
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. 25
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” 26
The Lord has spoken!
1:6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Gaza 27 has committed three crimes 28 –
make that four! 29 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 30
They deported a whole community 31 and sold them 32 to Edom.
1:7 So I will set Gaza’s city wall 33 on fire;
fire 34 will consume her fortresses.
1:8 I will remove 35 the ruler 36 from Ashdod, 37
the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. 38
I will strike Ekron 39 with my hand; 40
the rest of the Philistines will also die.” 41
The sovereign Lord has spoken!
1:9 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Tyre has committed three crimes 42 –
make that four! 43 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 44
They sold 45 a whole community 46 to Edom;
they failed to observe 47 a treaty of brotherhood. 48
1:10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; 49
fire 50 will consume her fortresses.”
1:11 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Edom has committed three crimes 51 –
make that four! 52 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 53
He chased his brother 54 with a sword;
he wiped out his allies. 55
In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; 56
in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. 57
1:12 So I will set Teman 58 on fire;
fire 59 will consume Bozrah’s 60 fortresses.”
1:13 This is what the Lord says:
“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes 61 –
make that four! 62 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 63
They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women 64
so they could expand their territory.
1:14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s 65 city wall; 66
fire 67 will consume her fortresses.
War cries will be heard on the day of battle; 68
a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. 69
1:15 Ammon’s 70 king will be deported; 71
he and his officials 72 will be carried off 73 together.”
The Lord has spoken!
2:1 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Moab has committed three crimes 74 –
make that four! 75 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 76
They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. 77
2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, 78
and it will consume Kerioth’s 79 fortresses.
Moab will perish 80 in the heat of battle 81
amid war cries and the blaring 82 of the ram’s horn. 83
2:3 I will remove 84 Moab’s leader; 85
I will kill all Moab’s 86 officials 87 with him.”
The Lord has spoken!
2:4 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions 88 –
make that four! 89 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 90
They rejected the Lord’s law; 91
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods, 92
to which their fathers were loyal, 93
led them astray.
2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 94
2:6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions 95 –
make that four! 96 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 97
They sold the innocent 98 for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals. 99
2:7 They trample 100 on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; 101
they push the destitute away. 102
A man and his father go to the same girl; 103
in this way they show disrespect 104 for my moral purity. 105
2:8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do so right 106 beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do so right in the temple 107 of their God! 108
2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. 109
They were as tall as cedars 110
and as strong as oaks,
but I destroyed the fruit on their branches 111
and their roots in the ground. 112
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 Nazirites. 113
Is this not true, you Israelites?”
The Lord is speaking!
2:12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine; 114
you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
2:13 Look! I will press you down,
like a cart loaded down with grain presses down. 115
2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; 116
strong men will have no strength left; 117
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
2:15 Archers 118 will not hold their ground; 119
fast runners will not save their lives,
nor will those who ride horses. 120
2:16 Bravehearted 121 warriors will run away naked in that day.”
The Lord is speaking!
3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against 122 you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up 123 from the land of Egypt: 3:2 “I have chosen 124 you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
3:3 Do two walk together without having met? 125
3:4 Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? 126
Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?
3:5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?
Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?
3:6 If an alarm sounds 127 in a city, do people not fear? 128
If disaster overtakes a 129 city, is the Lord not responsible? 130
3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
3:8 A lion has roared! 131 Who is not afraid?
The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? 132
3:9 Make this announcement in 133 the fortresses of Ashdod
and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.
Say this:
“Gather on the hills around Samaria! 134
Observe the many acts of violence 135 taking place within the city, 136
the oppressive deeds 137 occurring in it.” 138
3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.)
“They store up 139 the spoils of destructive violence 140 in their fortresses.
3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. 141
He will take away your power; 142
your fortresses will be looted.”
3:12 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. 143
They will be left with just a corner of a bed, 144
and a part 145 of a couch.”
3:13 Listen and warn 146 the family 147 of Jacob! 148
The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, 149 is speaking!
3:14 “Certainly when 150 I punish Israel for their 151 covenant transgressions, 152
I will destroy 153 Bethel’s 154 altars.
The horns 155 of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. 156
The houses filled with ivory 157 will be ruined,
the great 158 houses will be swept away.” 159
The Lord is speaking!
4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan 160 who live on Mount Samaria!
You 161 oppress the poor;
you crush the needy.
You say to your 162 husbands,
“Bring us more to drink!” 163
4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: 164
“Certainly the time is approaching 165
when you will be carried away 166 in baskets, 167
every last one of you 168 in fishermen’s pots. 169
4:3 Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; 170
you will be thrown out 171 toward Harmon.” 172
The Lord is speaking!
4:4 “Go to Bethel 173 and rebel! 174
At Gilgal 175 rebel some more!
Bring your sacrifices in 176 the morning,
your tithes on 177 the third day!
4:5 Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! 178
Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! 179
For you love to do this, you Israelites.”
The sovereign Lord is speaking!
4:6 “But surely I gave 180 you no food to eat in any of your cities;
you lacked food everywhere you live. 181
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
4:7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. 182
I gave rain to one city, but not to another.
One field 183 would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.
4:8 People from 184 two or three cities staggered into one city to get 185 water,
but remained thirsty. 186
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
4:9 “I destroyed your crops 187 with blight and disease.
Locusts kept 188 devouring your orchards, 189 vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
4:10 “I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. 190
I killed your young men with the sword,
along with the horses you had captured.
I made the stench from the corpses 191 rise up into your nostrils.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
4:11 “I overthrew some of you the way God 192 overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 193
You were like a burning stick 194 snatched from the flames.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking!
4:12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel.
Because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, Israel! 195
4:13 For here he is!
He 196 formed the mountains and created the wind.
He reveals 197 his plans 198 to men.
He turns the dawn into darkness 199
and marches on the heights of the earth.
The Lord, the God who commands armies, 200 is his name!”
5:1 Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, 201 family 202 of Israel:
5:2 “The virgin 203 Israel has fallen down and will not get up again.
She is abandoned on her own land
with no one to help her get up.” 204
5:3 The sovereign Lord says this:
“The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers 205 will have only a hundred left;
the town 206 that marches out with a hundred soldiers 207 will have only ten left for the family of Israel.” 208
5:4 The Lord says this to the family 209 of Israel:
“Seek me 210 so you can live!
5:5 Do not seek Bethel! 211
Do not visit Gilgal!
Do not journey down 212 to Beer Sheba!
For the people of Gilgal 213 will certainly be carried into exile; 214
and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” 215
5:6 Seek the Lord so you can live!
Otherwise he will break out 216 like fire against Joseph’s 217 family; 218
the fire 219 will consume
and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. 220
5:7 The Israelites 221 turn justice into bitterness; 222
they throw what is fair and right 223 to the ground. 224
5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight 225 into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
5:9 He flashes 226 destruction down upon the strong
so that destruction overwhelms 227 the fortified places.)
5:10 The Israelites 228 hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; 229
they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
5:11 Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops 230
and exact a grain tax from them,
you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone,
nor will you drink the wine from the fine 231 vineyards you planted. 232
5:12 Certainly 233 I am aware of 234 your many rebellious acts 235
and your numerous sins.
You 236 torment the innocent, you take bribes,
and you deny justice to 237 the needy at the city gate. 238
5:13 For this reason whoever is smart 239 keeps quiet 240 in such a time,
for it is an evil 241 time.
5:14 Seek good and not evil so you can live!
Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you,
as you claim he is.
5:15 Hate what is wrong, love what is right!
Promote 242 justice at the city gate! 243
Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on 244 those who are left from 245 Joseph. 246
5:16 Because of Israel’s sins 247 this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, 248 says:
“In all the squares there will be wailing,
in all the streets they will mourn the dead. 249
They will tell the field workers 250 to lament
and the professional mourners 251 to wail.
5:17 In all the vineyards there will be wailing,
for I will pass through 252 your midst,” says the Lord.
5:18 Woe 253 to those who wish for the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?
It will bring darkness, not light.
5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, 254
as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,
then escaped 255 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 256 darkness, not light –
gloomy blackness, not bright light?
5:21 “I absolutely despise 257 your festivals!
I get no pleasure 258 from your religious assemblies!
5:22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, 259 I will not be satisfied;
I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. 260
5:23 Take away from me your 261 noisy songs;
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. 262
5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,
righteous actions 263 like a stream that never dries up.
5:25 You did not bring me 264 sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family 265 of Israel.
5:26 You will pick up your images 266 of Sikkuth, 267 your king, 268
and Kiyyun, 269 your star god, which you made for yourselves,
5:27 and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord.
He is called the God who commands armies!