< Amos 7 >

1 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.
This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming a swarm of locusts, when the late spring grass began to come up after the king’s share had been harvested.
2 And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
And when they had finished devouring all the land’s vegetation, I said: ‘Lord God, forgive, I beg you! How can Jacob survive, for he is so helpless?’
3 So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.
The Lord relented. This will not happen,’ said the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
This is what he showed me: the Lord God was giving command to execute judgment by fire. It burned up the great deep, and had begun to devour the fields, and I said:
5 Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
‘Lord God, forgive, I beg you! How can Jacob survive, for he is so helpless?’
6 So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.
The Lord relented. ‘This will not happen either,’ said the Lord.
7 This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
8 “Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them:
And the Lord said to me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ And I answered, ‘A plumb line,’ Then the Lord said, ‘Watch: I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel, I will no longer overlook their crookedness.
9 The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”
And the high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste, and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words,
Then Amaziah, chief priest of Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel: ‘Amos has conspired against you right in the heart of Israel. The country cannot survive all his words.
11 for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
Amos has said, “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will be led away captive out of their land.”’
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘Leave, you who see visions, go to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and prophesy there,
13 But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
but don’t prophesy any more at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal residence.’
14 “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
‘I am no prophet,’ Amos answered Amaziah, ‘nor trained as one. I am a shepherd and a keeper of sycamores fig trees.
15 But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
But the Lord took me away from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
16 Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
Now therefore listen to the Lord’s message: “You say not to prophesy against Israel, nor to preach against the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
But the Lord says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be divided up, you will die on unclean soil, and Israel will be led away captive out of their land.”’

< Amos 7 >