< Amos 7 >
1 Thus has the Lord God shewed me; and, behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the east; and, behold, one caterpillar, king Gog.
2 And it came to pass when he had finished devouring the grass of the land, that I said, Lord God, be merciful; who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small in number.
3 Repent, O Lord, for this. And this shall not be, saith the Lord.
4 Thus has the Lord shewed me; and, behold, the Lord called for judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and devoured the Lord's portion.
5 Then I said, O Lord, cease, I pray thee: who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small in number. Repent, O Lord, for this.
6 This also shall not be, saith the Lord.
7 Thus the Lord shewed me; and behold, he stood upon a wall of adamant, and in his hand [was] an adamant.
8 And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, An adamant. And the Lord said to me, Behold, I appoint an adamant in the midst of my people Israel: I will not pass by them any more.
9 And the joyful altars shall be abolished, and the sacrifices of Israel shall be set aside; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
10 Then Amasias the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos is forming conspiracies against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land will be utterly unable to bear all his words.
11 For thus says Amos, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be led away captive from his land.
12 And Amasias said to Amos, Go, seer, remove thou into the land of Juda, and live there, and thou shalt prophesy there:
13 but thou shalt no longer prophesy at Bethel: for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the royal house.
14 And Amos answered, and said to Amasias, I was not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet; but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruits.
15 And the Lord took me from the sheep, and the Lord said to me, Go, and prophesy to my people Israel.
16 And now hear the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not to Israel, and raise not a tumult against the house of Jacob.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be measured with the line; and thou shalt die in an unclean land; and Israel shall be led captive out of his land. Thus has the Lord God shewed me.