Amos 7

1 These things the Lord God shewed to me: and behold the locust was formed in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter rain, and lo, it was the latter rain after the king’s mowing.

This is what the Lord God showed me. I saw that he was preparing a swarm of locusts just when the spring crops began to grow. (Spring crops begin to grow right after the time when the king's hay is cut.)

2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, I said: O Lord God, be merciful, I beseech thee: who shall raise up Jacob, for he is very little?

And so when the locusts finished eating every green plant in the fields, I pleaded with the Lord God, “Please forgive your people! How can the descendants of Jacob survive? They are so weak.”

3 The Lord had pity upon this: It shall not be, said the Lord.

So the Lord changed his mind. “It won't happen,” said the Lord.

4 These things the Lord God shewed to me: and behold the Lord called for judgment unto fire, and it devoured the great deep, and ate up a part at the same time.

This is what the Lord God showed me. I saw that the Lord God was calling for a judgment of fire. The fire burned up the depths of the sea and destroyed the farmland.

5 And I said: O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee, who shall raise up Jacob, for he is a little one?

I pleaded with the Lord God, “Please stop! How can the descendants of Jacob survive? They are so weak.”

6 The Lord had pity upon this. Yea this also shall not be, said the Lord God.

So the Lord changed his mind. “This too won't happen,” said the Lord.

7 These things the Lord shewed to me: and behold the Lord was standing upon a plastered wall, and in his hand a mason’s trowel.

This is what he showed me. I saw the Lord was standing beside a wall that had been built with a plumb line. He was holding a plumb line in his hand.

8 And the Lord said to me: What seest thou, Amos? And I said: A mason’s trowel. And the Lord said: Behold, I will lay down the trowel in the midst of my people Israel. I will plaster them over no more.

And the Lord asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” I replied, “A plumb line.” And the Lord God said, “I am placing a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I won't ignore their sins anymore.

9 And the high places of the idol shall be thrown down, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste: and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

The high places of the descendents of Isaac will be torn down, and the holy places of Israel will be destroyed. Sword in hand, I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam.”

10 And Amasias the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: Amos hath rebelled against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

Then Amaziah, priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, “Amos is plotting against you among the people of Israel. What he's saying is unbearable!

11 For thus saith Amos: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be carried away captive out of their own land.

For he's saying Jeroboam will be killed by the sword, and the people will be taken away from their land into exile.”

12 And Amasias said to Amos: Thou seer, go, flee away into the land of Juda: and eat bread there, and prophesy there.

Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away prophet! Run away to the land of Judah. Go and prophesy there to earn your bread.

13 But prophesy not again any more in Bethel: because it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the house of the kingdom.

But don't ever prophesy again at Bethel, for this is where the king worships, the national Temple.”

14 And Amos answered and said to Amasias: I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet: but I am a herdsman plucking wild figs.

But Amos replied, “I'm not a trained prophet, or the son of a prophet. I was just a shepherd, and also took care of fig trees.

15 And the Lord took me when I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me: Go, prophesy to my people Israel.

The Lord took me from following my flock, and the Lord told me, ‘Go, and give my message to my people of Israel.’”

16 And now hear thou the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, thou shalt not prophesy against Israel, and thou shalt not drop thy word upon the house of the idol.

So now hear what the Lord is telling you: You say, “Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach against the descendants of Isaac.”

17 Therefore thus saith the Lord: Thy wife shall play the harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be measured by a line: and thou shalt die in a polluted land, and Israel shall go into captivity out of their land.

But this is what the Lord says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city; your sons and daughters will be killed by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a foreign land. The people of Israel will definitely be taken from the land and go into exile.