Amos 8

1 Thus did the Lord Eternal show unto me: and, behold, there was a basket of summer fruit.

These things the Lord has revealed to me. And behold, a hook to draw down fruit.

2 And he said, What dost thou see, 'Amos? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come for my people Israel: I will not farther indulge them any more.

And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A hook to draw down fruit.” And the Lord said to me, “The end has come for my people Israel. I will no longer pass through them.”

3 And the songs of the temple shall become a wailing on that day, saith the Lord Eternal: many shall be the dead bodies; in every place shall men throw them down, [saying, ] Be silent.

And the hinges of the temple will creak in that day, says the Lord God. Many will die. Silence will be thrown away in all places.

4 Hear this, O ye that are greedy to swallow the needy, and to ruin the poor of the land,

Hear this, you who crush the poor and who make those in need of land to do without.

5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell provision? and the sabbath, that we may open the corn-warehouses, making the ephah small, and increasing the shekel, and cheating with deceitful balances?

You say, “When will the first day of the month be over, so we can sell our wares, and the Sabbath, so we can open the grain: in order that we may decrease the measure, and increase the price, and substitute deceitful scales,

6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; and even sell the refuse of the corn?

in order that we may possess the destitute with money, and the poor for a pair of shoes, and may sell even the refuse of the grain?”

7 Sworn hath the Lord by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will not forget to eternity all their works.

The Lord has sworn by the arrogance of Jacob: I will not forget, even to the end, all their works.

8 Shall because of this the land not tremble, and mourn every one that dwelleth therein? and shall it not rise up like a stream wholly, and roll onward and sink again like the stream of Egypt?

Will not the earth shudder over this, and all its inhabitants mourn, and all rise up like a river, and be cast out, and flow away like the river of Egypt?

9 And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord Eternal, that I will cause the sun to set at noon, and I will bring darkness over the earth on a bright day;

And it will be in that day, says the Lord God, that the sun will decline at midday, and I will cause the earth to become dark on the day of light.

10 And I will change your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentations; and I will bring upon all loins sackcloth, and upon every head baldness; and I will cause [the land] to mourn as one doth for an only son, and its end to be as a day of bitter [complaint].

And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your hymns into lamentation. And I will put sackcloth over every one of your backs, and baldness on every head. And I will begin it like the mourning for an only-begotten son, and complete it like a bitter day.

11 Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord Eternal, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine for bread, nor a thirst for water, but to hear the words of the Lord:

Behold, the days pass, says the Lord, and I will send a famine on the earth: not a famine of bread, nor of thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the Lord.

12 And they will wander about from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they will roam about to seek the word of the Lord; but they shall not find it.

And they will move even from sea to sea, and from the North all the way to the East. They will wander around seeking the word of the Lord, and they will not find it.

13 On that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst;

In that day, beautiful virgins, and young men, will fail because of thirst.

14 Those that swear by the guilt of Samaria, and say, As thy god liveth, O Dan; and, As liveth the worshipped idol of Beer-sheba', —yea, they shall fall, and never rise up again.

They swear by the offense of Samaria, and they say, “As your God lives, Dan,” and “The way of Beer-sheba lives.” And they will fall, and they will not rise up any more.