Amos 9

1 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar; and he said, Smite the capital, that the sills may quake; and break them in pieces over the head of all of them; and their posterity will I slay with the sword: there shall not flee away from them one that fleeth, and there shall not escape from them one that is saved.

I saw the Lord stationed by the side of the altar, giving blows to the tops of the pillars so that the doorsteps were shaking: and he said, I will let all of them be broken with earth-shocks; I will put the last of them to the sword: if any one of them goes in flight he will not get away, not one of them will be safe.

2 Though they were to creep down into the nether world, thence would my hand fetch them; and though they were to climb up to the heavens, thence would I bring them down; (Sheol h7585)

Even if they go deep into the underworld, my hand will take them up from there; if they go up to heaven, I will get them down: (Sheol h7585)

3 And though they were to hide themselves on the top of Carmel, thence would I search and take them out; and though they were to conceal themselves from before my eyes in the bottom of the sea, thence would I command the serpent, that he should bite them;

Though they take cover on the top of Carmel, I will go in search of them and get them out; though they keep themselves from my eyes in the bed of the sea, I will give orders to the great snake there and he will give them a bite:

4 And though they were to go into captivity before their enemies, thence would I command the sword, that it should slay them: and I will set my eye upon them for evil, and not for good.

And though they are taken away as prisoners by their attackers, even there will I give orders to the sword to put them to death: my eyes will be fixed on them for evil and not for good.

5 And the Lord Eternal of hosts it is that toucheth the earth, and she melteth away, and all that dwell thereon shall mourn; and she riseth up like a stream wholly; and she sinketh like the stream of Egypt;

For the Lord, the God of armies, is he at whose touch the land is turned to water, and everyone in it will be given up to sorrow; all of it will be overflowing like the River, and will go down again like the River of Egypt;

6 That buildeth in the heavens his steps, and hath founded his vault over the earth; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out over the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.

It is he who makes his rooms in the heaven, basing his arch on the earth; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, and sends them flowing over the face of the earth; the Lord is his name.

7 Are ye not like the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord: have I not brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? says the Lord. Have I not taken Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Aramaeans from Kir?

8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Eternal are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save only that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.

See, the eyes of the Lord are on the evil kingdom, and I will put an end to it in all the earth; but I will not send complete destruction on Jacob, says the Lord.

9 For, lo, I will give the command, and I will shake about among all the nations the house of Israel, as one shaketh things in a sieve, while not the least piece falleth down upon the earth.

For see, I will give orders, and I will have Israel moved about among all the nations, as grain is moved about by the shaking of the tray, but not the smallest seed will be dropped on the earth.

10 By the sword shall die all the sinners of my people, who say, The evil will not come near [us], nor hasten along for our sake.

All those sinners among my people will be put to the sword who say, Evil will not overtake us or come face to face with us.

11 On that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David which is fallen; and I will close up its breaches; and its ruins will I raise up, and I will rebuild it as in days of old:

In that day I will put up the tent of David which has come down, and make good its broken places; and I will put up again his damaged walls, building it up as in the past;

12 In order that they may take possession of the remnant of Edom, and of all the nations, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doth this.

So that the rest of Edom may be their heritage, and all the nations who have been named by my name, says the Lord, who is doing this.

13 Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when the ploughman shall come close up to the harvester, and the treader of the grapes to the one that scattereth the seed: and the mountains shall drop with sweet new wine, and all the hills shall melt away.

See, the days will come, says the Lord, when the ploughman will overtake him who is cutting the grain, and the crusher of the grapes him who is planting seed; and sweet wine will be dropping from the mountains, and the hills will be turned into streams of wine.

14 And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the wasted cities, and dwell therein; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink their wine; and they shall lay out gardens, and eat their fruit.

And I will let the fate of my people Israel be changed, and they will be building up again the waste towns and living in them; they will again be planting vine-gardens and taking the wine for their drink; and they will make gardens and get the fruit of them.

15 And I will plant them upon their own soil, and they shall not be pulled up any more out of their land which I have given unto them, saith the Lord thy God.

And I will have them planted in their land, and never again will they be uprooted from their land which I have given them, says the Lord your God.