Amos 9

1 I saw the LORD standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.

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 dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will 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 Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out there; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will 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 Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for disaster, 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 For the LORD of hosts is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River 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 It is he who builds his upper chamber in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface 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 you not like the people of Ethiopia to me, children of Israel?" says the LORD. "Haven't I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans 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 Look, the eyes of the LORD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," says 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, look, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve, but not even a pebble will fall to the ground.

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 All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, 'Evil won't overtake nor meet us.'

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 I will rebuild the tabernacle of David that has fallen, and repair its broken places, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it as in the 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 that the rest of humanity may seek after the LORD, and all the nations who are called by my name," says the LORD who does 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 "Look, the days come," says the LORD, "that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the one treading grapes him who sows seed; and sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and flow from the hills.

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 I will bring my people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

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 I will plant them on their land, and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them," says the LORD your 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.