< Amos 4 >
1 Hear these words, O ye kine of Bashan, That are on the mountain of Samaria; That oppress the poor; that crush the needy; That say to your master, Bring, and let us drink!
2 The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his holiness; Behold, the days shall come upon you When ye shall be taken away with hooks, And your residue with fishing-hooks.
3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every one right forward, And ye shall be thrown into a castle, saith Jehovah.
4 Go, now, to Bethel, and transgress; At Gilgal multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning, And your tithes every three years!
5 Burn a thank-offering from your extortions, And proclaim the free-will offerings; publish them abroad! For this is your delight, ye sons of Israel, Saith the Lord, Jehovah.
6 I also have caused cleanness of teeth in all your cities, And want of bread in all your places; And yet ye have not returned to me, saith Jehovah.
7 I also have withholden from you the rain three months before the harvest; I have caused it to rain upon one city, And upon another city have I not caused it to rain; One piece of ground hath been rained upon, And another, upon which I have not caused it to rain, hath withered.
8 Two or three cities have gone to one city, To drink water, and have not been satisfied; And yet ye have not returned to me, saith Jehovah.
9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew; The locust hath devoured your many gardens, Your vineyards, your fig-trees, and your olive-trees; Yet have ye not returned to me, saith Jehovah.
10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I have slain your young men with the sword, And your horses have I led into captivity; I have made the smell of your camps to come up into your nostrils; And yet ye have not returned to me, saith Jehovah.
11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah; And ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning; And yet ye have not returned to me, saith Jehovah.
12 Therefore thus will I deal with thee, O Israel! Yet since I will thus deal with thee, Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!
13 For behold, he formed the mountains, and created the wind; He declareth to man what is his thought; He maketh the morning darkness, And walketh upon the high places of the earth; Jehovah, God of hosts, is his name.