Amos 7

1 Yahweh our God showed me [in a vision] that he was going to send locusts [to destroy our crops]. It was going to happen right after the king’s share of the hay had been harvested/cut and before the rest of the hay was ready to be harvested.

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 in the vision I saw] those locusts come, and they ate everything that was green. Then I cried out, “Yahweh our Lord, please forgive us! We Israeli people are very helpless; (how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?/we will not be able to survive!)”

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 So Yahweh changed his mind and said, “That will not happen.”

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

4 Then this is what Yahweh our Lord showed me [in another vision]: He was calling to a fire to [come and] punish [his people]. [In the vision I saw that] the fire dried up the ocean and also burned [everything on] the land.

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 Then I cried out again, “Yahweh our Lord, I plead with you, please stop this! We Israeli people are very helpless; how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?”

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

6 So Yahweh changed his mind again, and said, “That also will not happen.”

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

7 Then Yahweh showed me [another vision]. I saw him standing beside a wall. [It was very straight because] it had been built using a (plumb line/cord with a weight on one end to determine if walls are vertically straight). Yahweh had the plumb line in his hand.

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 Yahweh asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” I replied, “A plumb line.” Then Yahweh said, “Look, I am going to use a plumb line among my Israeli people, [to show that they are like a wall that is not straight]. I will not change my mind again about punishing them.

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 The places on hills where [the descendants of] [MTY] Isaac worship [idols] will be destroyed. And the other important shrines in Israel will also be destroyed. And I will enable [your enemies] to attack your people with swords and they will get rid of [King] Jeroboam and all his descendants.”

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 Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent [a message] to Jeroboam, the King of Israel. In the message he said, “Amos is plotting against you among the Israeli people [MTY]. [I am worried that] the people of this country will not be able to refute 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 This is what he is saying: ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed by [someone using] a sword, and the people of Israel will be (exiled/forced to leave their land and go to another country).’”

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

12 Then Amaziah [came to me and] said, “You prophet, get out of here! Go back to the country of Judah! Earn money to [buy food to be able] to live there, and do your prophesying there!

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

13 Do not prophesy any more here at Bethel, because this is where the national temple, the king’s temple, is!”

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

14 I replied to Amaziah, “I was [previously] not a prophet, and my father was not a prophet; I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.

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 But Yahweh took me away from taking care of my sheep, and he said to me, ‘Go to Israel and prophesy to my people there!’

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

16 You said to me, ‘Do not prophecy saying terrible things will happen to [the people of] Israel; stop saying those things!’

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 listen to what Yahweh says about you: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city, and your sons and daughters will be killed by [your enemies’] swords. Others will measure your land and divide it up [among themselves]; and you yourself will die in a foreign country. And the people of Israel will certainly be forced to leave their country and go (into exile/to live in another country).’”

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.