Amos 9

1 Yahweh [showed me another vision. In the vision, ] I saw him standing next to the altar. He said, “Shake the tops of the pillars [of the temple], until they become loose and fall down, so that even the foundation will shake. Then cause the [pieces of the temple] to fall down on the people [who are inside]. I will kill with a sword anyone who [tries to] flee; no one will escape.

I saw the Lord standing by the altar; and he said: Smite the capital, so that the thresholds shall tremble! Break them in pieces upon the heads of all of them! And their residue will I slay with the sword. He that fleeth of them shall not flee from danger, And he that escapeth of them shall not escape into safety.

2 If they dig deep pits in the ground, or if they try to climb up to the sky [in order to escape], I will reach out and grab them. (Sheol h7585)

Though they dig down to the under-world, Thence shall my hand take them; Though they climb up to heaven, Thence will I bring them down. (Sheol h7585)

3 If they go to the top of Carmel [Mountain] to escape, I will search for them and seize them. If they [try to] hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command the [huge] sea monster to bite them.

Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, There will I search for them, and take them away; Though they hide themselves from mine eyes in the bottom of the sea, There will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them.

4 If their enemies [capture them and] force them to go to other countries, I will command that they be killed there with swords. I am determined [IDM] to get rid of them, not to help them.”

Though they go into captivity before their enemies, There will I command the sword, and it shall slay them; I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

5 When the Commander of the armies of angels touches the earth, it melts, and all over the earth [many people die, and the others] mourn for them. [It is as though] Yahweh causes the earth repeatedly to rise and fall like [SIM] the Nile [River] rises and falls.

For the Lord Jehovah of hosts Is he, that toucheth the earth, and it shall melt, And all that dwell therein shall mourn; All of it shall rise in waves like a river, And shall be overflowed, as by the river of Egypt;

6 He builds his [beautiful] palace in heaven, and sets/causes the sky to be like a dome over the earth. He scoops up the water from the ocean and [puts it into clouds], and then empties [the clouds] onto the earth. His name is Yahweh.

He that buildeth his upper rooms in the heavens, And foundeth his arch upon the earth, —That calleth the waters of the sea, And poureth them out upon the face of the earth, —Jehovah is his name.

7 And Yahweh says, “You people of Israel, you are certainly [RHQ] [now no more important to me] than the people of Ethiopia. I brought your [ancestors] here from Egypt, but I also brought the people of Philistia from Crete [Island], and I brought the people of Syria from the Kir [region].

Are ye not as the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. Did I not bring Israel from the land of Egypt, And the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

8 I [SYN], Yahweh the Lord, have seen that you people in the kingdom [of Israel] are very sinful, so I will (destroy you/wipe you off the earth). But I will not get rid of all you descendants [MTY] of Jacob. [That is what will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.

Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet will I not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah.

9 When I command it, [it will be as though] I will shake you Israeli people [who are living] in various nations, like [MET] [a farmer] shakes a sieve [to separate] the stone pebbles [from the grain], in order that they do not fall on the ground [with the grain].

For, behold, I will command, And I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, As one sifteth corn with a sieve, And not a grain shall fall upon the ground.

10 From among my people, all you sinful people who say, ‘We will not experience disasters; nothing evil will happen to us,’ will be killed by [your enemies’] swords.”

But all the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, Who say, Evil shall not approach, nor fall upon us.

11 “The kingdom [over which King] David [ruled has been destroyed, like] [MET] a house that collapsed and then became ruins. But some day I will cause it to be a kingdom again. I will cause it to prosper again just like it did previously.

In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David, And I will close up the breaches thereof, And raise up its ruins, And I will build it, as in the days of old.

12 When that happens, your [armies] will seize/capture the remaining part of Edom [region] again, and they will also seize the land in other nations that previously belonged to me [MTY]. I, Yahweh, have said [that I will do these things], and I will certainly cause them to happen.

That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations, which shall be called by my name. Thus saith Jehovah, who doeth this.

13 There will be a time [when your crops will grow very well]. Very soon after the crops are harvested, farmers will plow the ground [to plant more crops in it again], and soon after the vineyards are planted, [farmers will harvest] grapes and tread on them [to make wine]. [And because there will be a lot of] wine, [it will seem as though] wine is flowing down from the hills [DOU].

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That the plougher shall draw near to the reaper, And the treader of grapes to the sower of the seed; And the mountains shall drop new wine, And all the hills shall melt.

14 I will cause you, my Israeli people, to prosper again. You will rebuild your towns and live in them. You will plant vineyards and then drink the wine [made from the grapes that grows in them].

I will bring back the captives of my people Israel, And they shall build the desolate cities, and shall inhabit them; And they shall plant vineyards, and drink their wine; They shall also make gardens, and eat their fruit.

15 I will enable you to live [MET] in your land again, the land that I gave to [your ancestors], and never again will you be forced to leave it. [That is what will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.”

I will plant them in their land, And they shall no more be rooted up from the land which I have given them, Saith Jehovah, thy God.