< Amos 9 >
1 I have seen the Lord standing by the altar, and He saith: 'Smite the knob, and the thresholds shake, And cut them off by the head — all of them, And their posterity with a sword I do slay, Not flee to them doth the fleer, Nor escape to them doth a fugitive.
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the foundations will shake. Break them in pieces on all of their heads, and I will kill the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away, not one of them will escape.
2 If they dig through into sheol, From thence doth My hand take them, And if they go up the heavens, From thence I cause them to come down. (Sheol )
Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down. (Sheol )
3 And if they be hid in the top of Carmel, From thence I search out, and have taken them, And if they be hid from Mine eyes in the bottom of the sea, From thence I command the serpent, And it hath bitten them.
Though they hide on the top of Carmel, there I will search and take them. Though they are hidden from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there will I give orders to the serpent, and it will bite them.
4 And if they go into captivity before their enemies, From thence I command the sword, And it hath slain them, And I have set Mine eye on them for evil, And not for good.
Though they go into captivity, driven by their enemies before them, there will I give orders to the sword, and it will kill them. I will keep my eyes on them for harm and not for good.”
5 And [it is] the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Who is striking against the land, and it melteth, And mourned have all the inhabitants in it, And come up as a flood hath all of it, And it hath sunk — like the flood of Egypt.
The Lord Yahweh of hosts touches the land and it melts; all who live in it mourn; all of it will rise up like the River, and sink again like the river of Egypt.
6 Who is building in the heavens His upper chambers; As to His troop, Upon earth He hath founded it, Who is calling for the waters of the sea, And poureth them out on the face of the land, Jehovah [is] His name.
It is he who builds his steps in the heavens, and has established his vault over the earth. He calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name.
7 As sons of Cushim are ye not to Me? O sons of Israel — an affirmation of Jehovah. Israel did I not bring up out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?
“Are you not like the people of Cush to me, people of Israel? —this is Yahweh's declaration. Did I not bring up Israel out of the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Crete, and the Arameans from Kir?
8 Lo, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah [are] on the sinful kingdom, And I have destroyed it from off the face of the ground, Only, I destroy not utterly the house of Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Look, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth, except that I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob —this is Yahweh's declaration.
9 For lo, I am commanding, And I have shaken among all the nations the house of Israel, As [one] doth shake with a sieve, And there falleth not a grain [to] the earth.
Look, I will give a command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as one shakes grain in a sieve, so that not the smallest stone will fall to the ground.
10 By sword die do all sinners of My people, Who are saying, 'Not overtake, or go before, For our sakes, doth evil.'
All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, those who say, 'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'
11 In that day I raise the tabernacle of David, that is fallen, And I have repaired their breaches, And its ruins I do raise up, And I have built it up as in days of old.
In that day I will raise up the tent of David that has fallen, and close up its breaches. I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 So that they possess the remnant of Edom, And all the nations on whom My name is called, An affirmation of Jehovah — doer of this.
That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name —this is Yahweh's declaration—he does this.
13 Lo, days are coming — an affirmation of Jehovah, And come nigh hath the ploughman to the reaper, And the treader of grapes to the scatterer of seed, And the mountains have dropped juice, And all the hills do melt.
Look, the days will come—this is Yahweh's declaration— when the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes will overtake him who plants seed. The mountains will drip sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it.
14 And I have turned back [to] the captivity of My people Israel, And they have built desolate cities, and inhabited, And have planted vineyards, and drunk their wine, And made gardens, and eaten their fruit.
I will bring back from captivity my people Israel. They will build the ruined cities and inhabit them, they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 And I have planted them on their own ground, And they are not plucked up any more from off their own ground, That I have given to them, said Jehovah thy God!
I will plant them upon their land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land that I have given them,” says Yahweh your God.