Amos 7
7
Amos Has Visions of Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
1The Lord and King gave me a vision. He was bringing large numbers of locusts on the land. The king’s share had already been harvested. Now the later crops were coming up. 2The locusts stripped the land clean. Then I cried out, “Lord and King, forgive Israel! How can Jacob’s people continue? They are such a weak nation!”
3So the Lord had pity on them.
“I will let them continue for now,” he said.
4The Lord and King gave me a second vision. He was using fire to punish his people. It dried up the deep waters. It burned the land up. 5Then I cried out, “Lord and King, please stop! How can Jacob’s people continue? They are such a weak nation!”
6So the Lord had pity on them.
“I will let them continue for now,” the Lord and King said.
7Then the Lord gave me a third vision. He was standing by a wall. It had been built very straight, all the way up and down. He was holding a plumb line. 8The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”
“A plumb line,” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look at what I am doing. I am hanging a plumb line next to my people Israel. It will show how crooked they are. I will no longer spare them.
9“The high places where Isaac’s people worship other gods will be destroyed.
The other places of worship in Israel will also be torn down.
I will use my sword to attack Jeroboam’s royal family.”
Amaziah Tells Amos to Stop Prophesying
10Amaziah was priest of Bethel. He sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. He said, “Amos is making evil plans against you right here in Israel. The people in the land can’t stand to listen to what he’s saying. 11Amos is telling them,
“ ‘Jeroboam will be killed by a sword.
The people of Israel will be taken away as prisoners.
They will be carried off from their own land.’ ”
12Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out of Israel, you prophet! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your living there. Do your prophesying there. 13Don’t prophesy here at Bethel anymore. This is where the king worships. The main temple in the kingdom is located here.”
14Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet. I wasn’t even the son of a prophet. I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15But the Lord took me away from taking care of the flock. He said to me, ‘Go. Prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16Now then, listen to the Lord’s message. You say,
“ ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.
Stop preaching against the people of Isaac.’
17“But the Lord says,
“ ‘Your wife will become a prostitute
in the city of Bethel.
Your sons and daughters will be killed by swords.
Your land will be measured and divided up.
And you yourself will die in another country.
The people of Israel will surely be taken away as prisoners.
They will be carried off from their own land.’ ”
Currently Selected:
Amos 7: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Amos 7
7
Locusts, fire and a plumb-line
1This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: he was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, ‘Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’
3So the Lord relented.
‘This will not happen,’ the Lord said.
4This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: the Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. 5Then I cried out, ‘Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’
6So the Lord relented.
‘This will not happen either,’ the Sovereign Lord said.
7This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,#7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. with a plumb-line#7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8. in his hand. 8And the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’
‘A plumb-line,’ I replied.
Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb-line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
9‘The high places of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.’
Amos and Amaziah
10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: ‘Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. 11For this is what Amos is saying:
‘ “Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.” ’
12Then Amaziah said to Amos, ‘Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.’
14Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” 16Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,
‘ “Do not prophesy against Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.”
17‘Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘ “Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
and you yourself will die in a pagan#7:17 Hebrew an unclean country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.” ’
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.