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.’ ”
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Amos 7: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Amos 7
7
1 THUS THE Lord God showed me [Amos], and behold, He formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the second crop, and behold, it was the second crop after the king's mowings.
2 And when [the locusts] had finished eating the plants of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I pray You. How can Jacob stand? For he is so small!
3 The Lord relented and revoked this sentence: It shall not take place, said the Lord [and He was eased and comforted concerning it].
4 Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God called for punishment with fire, and it devoured the great deep and would have eaten up the land.
5 Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I pray You! How can Jacob stand? He is so little!
6 The Lord relented and revoked this sentence: This also shall not be, said the Lord [and He was eased and comforted concerning it].
7 Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord stood upon a wall with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. [II Kings 21:13; Isa. 34:11.]
8 And the Lord said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A plumb line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I am setting a plumb line as a standard in the midst of My people Israel. I will not pass by and spare them any more [the door of mercy is shut].
9 And the [idolatrous] high places of Isaac (Israel) shall be desolate and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise with the sword against the house of King Jeroboam [who set up the golden calf shrines].
10 Then Amaziah the priest of [the golden calf shrine at] Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. [I Kings 12:31, 32.]
11 For thus Amos has said, Jeroboam shall die by the sword and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.
12 Also Amaziah said to Amos, O you seer, go! Flee back to the land of Judah [your own country], and eat your bread and live out your profession as a prophet there [as I perform my duties here].
13 But do not prophesy any more at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary and a seat of his kingdom. [Luke 10:10-12.]
14 Then Amos said to Amaziah, I was no prophet [by profession]! Neither was I a prophet's son; [but I had my occupation] I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees and a gatherer of sycamore figs.
15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock and the Lord said to me, Go, prophesy to My people Israel.
16 Now therefore listen to the word of the Lord: You say, Do not prophesy against Israel and drop no statements not complimentary to the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore thus says the Lord: Your wife shall be a harlot in the city and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided up by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean and defiled land, and Israel shall surely go forth out of his land into exile.
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