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
To Die Homeless and Friendless
1-2 God, my Master, showed me this vision: He was preparing a locust swarm. The first cutting, which went to the king, was complete, and the second crop was just sprouting. The locusts ate everything green. Not even a blade of grass was left.
I called out, “God, my Master! Excuse me, but what’s going to come of Jacob? He’s so small.”
3 God gave in.
“It won’t happen,” he said.
* * *
4 God showed me this vision: Oh! God, my Master God was calling up a firestorm. It burned up the ocean. Then it burned up the Promised Land.
5I said, “God, my Master! Hold it—please! What’s going to come of Jacob? He’s so small.”
6 God gave in.
“All right, this won’t happen either,” God, my Master, said.
* * *
7 God showed me this vision: My Master was standing beside a wall. In his hand he held a plumb line.
8-9 God said to me, “What do you see, Amos?”
I said, “A plumb line.”
Then my Master said, “Look what I’ve done. I’ve hung a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I’ve spared them for the last time. This is it!
“Isaac’s sex-and-religion shrines will be smashed,
Israel’s unholy shrines will be knocked to pieces.
I’m raising my sword against the royal family of Jeroboam.”
10Amaziah, priest at the shrine at Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel:
“Amos is plotting to get rid of you; and he’s doing it as an insider, working from within Israel. His talk will destroy the country. He’s got to be silenced. Do you know what Amos is saying?
11‘Jeroboam will be killed.
Israel is headed for exile.’”
12-13Then Amaziah confronted Amos: “Seer, be on your way! Get out of here and go back to Judah where you came from! Hang out there. Do your preaching there. But no more preaching at Bethel! Don’t show your face here again. This is the king’s chapel. This is a royal shrine.”
14-15But Amos stood up to Amaziah: “I never set up to be a preacher, never had plans to be a preacher. I raised cattle and I pruned trees. Then God took me off the farm and said, ‘Go preach to my people Israel.’
16-17“So listen to God’s Word. You tell me, ‘Don’t preach to Israel. Don’t say anything against the family of Isaac.’ But here’s what God is telling you:
Your wife will become a whore in town.
Your children will get killed.
Your land will be auctioned off.
You will die homeless and friendless.
And Israel will be hauled off to exile, far from home.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.