Amos 7
7
1 Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest. 2When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord GOD, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
3 The LORD relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says the LORD.
4 Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD called for judgement by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land. 5Then I said, “Lord GOD, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
6 The LORD relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” says the Lord GOD.
7 Thus he showed me: behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more. 9The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the middle of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11For Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”
12Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there, 13but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!”
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; 15and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16Now therefore listen to the LORD’s word: ‘You say, Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’ 17Therefore the LORD says: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”
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Amos 7
7
A Vision of Locusts
1The Lord God showed me that he is going to send locusts#7.1 locusts: See the note at 4.9. to attack your crops. It will happen after the king has already been given his share of the grain and before the rest of the grain has been harvested.#7.1 harvested: This would have been an especially bad time for a locust attack. The non-grain crops such as vegetables and onions were just beginning to sprout, and the grain crops were almost ready to be harvested. 2In my vision the locusts ate every crop in the land, and I said to the Lord, “Please forgive your nation. It's so weak. How can it survive?”
3Then the Lord felt sorry and answered, “I won't let it be destroyed.”
A Vision of Fire
4The Lord showed me that he is going to send a ball of fire to burn up everything on earth, including the ocean.#7.4 to burn up everything … ocean: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 5Then I said, “Won't you please stop? How can our weak nation survive?”
6Again the Lord felt sorry and answered, “I won't let it be destroyed.”
A Vision of a Measuring Line
7The Lord showed me a vision of himself standing beside a wall and holding a string with a weight tied to the end of it. The string and weight had been used to measure the straightness of the wall. 8Then he asked, “Amos, what do you see?”
“A measuring line,” I answered.
The Lord said, “I'm using this measuring line to show that my people Israel don't measure up, and I won't forgive them any more. 9Their sacred places will be destroyed, and I will send war against the nation of King Jeroboam.”#7.9 Jeroboam: Jeroboam II, who ruled Israel 783–743 b.c.
Amos and Amaziah
10Amaziah the priest at Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel, “Amos is plotting against you in the very heart of Israel. Our nation cannot put up with his message for very long. 11Here is what he is saying:
‘Jeroboam will be put to death,
and the people will be taken
to a foreign country.’ ”
12Then Amaziah told me, “Amos, take your visions and get out! Go back to Judah and earn your living there as a prophet. 13Don't do any more preaching at Bethel. The king worships here at our national temple.”
14I answered:
I'm not a prophet! And I wasn't trained to be a prophet. I am a shepherd, and I take care of fig trees. 15But the Lord told me to leave my herds and preach to the people of Israel. 16And here you are, telling me not to preach! 17Now, listen to what the Lord says about you:
Your wife will become
a prostitute in the city,
your sons and daughters
will be killed in war,
and your land will be divided
among others.
You will die in a country
of foreigners,
and the people of Israel
will be dragged
from their homeland.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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