Amos 4
4
1 Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husbands, “Bring us drinks!”
2 The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness,
“Behold, the days shall come on you that they will take you away with hooks,
and the last of you with fish hooks.
3 You will go out at the breaks in the wall,
everyone straight before her;
and you will cast yourselves into Harmon,” says the LORD.
4“Go to Bethel, and sin;
to Gilgal, and sin more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days,
5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened,
and proclaim free will offerings and brag about them;
for this pleases you, you children of Israel,” says the Lord GOD.
6“I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
and lack of bread in every town;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
7“I also have withheld the rain from you,
when there were yet three months to the harvest;
and I caused it to rain on one city,
and caused it not to rain on another city.
One field was rained on,
and the field where it didn’t rain withered.
8 So two or three cities staggered to one city to drink water,
and were not satisfied;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
9“I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards,
and the swarming locusts have devoured your fig trees and your olive trees;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
10“I sent plagues amongst you like I did Egypt.
I have slain your young men with the sword,
and have carried away your horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp,
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
11“I have overthrown some of you,
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
12“Therefore I will do this to you, Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, Israel.
13 For, behold, he who forms the mountains, creates the wind, declares to man what is his thought,
who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the earth:
The LORD, the God of Hosts, is his name.”
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Amos 4
4
The Women of Samaria
The Lord said:
1You women of Samaria
are fat cows!#4.1 fat cows: The Hebrew text has “cows of Bashan,” a fertile plain famous for its rich pastures and well-fed cattle.
You mistreat and abuse
the poor and needy,
then you say to your husbands,
“Bring us more drinks!”
2I, the Lord God, have sworn
by my own name
that your time is coming.
Not one of you will be left—
you will be taken away
by sharp hooks.#4.2 taken … hooks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3You will be dragged through holes
in your city walls,
and you will be thrown
toward Harmon.#4.3 Harmon: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation “Mount Hermon,” a mountain in the north of Palestine, on the way to Assyria.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Israel Refuses To Obey
The Lord said:
4Come to Bethel and Gilgal.#4.4 Bethel and Gilgal: These were two of the most important centers of worship in northern Israel. Amos mentions these together again in 5.5.
Sin all you want!
Offer sacrifices the next morning
and bring a tenth of your crops
on the third day.#4.4 Offer … day: Or “Offer sacrifices each morning and bring a tenth of your crops every three days.” In verses 4,5 God is condemning the people for meaningless acts of worship.
5Bring offerings to show me
how thankful you are.
Gladly bring more offerings
than I have demanded.
You really love to do this.
I, the Lord God, have spoken!
How the Lord Warned Israel
6 #
Ws 12.2,10. I, the Lord, took away the food
from every town and village,
but still you rejected me.
7Three months before harvest,
I kept back the rain.
Sometimes I would let it fall
on one town or field
but not on another,
and pastures dried up.
8People from two or three towns
would go to a town
that still had water,
but it wasn't enough.
Even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
9I dried up your grain fields;
your gardens and vineyards
turned brown.
Locusts#4.9 Locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to plant life. ate your fig trees
and olive orchards,
but even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
10I did terrible things to you,
just as I did to Egypt—
I killed your young men in war;
I let your horses be stolen,
and I made your camp stink
with dead bodies.
Even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
11 #
Gn 19.24. I destroyed many of you,
just as I did the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were a burning stick
I rescued from the fire.
But even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
12Now, Israel, I myself
will deal with you.
Get ready to face your God!
13I created the mountains
and the wind.
I let humans know
what I am thinking.#4.13 I let … thinking: Or “No one's secret thoughts are hidden from me.”
I bring darkness at dawn
and step over hills.
I am the Lord God All-Powerful!
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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