Amos 7
7
First Vision: Locusts
1The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts#Ex 10:12–15; Dt 28:38,42; Jl 1:4 at the time the spring crop first began to sprout — after the cutting of the king’s hay. 2When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land,#Ex 10:15 I said, “Lord God, please forgive!#Jr 14:7,20–21; Ezk 9:8; 11:13 How will Jacob survive since he is so small?” #Is 37:4; Jr 42:2
3The Lord relented concerning this.#Jr 26:19; Hs 11:8 “It will not happen,” he said.
Second Vision: Fire
4The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire.#Am 1:3–2:5 It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. 5Then I said, “Lord God, please stop!#Ps 85:4; Jl 2:17 How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”
6The Lord relented concerning this.#Ps 106:45; Jnh 3:10 “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.
Third Vision: A Plumb Line
7He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand. 8The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” #Jr 1:11; Am 8:2
I replied, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel;#Is 28:17; 34:11; Lm 2:8 I will no longer spare them:#Am 8:2
9Isaac’s high places#2Kg 17:9–13; Hs 10:8 will be deserted,
and Israel’s sanctuaries will be in ruins;#Lv 26:31; Is 63:18; Jr 51:51
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam
with a sword.”
Amaziah’s Opposition
10Amaziah the priest#1Kg 12:31–32; 13:33 of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you#Jr 26:8–11; 38:4 right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words, 11for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.’”#Am 5:27
12Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer!#Mt 8:34 Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living#7:12 Lit Eat bread and give your prophecies there, 13but don’t ever prophesy#Am 2:12; Ac 4:18 at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary#1Kg 12:29; Am 7:9 and a royal temple.”
14So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was#7:14 Or am not a prophet or the son of a prophet;#7:14 = a prophet’s disciple or a member of a prophetic guild#2Kg 2:3; 4:38; 2Ch 19:2 rather, I was#7:14 Or am a herdsman,#Am 1:1 and I took care of sycamore figs. 15But the Lord took me from following the flock#2Sm 7:8 and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”#Jr 1:7; Ezk 2:3–4
16Now hear the word of the Lord. You say:
Do not prophesy#Am 2:12 against Israel;
do not preach#Mc 2:6 against the house of Isaac.
17Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,#Hs 4:13–14
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,#Jr 14:16
and your land will be divided up
with a measuring line.
You yourself will die on pagan#7:17 Lit unclean soil,#2Kg 17:6; Ezk 4:13; Hs 9:3
and Israel will certainly go into exile#Jr 36:29–31
from its homeland.
Currently Selected:
Amos 7: CSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
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:
:
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.