Amos 7
7
The Vision of the Locusts
1This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was making locusts. This was at the time the second crop began to grow, after the king’s people had cut the first crop. 2Before the locusts could eat all the grass in the country, I said, “Lord GOD, I beg you, forgive us! Jacob cannot survive! He is too small!”
3Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord said, “It will not happen.”
The Vision of the Fire
4This is what the Lord GOD showed me: I saw the Lord GOD calling for judgment by fire. The fire destroyed the ocean and was beginning to eat up the land. 5But I said, “Lord GOD, stop, I beg you! Jacob cannot survive! He is too small!”
6Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord GOD said, “It will not happen either.”
The Vision of the Plumb Line
7This is what the Lord showed me: He stood by a wall with a plumb line#7:7 plumb line A string with a weight on one end used to show how straight the walls of a building were. Sometimes the line was coated with paint or chalk to mark a straight line. in his hand. (The wall had been marked with a plumb line.) 8The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said to me, “See, I will put a plumb line among my people Israel. I will not let their ‘crooked ways’ pass inspection anymore. 9Isaac’s high places will be destroyed. Israel’s holy places will be made into a pile of rocks. I will attack and kill Jeroboam’s#7:9 Jeroboam The king of Israel. See verse 10. family with swords.”
Amaziah Tries to Stop Amos
10Amaziah, a priest at Bethel,#7:10 Bethel A town in Israel. This name means “God’s house.” sent this message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: “Amos is making plans against you. He is trying to make the people of Israel fight against you. He has been speaking so much that this country cannot hold all his words. 11Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and the people of Israel will be taken as prisoners out of their country.’”
12Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go down to Judah and eat there.#7:12 eat there This shows that Amaziah thought that Amos was a professional prophet who prophesied to receive food or money. Do your prophesying there. 13But don’t prophesy anymore here at Bethel. This is Jeroboam’s holy place. This is Israel’s temple.”
14Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am not a professional prophet, and I am not from a prophet’s family. I raise cattle and take care of sycamore trees. 15I was a shepherd and the Lord took me from following the sheep. The Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16So listen to the Lord’s message. You tell me, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel. Don’t speak against Isaac’s family.’ 17But the Lord says, ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city. Your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Other people will take your land and divide it among themselves, and you will die in a foreign#7:17 foreign Literally, “unclean.” See “unclean” in the Word List. country. The people of Israel will definitely be taken from this country as prisoners.’”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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 Jeroboam king 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 # 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 # Or am not a prophet or the son of a prophet; # = a prophet’s disciple or a member of a prophetic guild # 2Kg 2:3; 4:38; 2Ch 19:2 rather, I was # 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 # 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.
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