Amos 8
8
The Vision of the Ripe Fruit
1This is what the Lord GOD showed me: I saw a basket of summer fruit. 2He said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me, “The end#8:2 end This Hebrew word sounds like the word for “summer fruit.” has come to my people Israel. I will not ignore their sins anymore. 3Their temple songs will become funeral songs.” This is what the Lord GOD said. “There will be dead bodies everywhere. In silence, people will take out the dead bodies and throw them onto the pile.#8:3 In silence … the pile Or “People will be saying, ‘Hush!’” See Amos 6:10.”
Merchants Only Want to Make Money
4Listen to me, you who trample on helpless people.
You are trying to destroy the poor of this country.
5You merchants say,
“When will the New Moon be over so that we can sell grain?
When will the Sabbath be over
so that we can bring out more wheat to sell?
We can raise the price
and make the measure smaller.#8:5 We … smaller Literally, “We will make the ephah small and the shekel large.”
We can fix the scales
and cheat the people.#8:5 We … people Literally, “Cheat with lying balances.”
6The poor cannot pay their loans,
so we will buy them as slaves.
We will buy those helpless people
for the price of a pair of sandals.
Oh, and we can sell the wheat
that was spilled on the floor.”
7The Lord made a promise. He used his name, “Pride of Jacob,” and made this promise:
“I will never forget what those people did.
8There will be an earthquake
that will shake the whole land because of what they did.
Everyone living there will cry for those who died.
The land will be tossed around.
The whole land will rise and fall like the Nile River in Egypt.”
9The Lord GOD also said,
“At that time I will make the sun set at noon
and make the land dark on a clear day.
10I will change your festivals into days of crying for the dead.
All your songs will be songs of sadness for those who are dead.
I will put mourning clothes on every body
and baldness on every head.#8:10 baldness … head People shaved their heads to show that they were very sad or upset.
I will cause mourning everywhere,
like that for an only son who has died.
It will be a very bitter end.”
A Famine of God’s Word
11The Lord GOD says,
“Look, the days are coming
when I will cause a famine in the land.
The people will not be hungry for bread.
They will not be thirsty for water.
No, they will be hungry for words from the Lord.
12The people will wander around the country,
from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,
and from the north part of the country to the east.
They will go back and forth looking for a message from the Lord,
but they will not find it.
13At that time the beautiful young men and women
will become weak from thirst.
14They made promises by the sin of Samaria,#8:14 sin of Samaria The calf god in Samaria.
They said, ‘Dan,#8:14 Dan One of Israel’s holy places was in this city. as surely as your god lives, we promise ….’
And they said, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba#8:14 Beersheba A town in Judah. This name means “well of the oath.” lives, we promise ….’
But they will fall
and never get up again.”
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Amos 8: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Amos 8
8
A Basket of Fruit
1The Lord God showed me a basket of ripe fruit 2and asked, “Amos, what do you see?”
“A basket of ripe fruit,” I replied.
Then he said,
“This is the end#8.2 end: In Hebrew “ripe fruit” and “end” sound alike.
for my people Israel.
I won't forgive them again.
3Instead of singing
in the temple,
they will cry and weep.
Dead bodies will be everywhere.
So keep silent!
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Israel Is Doomed
The Lord said:
4You people crush those in need
and wipe out the poor.
5You say to yourselves,
“How much longer before the end
of the New Moon Festival?
When will the Sabbath#8.5 New Moon Festival … Sabbath: Selling grain at these times was forbidden by the Law of Moses. be over?
Our wheat is ready,
and we want to sell it now.
We can't wait to cheat
and charge high prices
for the grain we sell.
We will use dishonest scales
6and mix dust in the grain.
Those who are needy and poor
don't have any money.
We will make them our slaves
for the price
of a pair of sandals.”
7I, the Lord, won't forget
any of this,
though you take great pride
in your ancestor Jacob.#8.7 though … Jacob: Or “though I am the God that Jacob proudly worshiped.”
8Your country will tremble,
and you will mourn.
It will be like the Nile River
that rises and overflows,
then sinks back down.
9On that day, I, the Lord God,
will make the sun
go down at noon,
and I will turn daylight
into darkness.
10Your festivals and joyful singing
will turn into sorrow.
You will wear sackcloth#8.10 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
and shave your heads,
as you would at the death
of your only son.
It will be a horrible day.
11I, the Lord, also promise you
a terrible shortage,
but not of food and water.
You will hunger and thirst
to hear my message.
12You will search everywhere—
from north to south,
from east to west.
You will go all over the earth,
seeking a message
from me, the Lord.
But you won't find one.
13Your beautiful young women
and your young men
will faint from thirst.
14You made promises
to the goddess Ashimah
at Samaria;
you made vows to other gods
at the shrines
of Dan and Beersheba.#8.14 You made … Beersheba: Or “You made promises to the goddess Ashimah at Samaria, and you made vows in the names of other gods at the shrines of Dan and Beersheba.”
So now you will fall
and never get up.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.