Amos 9
9
Vision of the Lord Standing by the Altar
1I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said,
“Hit the top of the columns,
and shake them to the ground.
Push them and they will fall
on everyone’s head.
As for those who survive,
I will kill them with a sword.
None of them will run away.
None of them will escape.
2If they dig deep into the ground,#9:2 ground Literally, “Sheol, the place of the dead.”
I will pull them from there.
If they go up into the skies,#9:2 skies Or “heaven.”
I will bring them down from there.
3If they hide at the top of Mount Carmel,#9:3 Mount Carmel A mountain in northern Israel. This name means “God’s vineyard.” This shows that it was a very fertile hill.
I will find them there and take them from that place.
If they try to hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
I will command the snake, and it will bite them.
4If they are captured and taken away by their enemies,
I will command the sword,
and it will kill them there.
Yes, I will watch over them,
but I will watch for ways to give them troubles,
not for ways to do good things.”
Punishment Will Destroy the People
5The Lord GOD All-Powerful will touch the land,
and the land will melt.
Then all the people who live in the land will cry for the dead.
The land will rise and fall
like the Nile River in Egypt.
6He built his upper rooms above the skies.
He put his skies#9:6 skies Literally, “dome” or “vault.” over the earth.
He calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out as rain on the land.
YAHWEH is his name.
The Lord Promises Destruction for Israel
7This is what the Lord says:
“Israel, you are like the Ethiopians to me.
I brought Israel out of the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,#9:7 Caphtor An island west of Israel, probably Crete or Cyprus.
and the Arameans from Kir.#9:7 Kir Where the Arameans came from and where the Assyrians sent them in exile. There are several places with this name.”
8The Lord GOD is watching this sinful kingdom.
The Lord says,
“I will wipe Israel off the face of the earth,
but I will never completely destroy Jacob’s family.
9I am giving the command
to scatter the people of Israel among all nations.
But it will be like someone sifting flour.
A person shakes flour through a sifter.#9:9 sifter Something like a cup with a screen on its bottom. A sifter is used for removing large lumps from the good flour.
The good flour falls through, but the bad lumps are caught.
10“Sinners among my people say,
‘Nothing bad will happen to us.’
But all of them will be killed with swords.”
God Promises to Restore the Kingdom
11“David’s tent#9:11 David’s tent This probably means the city of Jerusalem or the country of Judah. has fallen,
but at that time I will set it up again.
I will fix its holes and repair its ruined parts.
I will set it up as it was before.
12Then the people left alive in Edom,
and all the people called by my name, will look to me for help.”
This is what the Lord said,
and he will make it happen.
13The Lord says, “A time of great blessing is coming.
Workers will still be harvesting
when it is time to plow the fields again.
They will still be trampling the grapes
when it is time for a new crop.
Sweet wine will drip from the mountains
and pour from the hills.
14I will bring my people, Israel,
back from captivity.
They will rebuild the ruined cities,
and they will live in them.
They will plant vineyards
and drink the wine they produce.
They will plant gardens
and eat the crops they produce.
15I will plant my people on their land,
and never again will they be pulled up out of the land that I gave them.”
This is what the Lord your God said.
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Amos 9: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Amos 9
9
God’s Judgment Unavoidable
1I saw [in a vision] the Lord standing at the altar, and He said,
“Destroy the capitals (tops) of the pillars so that the thresholds will shake,
And break them on the heads of all of the people!
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword;
They will not have a fugitive who will get away,
Or a survivor who will escape.
2“Though they dig into #9:2 Hades, nether world, the place of the dead.Sheol [to hide in the deepest pit],
From there My hand will take them [for judgment];
And though they climb up to heaven [to hide in the realm of light],
From there will I bring them down [for judgment].
3“Though they hide on the summit of [Mount] Carmel,
I will track them down and take them from there;
And though they hide from My sight on the floor of the sea,
From there I shall command the serpent and it will bite them.
4“And though they go into captivity before their enemies,
From there I shall command the sword to kill them,
And I will set My eyes against them for evil (judgment, punishment) and not for good [that is, not for correction leading to restoration].”
5¶The Lord God of hosts [the Omnipotent Ruler],
It is He who touches the earth [in judgment] and it melts,
And all who dwell on it mourn [in despair and fear],
And all of it rises up like the Nile
And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
6It is He who builds His upper chambers in the heavens
And has established His vaulted dome (the firmament of heaven) over the earth,
He who calls to the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth—
The Lord is His name.
7¶“Are you [degenerate ones] not as the [despised] sons of Ethiopia to Me,
O sons of Israel?” says the Lord.
“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans (Syrians) from Kir?
8“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful [northern] kingdom [of Israel’s ten tribes]
And I shall destroy it from the face of the earth;
But I shall not totally destroy the house of Jacob [that is, the entire nation of Israel],”
Says the Lord.
9“For behold, I am commanding,
And I shall shake and sift the house of Israel among all nations [and cause it to tremble]
Like grain is shaken in a sieve [removing the chaff],
But not a kernel [of the faithful remnant] shall fall to the ground and be lost [from My sight]. [Lev 26:33; Deut 28:64; Hos 9:17]
10“All the sinners among My people will die by the sword,
Those who say [defiantly], ‘The disaster will not overtake or confront us.’
The Restoration of Israel
11¶“In that day I shall raise up and restore the fallen #9:11 Possibly referring to the Davidic kingdom.tabernacle (booth) of David,
And wall up its breaches [in the city walls];
I will also raise up and restore its ruins
And rebuild it as it was in the days of old,
12That they may possess the remnant of Edom (ancient enemies)
And all the nations that are called by My name,”
Says the Lord who does this. [Acts 15:15-17]
13¶“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“When the plowman shall overtake the one who gathers the harvest,
And the one who treads the grapes [shall overtake] him who sows the seed [for the harvest continues until planting time];
When the mountains will drip sweet wine
And all the hills shall melt [that is, everything that was once barren will overflow with streams of blessing]. [Lev 26:5; Joel 3:18]
14“Also I shall bring back the exiles of My people Israel,
And they will rebuild the deserted and ruined cities and inhabit them:
They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine,
And make gardens and eat their fruit.
15“I will also plant them on their land,
And they shall never again be uprooted from their land
Which I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.
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