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
Judgment on Israel
1I saw a vision of the Lord
standing by the temple altar,#9.1 the temple altar: The one at Bethel.
and he said,
“Shake the columns
until the tops fall loose,
and the doorposts crumble.
Then make the pieces fall
on the people below.
I will take a sword and kill
anyone who escapes.
2“If they dig deep into the earth
or climb to the sky,
I'll reach out and get them.
3If they escape to the peaks
of Mount Carmel,
I'll search and find them.
And if they hide from me
at the bottom of the ocean,
I'll command a sea monster
to bite them.
4I'll send a sword to kill them,
wherever their enemies
drag them off as captives.
I'm determined to hurt them,
not to help them.”
His Name Is the Lord
5When the Lord God All-Powerful
touches the earth, it melts,
and its people mourn.
God makes the earth rise
and then fall,
just like the Nile River.
6He built his palace in the heavens
and let its foundations
rest on the earth.#9.6 He built … earth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
He scoops up the ocean
and empties it on the earth.
His name is the Lord.
The Lord Is God
7Israel, I am the Lord God,
and the Ethiopians#9.7 Ethiopians: The Hebrew text has “people of Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
are no less important to me
than you are.
I brought you out of Egypt,
but I also brought
the Philistines from Crete#9.7 Crete: Hebrew “Caphtor.”
and the Arameans from Kir.#9.7 Philistines … Arameans from Kir: The Philistines were Israel's enemies to the west, and the Arameans were enemies to the northeast. For Kir, see the note at 1.5.
8My eyes have seen
what a sinful nation you are,
and I'll wipe you out.
But I will leave a few
of Jacob's descendants.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
9At my command, all of you
will be sifted like grain.
Israelites who remain faithful
will be scattered
among the nations.
And the others will be trapped
like trash in a sifter.
10Some of you are evil,
and you deny
that you will ever get caught.
But you will be killed.
The Lord's Promise to Israel
11 #
Ac 15.16-18. In the future, I will rebuild
David's fallen kingdom.
I will build it from its ruins
and set it up again,
just as it used to be.
12Then you will capture Edom
and the other nations
that are mine.
I, the Lord, have spoken,
and my words will come true.
13You will have such a harvest
that you won't be able
to bring in all of your wheat
before plowing time.
You will have grapes left over
from season to season;
your fruitful vineyards
will cover the mountains.
14I'll make Israel prosper again.
You will rebuild your towns
and live in them.
You will drink wine
from your own vineyards
and eat the fruit you grow.
15I'll plant your roots deep
in the land I have given you,
and you won't ever
be uprooted again.
I, the Lord God, have spoken!
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.