Amos 9
9
Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar
1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar,#Am 3:14 and he said:
Strike the capitals of the pillars#Zph 2:14
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.#Jos 5:13–15; Am 7:9,17
None of those who flee will get away;#Jr 11:11
none of the fugitives will escape.
2If they dig down to Sheol,#Ps 139:8
from there my hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven,#Jr 51:53; Ob 4
from there I will bring them down.
3If they hide
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down#Jb 34:22; Ps 139:9–10
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from my sight on the sea floor,#Jnh 2:2–6
from there I will command
the sea serpent to bite them.#Is 27:1
4And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,#Lv 26:33
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.#Jb 34:21–22; Ps 139:7–12; Jr 23:24
I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good.#Jr 21:10; 44:27
5The Lord, the God of Armies —
he touches the earth;#Ps 104:32; 144:5; Is 64:1
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.#Am 8:8
6He builds his upper chambers
in the heavens#Ps 104:3,13
and lays the foundation of his vault
on the earth.#Ps 102:25; Is 48:13; 51:13
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out over the surface of the earth.#Ps 104:6
The Lord is his name.#Am 4:13; 5:8–9
Announcement of Judgment
7Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to me?#2Ch 14:9,12; Is 20:4; 43:3
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,#9:7 Probably Crete#Dt 2:23; Jr 47:4
and the Arameans from Kir?#2Kg 16:9; Is 22:6
8Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom,#Am 9:4
and I will obliterate it
from the face of the earth.#Am 3:12
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob#Jr 5:10; 30:11; 31:35–36; Jl 2:32 —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
9for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel#Is 30:28; Lk 22:31
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10All the sinners among my people#Is 33:14; Zch 13:8
who say, “Disaster will never overtake#9:10 Or “You will not let disaster come near
or confront us,”#Jr 5:12; 23:17; Am 6:3
will die by the sword.
Announcement of Restoration
11In that day
I will restore the fallen shelter#Lv 23:42–43; 2Sm 11:11; 1Kg 20:12; Is 4:6 of David:#2Sm 7:11–16; Jr 23:5; Ezk 34:23–24; Zch 9:9–10; Lk 1:32; Rv 5:5
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins,#Is 44:26
and rebuild it as in the days of old,#Is 63:11; Jr 46:26
12so that they may possess
the remnant of Edom#Ezk 36:5; Ob 21
and all the nations
that bear my name#9:12 LXX reads so that the remnant of man and all the nations... may seek me; Ac 15:17#Is 43:6–7; Mal 1:11; Ac 15:15–18 —
this is the declaration of the Lord; he will do this.
13Look, the days are coming —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
when the plowman will overtake the reaper#Lv 26:5
and the one who treads grapes,
the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it.#Jl 2:24; 3:18
14I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel.#9:14 Or restore my people Israel from captivity#Dt 30:3; Jr 31:23; 32:42–44
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,#Jr 30:18; 33:10–11
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
make gardens and eat their produce.#Is 65:21; Jr 31:5
15I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them.#2Sm 7:10; Jr 24:6
The Lord your God has spoken.
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers