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The Lord speaks against the people in Samaria

4 Listen to this message, you women who live on the hill in Samaria. You are like fat cows that do not work hard for food. You are like the cows in Bashan. They eat on very good land by the Jordan river. You do not give to weak people what they need. You are not fair to poor people. Then you sit down and you say to your husbands, ‘Bring us more to drink.’ 2 The Lord God has made this promise and he speaks only true words. He says, ‘The time will come, when your enemies will take you away with meat hooks and fish hooks. 3 There are places in your city's walls where people have broken the walls. Your enemies will pull you through those places and they will throw you out. They will take you to that bad place called Harmon. [ a ] None of you will stay here.’

The people in Israel have not learned to listen to God

4 The Lord also says, ‘You like to go to Bethel. You say that it is your holy place. And when you go there, you do wrong things. So go there, if you must, and do your bad things. Go to Gilgal, if you must, and do more bad things there. You bring your sacrifices there every morning as a gift. But that does not make me happy. Every three days, you bring your gifts. But that also does not make me happy. 5 You bring bread to say “thank you”. You even bring lots of it and you tell everyone, “Look at how much I have brought.” You really like to do that. So continue to do it, but it does not make me happy.’ The Lord God says this!

6 ‘Earlier I made you hungry in all your cities. There was no food anywhere. But you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!

7 ‘Three months before your food was ready to pick, I did not send rain. So all the food became too dry. Sometimes I sent rain to one city, but I did not send it to other cities. I sent rain to one person's land, but I did not send it to another person's land. So that other person's land became too dry. 8 People became weak. They went from city to city to look for water. They were almost too weak to walk. There was not enough water. But still you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!

9 ‘I sent hot winds from the east. They burned the small plants, so those plants died. Worms made the other plants sick. So the other plants died. Locusts ate your trees that give fruit. But still you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!.

10 ‘I caused many people among you to become very sick. It was like what happened many years ago in Egypt. At that time, very many people got sick. Then I sent soldiers to you. And they killed your young men and they took away your horses. The smell from dead bodies was very bad. But you still did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!

11 ‘I killed many people among you, as I destroyed the cities called Sodom and Gomorrah. Some of you did not die. You were like a stick that is already burning. And someone saves it from the fire. But still you did not start to pray to me again.’ The Lord says this!

12 ‘So I will send trouble to you Israelites again. Get ready! You will see it. Then you will know that I have come to judge you.

13 I made the mountains and I made the wind. I tell people what I have decided to do. I change dawn into night. I walk on the high places of the earth. My name is the Lord God Almighty.’

Footnotes

  1. 4:3 Harmon was a place that people were afraid of. Today nobody knows where this place was.

The Women Who Love Pleasure

4 Listen to me, you cows of Bashan [ a ] on Samaria’s mountain. You hurt the poor and crush those in need. You tell your husbands, [ b ] “Bring us something to drink!”

2 The Lord God made a promise. He promised by his holiness that troubles will come to you. People will use hooks and take you away as prisoners. They will use fishhooks to take away your children. 3 Your city will be destroyed. The women will rush out through cracks in the wall and throw themselves onto the pile of dead bodies. [ c ]

This is what the Lord says: 4 “Go to Bethel and sin. Go to Gilgal [ d ] and sin even more. Offer your sacrifices in the morning. Bring a tenth of your crops for the three-day festival. 5 And offer a thank offering made with yeast. Tell everyone about the freewill offerings. [ e ] Israel, you love to do those things. So go and do them.” This is what the Lord God said.

6 “I didn’t give you any food to eat. [ f ] There was no food in any of your cities, but you didn’t come back to me.” This is what the Lord said.

7 “I also stopped the rain, and it was three months before harvest time. So no crops grew. Then I let it rain on one city, but not on another city. Rain fell on one part of the country, but on the other part of the country, the land became very dry. 8 So the people from two or three cities staggered to another city to get water, but there was not enough water for everyone. Still you didn’t come to me for help.” This is what the Lord said.

9 “I made your crops die from heat and disease. I destroyed your gardens and your vineyards. Locusts ate your fig trees and olive trees. But you still didn’t come to me for help.” This is what the Lord said.

10 “I sent diseases against you, as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with swords. I took away your horses. I made your camp smell very bad from all the dead bodies, but still you didn’t come back to me for help.” This is what the Lord said.

11 “I destroyed you as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. And those cities were completely destroyed. You were like a burned stick pulled from a fire, but still you didn’t come back to me for help.” This is what the Lord says.

12 “So, Israel, this is what I will do to you. You people of Israel, prepare to meet your God.”

13 He is the one who made the mountains.
He created the wind. [ g ]
He lets people know his thoughts.
He changes the darkness into dawn.
He walks over the mountains of the earth.
His name is Yahweh , Lord God All-Powerful.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 4:1 cows of Bashan This means the wealthy women in Samaria. Bashan, an area east of the Jordan River, was famous for its big bulls and cows.
  2. Amos 4:1 your husbands Literally, “their masters.”
  3. Amos 4:3 throw … dead bodies Or “You will be thrown away. People will take you to Mount Hermon.” The Hebrew text here is hard to understand. It is not clear if the women will be “thrown away” or if the women will be “throwing something away.”
  4. Amos 4:4 Bethel … Gilgal Places of worship for the people of Israel. God wanted the people of Israel and the people of Judah to worship him only in the Temple at Jerusalem.
  5. Amos 4:5 Offer your sacrifices … freewill offerings All these things were against the Law of Moses. The leaders and false priests started these new festivals and different ways of worshiping God.
  6. Amos 4:6 I didn’t give you any food to eat Literally, “I gave you clean teeth.”
  7. Amos 4:13 the wind Or “your minds.”

4 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

2 The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord .

4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God .

6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord .

7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord .

9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord .

10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord .

11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord .

12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord , The God of hosts, is his name.

“Yet You Have Not Returned to Me”

4 Hear this word, you [ a ] cows of ( A ) Bashan who are on the ( B ) mountain of Samaria,
Who ( C ) exploit the poor, who oppress the needy,
[ b ] And say to their [ c ] husbands, “Bring now, that we may ( D ) drink!”
2 The Lord [ d ] God has ( E ) sworn by His ( F ) holiness,
“For behold, the days are coming upon you
When [ e ] they will take you away with ( G ) meat hooks,
And the last of you with ( H ) fish hooks.
3 You will ( I ) go out through holes in the walls ,
One in front of the other,
And you [ f ] will be hurled to Harmon,” declares the Lord .

4 “Enter Bethel and do wrong;
In Gilgal multiply wrongdoing!
( J ) Bring your sacrifices every morning,
Your tithes every three days.
5 [ g ] Offer a ( K ) thanksgiving offering also from that which is leavened,
And proclaim ( L ) [ h ] voluntary offerings, make them known.
For so you ( M ) love to do , you sons of Israel,”
Declares the Lord God .

6 “But I gave you also ( N ) cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
Yet you have ( O ) not returned to Me,” declares the Lord .
7 “Furthermore, I ( P ) withheld the rain from you
While there were still three months until harvest.
Then I would send rain on one city,
But on ( Q ) another city I would not send rain;
One part would be rained on,
While the part not rained on would dry up.
8 So the people of two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink ( R ) water,
But would ( S ) not be satisfied;
Yet you have ( T ) not returned to Me,” declares the Lord .
9 “I ( U ) struck you with scorching wind and mildew;
The ( V ) caterpillar was devouring
Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;
Yet you have ( W ) not returned to Me,” declares the Lord .
10 “I sent a ( X ) plague among you [ i ] as in Egypt;
I ( Y ) killed your young men with the sword, along with your ( Z ) captured horses,
And I made the ( AA ) stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;
Yet you have ( AB ) not returned to Me,” declares the Lord .
11 “I overthrew you, as ( AC ) God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a ( AD ) log snatched from a fire;
Yet you have ( AE ) not returned to Me,” declares the Lord .
12 “Therefore so I will do to you, Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
Prepare to ( AF ) meet your God, Israel.”
13 For behold, He who ( AG ) forms mountains and ( AH ) creates the wind,
And ( AI ) declares to a person what are His thoughts,
He who ( AJ ) makes dawn into darkness
And ( AK ) treads on the high places of the earth,
( AL ) The Lord God of armies is His name.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 4:1 I.e., haughty, prominent women
  2. Amos 4:1 Lit Who
  3. Amos 4:1 Lit lords
  4. Amos 4:2 Heb YHWH , usually rendered Lord , and so throughout the ch
  5. Amos 4:2 Lit he
  6. Amos 4:3 As in LXX; MT will hurl
  7. Amos 4:5 Lit Offer up in smoke
  8. Amos 4:5 Or freewill offerings
  9. Amos 4:10 Lit in the way of Egypt

Israel Has Not Returned to God

4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan ( A ) on Mount Samaria, ( B )
you women who oppress the poor ( C ) and crush the needy ( D )
and say to your husbands, ( E ) “Bring us some drinks! ( F ) ”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
“The time ( G ) will surely come
when you will be taken away ( H ) with hooks, ( I )
the last of you with fishhooks. [ a ]
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall, ( J )
and you will be cast out toward Harmon, [ b ] ”
declares the Lord .
4 “Go to Bethel ( K ) and sin;
go to Gilgal ( L ) and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning, ( M )
your tithes ( N ) every three years. [ c ] ( O )
5 Burn leavened bread ( P ) as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings ( Q ) —
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,”
declares the Sovereign Lord .

6 “I gave you empty stomachs in every city
and lack of bread in every town,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord . ( R )

7 “I also withheld ( S ) rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another. ( T )
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water ( U )
but did not get enough ( V ) to drink,
yet you have not returned ( W ) to me,”
declares the Lord . ( X )

9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew. ( Y )
Locusts ( Z ) devoured your fig and olive trees, ( AA )
yet you have not returned ( AB ) to me,”
declares the Lord .

10 “I sent plagues ( AC ) among you
as I did to Egypt. ( AD )
I killed your young men ( AE ) with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench ( AF ) of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,” ( AG )
declares the Lord . ( AH )

11 “I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. ( AI )
You were like a burning stick ( AJ ) snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord . ( AK )

12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
and because I will do this to you, Israel,
prepare to meet your God.”

13 He who forms the mountains, ( AL )
who creates the wind, ( AM )
and who reveals his thoughts ( AN ) to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth ( AO ) —
the Lord God Almighty is his name. ( AP )

Footnotes

  1. Amos 4:2 Or away in baskets, / the last of you in fish baskets
  2. Amos 4:3 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew (see Septuagint) out, you mountain of oppression
  3. Amos 4:4 Or days
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