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Amos 7

The Locusts

7 The Lord God showed a vision to me. I saw a crowd of locusts. The Lord was ready to send them to destroy the crops in the fields. They would come after we had taken the early crops to give to the king. Then the later crops were beginning to make grain. 2 I saw that the locusts came and they ate everything. I asked the Lord , ‘ Lord God, please forgive your people. We cannot continue to live if those locusts destroy our food. We are too weak!’

3 Then the Lord decided not to do it. He said to me, ‘That will not happen.’

The Fire

4 After that, the Lord God showed to me a vision of a fire. He was ready to send it to punish us. I saw that it caused the deep sea to become dry. It also burnt all the land. 5 I said, ‘ Lord God, please do not do that! Your people cannot continue to live. We are too weak!’

6 Then the Lord decided not to do it. He said to me, ‘That too will not happen.’

The Lord measures the wall

7 Then the Lord showed this vision to me. The Lord God was standing next to a wall. In his hand was a string with a heavy weight on its end. The Lord was hanging the string down the wall. He was looking to see whether the wall was straight. 8 He asked me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ I said, ‘You are measuring the wall to see if it is straight.’

The Lord said, ‘Understand this. I am ready to measure my people with this string. I will test them and I will punish them for their sins. I will not forgive them any more.

9 I will send enemies to destroy the holy places of Isaac's descendants. All Israel's holy places will fall down. Enemies will use swords to kill King Jeroboam and his family.’

Amaziah speaks with Amos

10 Amaziah, was a priest at the holy place called Bethel. He sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. He said, ‘Amos is speaking against you among all Israel's people. What he is saying will deceive the people of our nation. 11 Amos is saying, “Our enemies will kill King Jeroboam. They will take all the people to a foreign country as prisoners.” ’

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, ‘Go away, you prophet! Go back to your own country, Judah. Speak your messages from God to get your food there! 13 Do not speak God's message here in Bethel any longer. It is where our king and our nation come to worship.’

14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, ‘My job was not as a prophet. My father never did that work. My job was to work as a shepherd. I also took care of fig trees. 15 But the Lord told me to leave my work as a shepherd. He told me to go and to speak his message to his people, the Israelites. 16 So listen to the Lord 's message to you! You are telling me, “Do not speak God's message against Israel. Do not say that trouble is coming to Isaac's descendants.” 17 The Lord says this to you, Amaziah: “Your wife will work as a prostitute in the streets. Your sons and daughters will die in war. Enemies will measure your land into separate pieces and they will give it to others. They will take your people away from here as prisoners to a foreign country. And that is where they will die.” ’

The Vision of the Locusts

7 This is what the Lord God showed me: He was making locusts. This was at the time the second crop began to grow, after the king’s people had cut the first crop. 2 Before the locusts could eat all the grass in the country, I said, “Lord God , I beg you, forgive us! Jacob cannot survive! He is too small!”

3 Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord said, “It will not happen.”

The Vision of the Fire

4 This is what the Lord God showed me: I saw the Lord God calling for judgment by fire. The fire destroyed the ocean and was beginning to eat up the land. 5 But I said, “Lord God , stop, I beg you! Jacob cannot survive! He is too small!”

6 Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord God said, “It will not happen either.”

The Vision of the Plumb Line

7 This is what the Lord showed me: He stood by a wall with a plumb line [ a ] in his hand. (The wall had been marked with a plumb line.) 8 The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said to me, “See, I will put a plumb line among my people Israel. I will not let their ‘crooked ways’ pass inspection anymore. 9 Isaac’s high places will be destroyed. Israel’s holy places will be made into a pile of rocks. I will attack and kill Jeroboam’s [ b ] family with swords.”

Amaziah Tries to Stop Amos

10 Amaziah, a priest at Bethel, [ c ] sent this message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: “Amos is making plans against you. He is trying to make the people of Israel fight against you. He has been speaking so much that this country cannot hold all his words. 11 Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and the people of Israel will be taken as prisoners out of their country.’”

12 Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go down to Judah and eat there. [ d ] Do your prophesying there. 13 But don’t prophesy anymore here at Bethel. This is Jeroboam’s holy place. This is Israel’s temple.”

14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am not a professional prophet, and I am not from a prophet’s family. I raise cattle and take care of sycamore trees. 15 I was a shepherd and the Lord took me from following the sheep. The Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 So listen to the Lord ’s message. You tell me, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel. Don’t speak against Isaac’s family.’ 17 But the Lord says, ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city. Your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Other people will take your land and divide it among themselves, and you will die in a foreign [ e ] country. The people of Israel will definitely be taken from this country as prisoners.’”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:7 plumb line A string with a weight on one end used to show how straight the walls of a building were. Sometimes the line was coated with paint or chalk to mark a straight line.
  2. Amos 7:9 Jeroboam The king of Israel. See verse 10.
  3. Amos 7:10 Bethel A town in Israel. This name means “God’s house.”
  4. Amos 7:12 eat there This shows that Amaziah thought that Amos was a professional prophet who prophesied to receive food or money.
  5. Amos 7:17 foreign Literally, “unclean.” See “ unclean ” in the Word List.

7 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God , forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

3 The Lord repented for this: It shall not be, saith the Lord .

4 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

5 Then said I, O Lord God , cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

6 The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God .

7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.

8 And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord , Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.

12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.

14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:

15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord : Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.

17 Therefore thus saith the Lord ; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

Warning through Visions

7 This is what the Lord [ a ] God showed me, and behold, He was forming a ( A ) swarm of locusts [ b ] when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. 2 And it came about, [ c ] when it had ( B ) finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,

“ ( C ) Lord God , please pardon!
How can Jacob stand?
For he is ( D ) small.”
3 The Lord ( E ) relented of this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord .

4 So the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by ( F ) fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the [ d ] farmland. 5 Then I said,

“ ( G ) Lord God , please stop!
( H ) How can Jacob stand?
For he is small.”
6 The Lord ( I ) relented of this.
“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God .

7 So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing [ e ] by a [ f ] vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “ ( J ) What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold I am about to put a ( K ) plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will not [ g ] ( L ) spare them any longer.
9 The ( M ) high places of Isaac will become deserted,
And the ( N ) sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.
Then I will ( O ) rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused; Gives an Answer

10 Then Amaziah, the ( P ) priest of Bethel, sent word to ( Q ) Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has ( R ) conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. 11 For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” 12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “ ( S ) Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! 13 But ( T ) do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a ( U ) sanctuary of the king and a royal [ h ] residence.”

14 Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the ( V ) son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a [ i ] grower of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from [ j ] following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go ( W ) prophesy to My people Israel.’ 16 So now hear the word of the Lord : you are saying, ‘You ( X ) shall not prophesy against Israel ( Y ) nor shall you [ k ] prophesy against the house of Isaac.’ 17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your ( Z ) wife will become a prostitute in the city, your ( AA ) sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die [ l ] upon ( AB ) unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:1 Heb YHWH , usually rendered Lord , and so throughout the ch
  2. Amos 7:1 Lit at the beginning of the coming up of
  3. Amos 7:2 Lit if
  4. Amos 7:4 Lit plot of land
  5. Amos 7:7 Or on
  6. Amos 7:7 Lit wall of a plumb line
  7. Amos 7:8 Lit pass him by
  8. Amos 7:13 Lit house
  9. Amos 7:14 Or picker
  10. Amos 7:15 Lit behind
  11. Amos 7:16 Lit drivel
  12. Amos 7:17 Or in an unclean land

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: ( A ) He was preparing swarms of locusts ( B ) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean, ( C ) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord , forgive! How can Jacob survive? ( D ) He is so small! ( E ) ”

3 So the Lord relented. ( F )

“This will not happen,” the Lord said. ( G )

4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; ( H ) it dried up the great deep and devoured ( I ) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord , I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small! ( J ) ”

6 So the Lord relented. ( K )

“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said. ( L )

7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, [ a ] with a plumb line [ b ] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, ( M ) Amos? ( N ) ”

“A plumb line, ( O ) ” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. ( P )

9 “The high places ( Q ) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries ( R ) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam. ( S ) ”

Amos and Amaziah

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel ( T ) sent a message to Jeroboam ( U ) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy ( V ) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. ( W ) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:

“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile, ( X )
away from their native land.’” ( Y )

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! ( Z ) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. ( AA ) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, ( AB ) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple ( AC ) of the kingdom. ( AD ) ”

14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet ( AE ) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. ( AF ) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock ( AG ) and said to me, ‘Go, ( AH ) prophesy ( AI ) to my people Israel.’ ( AJ ) 16 Now then, hear ( AK ) the word of the Lord . You say,

“‘Do not prophesy against ( AL ) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wife will become a prostitute ( AM ) in the city,
and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
and you yourself will die in a pagan [ c ] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile, ( AN )
away from their native land. ( AO ) ’”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
  3. Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean
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