Amos 7

Modern

Literal

The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line

¹This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.^a

¹Thus the Lord YHWH showed me: And behold, he is forming locusts at the beginning of the coming up of the latter growth, and behold, the late crop after the mowings of the king.

²And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”

²And it came to pass, when it had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said, “Lord YHWH, forgive, please! How can Jacob arise, for he is small?”

³So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.

³YHWH relented concerning this: “It will not come to pass,” said YHWH.

⁴This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.

⁴Thus has the Lord YHWH shown me: And behold, the Lord YHWH was calling to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and it was devouring the portion.

⁵Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”

⁵And I said, “Lord YHWH, cease, please! How can Jacob arise, for he is small?”

⁶So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.

⁶YHWH relented concerning this: “It also will not come to pass,” said the Lord YHWH.

⁷This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.

⁷Thus He has shown me: And behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, and in His hand was a plumb line.

⁸“Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD.

“A plumb line,” I replied.

“Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them:

⁸And YHWH said to me: “What are you seeing, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” And the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will not continue any longer to pass over him.

⁹The high places of Isaac will be deserted,

and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste;

and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam

with My sword.”

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

Amaziah Accuses Amos

¹⁰Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words,

¹⁰And Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.

¹¹for this is what Amos has said:

‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,

and Israel will surely go into exile,

away from their homeland.’”

¹¹For thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile away from his land!’”

¹²And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.

¹²And Amaziah said to Amos: “Seer, go! Flee for yourself to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there.

¹³But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”

¹³And at Bethel you will not continue to prophesy anymore, for it is the sanctuary of the king, and it is the house of the kingdom.”

¹⁴“I was not^a a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son^b of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.

¹⁴And Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet, nor was I the son of a prophet, but I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.

¹⁵But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

¹⁵And YHWH took me away from following the herd, and YHWH said to me: ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

¹⁶Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say:

‘Do not prophesy against Israel;

do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

¹⁶And now, hear the word of YHWH: You are saying, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not drop against the house of Isaac.’

¹⁷Therefore this is what the LORD says:

‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,

and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.

Your land will be divided by a measuring line,

and you yourself will die on pagan^a soil.

And Israel will surely go into exile,

away from their homeland.’”

¹⁷Therefore, thus says YHWH: ‘Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. And your land will be divided by a line and You will die in an unclean land, and Israel will surely go into exile away from his land!’”