Amos 6:1–7:17
1 aWoe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The bdistinguished men of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
2 Go over to aCalneh and look,
And go from there to bHamath the great,
Then go down to cGath of the Philistines.
Are 1they better than these kingdoms,
Or is their territory greater than yours?
3 Do you aput off the day of calamity,
And would you bbring near the seat of violence?
4 Those who recline on beds of ivory
And sprawl on their acouches,
And beat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall,
5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have 1composed asongs for themselves,
6 Who adrink wine from 1sacrificial bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils,
Yet they have not bgrieved over the ruin of Joseph.
7 Therefore, they will now ago into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the bsprawlers’ 1banqueting will 2pass away.
8 The Lord 1God has asworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared:
“I bloathe the arrogance of Jacob,
Therefore I will ddeliver up the city and 3all it contains.”
9 And it will be, if aten men are left in one house, they will die.
10 Then one’s 1uncle, or his 2aundertaker, will lift him up to carry out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will 3answer, “bKeep quiet. For 4the name of the Lord is cnot to be mentioned.”
11 For behold, the Lord is going to acommand that the bgreat house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.
Or does one plow 1them with oxen?
Yet you have turned ajustice into poison
And the fruit of righteousness into 2wormwood,
13 You who rejoice in 1aLodebar,
2And say, “Have we not bby our own strength taken 3Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, aI am going to raise up a nation against you,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God of hosts,
“And they will afflict you from the bentrance of Hamath
To the bbrook of the Arabah.”
1 Thus the Lord 1God showed me, and behold, He was forming a alocust-swarm 2when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s 3mowing.
2 And it came about, 1when it had afinished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,
“bLord God, please pardon!
2How can Jacob stand,
For he is csmall?”
3 The Lord 1achanged His mind about this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.
4 Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by afire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the 1farm land.
“aLord God, please stop!
bHow can Jacob stand, for he is small?”
6 The Lord 1achanged His mind about this.
“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.
7 Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing 1by a 2vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand.
8 The Lord said to me, “aWhat do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold I am about to put a bplumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will 1cspare them no longer.
9 “The ahigh places of Isaac will be desolated
And the bsanctuaries of Israel laid waste.
Then I will crise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
10 Then Amaziah, the apriest of Bethel, sent word to bJeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has cconspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words.
11 “For thus Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’ ”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “aGo, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying!
13 “But ano longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a bsanctuary of the king and a royal 1residence.”
14 Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the ason of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a 1grower of sycamore figs.
15 “But the Lord took me from 1following the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go aprophesy to My people Israel.’
16 “Now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You ashall not prophesy against Israel bnor shall you 1speak against the house of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore, thus says the Lord, ‘Your awife will become a harlot in the city, your bsons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line and you yourself will die 1upon cunclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’ ”