Amos 7:1–9
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:l He was preparing swarms of locustsm 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,n I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?o He is so small!p”
3 So the Lord relented.q
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.r
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;s it dried up the great deep and devouredt the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!u”
6 So the Lord relented.v
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.w
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 lineb in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,x Amos?y”
“A plumb line,z” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.a
9 “The high placesb of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuariesc of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.d”