Amos 7:3–8

3 So the Lord relented.

“This will not happen,” the Lord said.

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

6 So the Lord relented.

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

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

“A plumb line,” I replied.

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

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:

3 So the Lord relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said.

4 Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. 5 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.”

6 Then the Lord relented from this plan, too. “I will not do that either,” said the Sovereign Lord.

7 Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

I answered, “A plumb line.”

And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins.

3 So the Lord relented concerning this.

“It shall not be,” said the Lord.

4 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, the Lord God called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory. 5 Then I said:

“O Lord God, cease, I pray!

Oh, that Jacob may stand,

For he is small!”

6 So the Lord relented concerning this.

“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7 Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

And I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said:

“Behold, I am setting a plumb line

In the midst of My people Israel;

I will not pass by them anymore.

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

4 This is what the Lord God showed me: The Lord God was calling for fire to come down like rain. It burned up the deep water and was going to burn up the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Lord God, stop! How could Israel live through this? It is too small already.”

6 So the Lord changed his mind about this too. “It will not happen,” said the Lord God.

7 This is what he showed me: The Lord stood by a straight wall, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said, “See, I will put a plumb line among my people Israel to show how crooked they are. I will not look the other way any longer.

3 Jehovah repented concerning this: It shall not be, saith Jehovah.

4 Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land. 5 Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small. 6 Jehovah repented concerning this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord Jehovah.

7 Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. 8 And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more;

3 Jehovah repented for this: It shall not be, said Jehovah. 4 Thus did the Lord Jehovah shew unto me; and behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and ate up the inheritance. 5 Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee! How shall Jacob arise? for he is small. 6 Jehovah repented for this: This also shall not be, said the Lord Jehovah. 7 Thus did he shew unto me; and behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. 8 And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. And the Lord said, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.

3 The Lord changed his plans about this. “This won’t happen,” the Lord said. 

4 This is what the Almighty Lord showed me: The Almighty Lord was calling for judgment by fire. The fire dried up the ocean and burned up the land. 5 Then I said, “Almighty Lord, please stop! How can ⸤the descendants of⸥ Jacob survive? There are so few of them.” 

6 The Lord changed his plans about this. “This won’t happen either,” the Almighty Lord said. 

7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall built with the use of a plumb line, and he had a plumb line in his hand. 8 He asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” 

I answered, “A plumb line.” 

Then the Lord said, “I’m going to hold a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will no longer overlook what they have done.

3 The Lord relented concerning this. “It will not happen,” He said.

4 The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I said, “Lord God, please stop! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”

6 The Lord relented concerning this. “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.

7 He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”

I replied, “A plumb line.”

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

3 The Lord relented concerning this;

“It shall not be,” said the Lord.

4 This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord God was calling for judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,

“O Lord God, cease, I beg you!

How can Jacob stand?

He is so small!”

6 The Lord relented concerning this;

“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“See, I am setting a plumb line

in the midst of my people Israel;

I will spare them no longer;

3 Yahweh relented concerning this. “It will not be,” said Yahweh. 4 This is what my Lord Yahweh showed me, and look, my Lord Yahweh was going to call for a legal case with fire, and it devoured the great deep and it ate up the plots of ground. 5 Then I said, “O Lord Yahweh, please stop! How can Jacob stand, because he is small?” 6 Yahweh also relented concerning this. “This also will not be,” said my Lord Yahweh. 7 This is what he showed me: Behold, my Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plummet, and a plummet was in his hand. 8 And Yahweh said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plummet.” And my Lord said, “Look, I am going to set a plummet in the midst of my people, Israel. I will not pass them by again.

3 So the Lord had pity on them.

“I will let them continue for now,” he said.

4 The Lord and King gave me a second vision. He was using fire to punish his people. It dried up the deep waters. It burned the land up. 5 Then I cried out, “Lord and King, please stop! How can Jacob’s people continue? They are such a weak nation!”

6 So the Lord had pity on them.

“I will let them continue for now,” the Lord and King said.

7 Then the Lord gave me a third vision. He was standing by a wall. It had been built very straight, all the way up and down. He was holding a plumb line. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”

“A plumb line,” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look at what I am doing. I am hanging a plumb line next to my people Israel. It will show how crooked they are. I will no longer spare them.

3 The Lord changed 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 fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land.

5 Then I said,

“Lord God, please stop!

How can Jacob stand, for he is small?”

6 The Lord changed His mind about this.

“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7 Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand.

8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold I am about to put a plumb line

In the midst of My people Israel.

I will spare them no longer.