Amos 7:7–15

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

“Behold, I am setting ^fa plumb line

in the midst of my people Israel;

^gI will never again pass by them;

^9hthe high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,

and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,

and I will rise against ⁱthe house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused

¹⁰Then Amaziah ^jthe priest of Bethel sent to ^kJeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has ^lconspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. ¹¹For thus Amos has said,

“ ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,

and ^mIsrael must go into exile

away from his land.’ ”

¹²And Amaziah said to Amos, ⁿ“O seer, go, flee away ^oto the land of Judah, and ^peat bread there, and prophesy there, ¹³but ^qnever again prophesy at Bethel, for ^rit is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

¹⁴Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ^s“I was¹ no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but ^tI was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. ^15uBut the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’