Amos 7

7TH CHAPTER

The Lord Threatens to Bring a Famine by Locusts

¹This is what the Almighty Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts when the second crop was being harvested. It was the harvest that followed the harvest for the king. ²When the locusts had finished eating every plant in the land, I said, “Almighty Lord, please forgive us! How can ⸤the descendants of⸥ Jacob survive? There are so few of them.” 

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

The Lord Threatens to Bring a Drought by Fire

⁴This 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. ⁵Then I said, “Almighty Lord, please stop! How can ⸤the descendants of⸥ Jacob survive? There are so few of them.” 

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

The Lord Refuses to Overlook Israel’s Sin

⁷This 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. ⁸He 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. ⁹The worship sites of Isaac will be destroyed, and the holy places of Israel will be in ruins. I will attack Jeroboam’s heirs with my sword.” 

Amaziah Opposes Amos

¹⁰Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent a message to King Jeroboam of Israel. It read, “Amos is plotting against you among the people of Israel. The country isn’t able to endure everything he is saying. ¹¹Amos says that Jeroboam will be killed with a sword and that Israel cannot avoid being taken from its land into exile.” 

¹²Then Amaziah said to Amos, “You seer,^arun away to Judah! Eat there, and prophesy there! ¹³But don’t ⸤ever⸥ prophesy again in Bethel, because this is the king’s holy place and the king’s palace.” 

¹⁴Amos responded, “I’m not a prophet, and I’m not a disciple of the prophets. I am a rancher and a grower of figs. ¹⁵But the Lord took me away from herding the flock and said to me, ‘Prophesy to my people Israel.’ 

¹⁶“Now listen to the Lord’s word: You said, ‘Stop prophesying against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’ 

¹⁷“However, this is what the Lord says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Your land will be surveyed and divided up, and you will die in an unclean^bland. Israel cannot avoid being taken from its land into exile.”