Amos 7:7–15

The Vision of the Plumb Line

⁷This is what he showed me: The Lord stood by a straight wall, with a plumb line in his hand. ⁸The 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.

⁹“The places where Isaac’s descendants worship will be destroyed,

Israel’s holy places will be turned into ruins,

and I will attack King Jeroboam’s family with the sword.”

Amaziah Speaks Against Amos

¹⁰Amaziah, a priest at Bethel, sent this message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is making evil plans against you with the people of Israel. He has been speaking so much that this land can’t hold all his words. ¹¹This is what Amos has said:

‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,

and the people of Israel will be taken as captives

out of their own country.’ ”

¹²Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Seer, go back right now to Judah. Do your prophesying and earn your living there, ¹³but don’t prophesy anymore here at Bethel. This is the king’s holy place, and it is the nation’s temple.”

¹⁴Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I do not make my living as a prophet, nor am I a member of a group of prophets. I make my living as a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore trees. ¹⁵But the Lord took me away from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’