Darby Bible Translation

New Living Translation

The Locusts, Fire, and Plumbline

Thus did the Lord Jehovah shew unto me; and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

1

A Vision of Locusts

The Sovereign LORD showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up.

2

And it came to pass, when they had wholly eaten the grass of the land, that I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee! How shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

2

In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israela is so small.”

3

Jehovah repented for this: It shall not be, said Jehovah.

3

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

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.

4

A Vision of Fire

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 said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee! How shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

5

Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.”

6

Jehovah repented for this: This also shall not be, said the Lord Jehovah.

6

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

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.

7

A Vision of a Plumb Line

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 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.

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.

9

And the high places of Isaac shall be desolated, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will arise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

9

The pagan shrines of your ancestorsb will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.”

10

Amaziah Accuses Amos

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

10

Amos and Amaziah

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable.

11

For thus Amos saith: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall certainly go into captivity out of his land.

11

He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’”

12

And Amaziah said unto Amos, [Thou] seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there.

12

Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there!

13

But prophesy not again any more at Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the house of the kingdom.

13

Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”

14

And Amos answered and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.

14

But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one.c I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees.

15

And Jehovah took me as I followed the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

15

But the LORD called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’

16

And now hear thou the word of Jehovah: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and utter not [words] against the house of Isaac.

16

Now then, listen to this message from the LORD:
“You say,
‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.
Stop preaching against my people.d’

17

Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided with the line; and thou shalt die in a land that is unclean; and Israel shall certainly go into captivity, out of his land.

17

But this is what the LORD says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city,
and your sons and daughters will be killed.
Your land will be divided up,
and you yourself will die in a foreign land.
And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile,
far from their homeland.’”

Parallel

Darby Bible Translation

New Living Translation

Amos 7

Amos 7