King James Bible

New Living Translation

The Locusts, Fire, and Plumbline

Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, 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, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom 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

The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.

3

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

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.

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 GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom 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

The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.

6

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

7

Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline 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 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:

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 desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise 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 surely be led away captive out of their own land.

11

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

12

Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, 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 chapel, and it is the king's court.

13

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

14

Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore 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 the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD 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

Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word 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 the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth 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

King James Bible

New Living Translation

Amos 7

Amos 7