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New King James Version

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up.

1

Vision of the Locusts

Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the [a]beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings.

2

When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

2

And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said:
“O Lord God, forgive, I pray!
Oh,[b] that Jacob may stand,
For he is small!”

3

So the Lord relented.
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.

3

So the Lord relented concerning this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.

4

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.

4

Vision of the Fire

Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, the Lord God called [c]for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the [d]territory.

5

Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

5

Then I said:
“O Lord God, cease, I pray!
Oh, that Jacob may stand,
For he is small!”

6

So the Lord relented.
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.

6

So the Lord relented concerning this.
“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,a with a plumb lineb in his hand.

7

Vision of the Plumb Line

Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand.

8

And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”
“A plumb line,” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

8

And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
And I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said:
“Behold, I am setting a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel;
I will not pass by them anymore.

9

“The high places of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”

9

The [e]high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
And the [f]sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste.
I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”

10

Amos and Amaziah

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.

10

Amaziah’s Complaint

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to [g]bear all his words.

11

For this is what Amos is saying:
“ ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.’ ”

11

For thus Amos has said:
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
And Israel shall surely be led away captive
From their own land.’ ”

12

Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.

12

Then Amaziah said to Amos:
“Go, you seer!
Flee to the land of Judah.
There eat bread,
And there prophesy.

13

Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”

13

But never again prophesy at Bethel,
For it is the king’s [h]sanctuary,
And it is the royal [i]residence.”

14

Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.

14

Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah:
“I was no prophet,
Nor was I a son of a prophet,
But I was a sheepbreeder
And a tender of sycamore fruit.

15

But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

15

Then the Lord took me [j]as I followed the flock,
And the Lord said to me,
‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

16

Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,
“ ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

16

Now therefore, hear the word of the Lord:
You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
And do not [k]spout against the house of Isaac.’

17

“Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“ ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
and you yourself will die in a paganc country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.’ ”

17

“Therefore thus says the Lord:
‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city;
Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by survey line;
You shall die in a defiled land;
And Israel shall surely be led away captive
From his own land.’ ”

Parallel

New International Version

New King James Version

Amos 7

Amos 7