New International Version

New Living Translation

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

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

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

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

3

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

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

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

5

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

6

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

6

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

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

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 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?”
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

“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 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

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

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 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

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

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 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

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

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

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

But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to 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 then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,
“ ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants 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 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

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

New International Version

New Living Translation

Amos 7

Amos 7