Amos.6.1

Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion, who think Mount Samaria is the good life. You assume you're at the top of the heap, voted the number-one best place to live.

Amos.6.1

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

Amos.6.1

Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes!

Amos.6.1

How terrible it will be for you who lounge in luxury and think you are secure in Jerusalem and Samaria! You are famous and popular in Israel, you to whom the people go for help.

Amos.6.2

Well, wake up and look around. Get off your pedestal. Take a look at Calneh. Go and visit Great Hamath. Look in on Gath of the Philistines. Doesn't that take you off your high horse? Compared to them, you're not much, are you?

Amos.6.2

Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?

Amos.6.2

Go over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory?

Amos.6.2

Go over to Calneh and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath and on down to the Philistine city of Gath. You are no better than they were, and look at how they were destroyed.

Amos.6.3

Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster! Catastrophe is just around the corner!

Amos.6.3

You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror.

Amos.6.3

Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near;

Amos.6.3

You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.

Amos.6.4

Woe to those who live in luxury and expect everyone else to serve them!

Amos.6.4

You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.

Amos.6.4

Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall;

Amos.6.4

How terrible it will be for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves.

Amos.6.5

Woe to those who live only for today, indifferent to the fate of others! Woe to the playboys, the playgirls, who think life is a party held just for them!

Amos.6.5

You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.

Amos.6.5

Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David;

Amos.6.5

You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and you fancy yourselves to be great musicians, as King David was.

Amos.6.6

Woe to those addicted to feeling good--life without pain! those obsessed with looking good--life without wrinkles! They could not care less about their country going to ruin.

Amos.6.6

You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Amos.6.6

Who drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Amos.6.6

You drink wine by the bowlful, and you perfume yourselves with exotic fragrances, caring nothing at all that your nation is going to ruin.

Amos.6.7

But here's what's really coming: a forced march into exile. They'll leave the country whining, a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings.

Amos.6.7

Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.

Amos.6.7

Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.

Amos.6.7

Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your revelry will end.

Amos.6.8

GOD, the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: "I hate the arrogance of Jacob. I have nothing but contempt for his forts. I'm about to hand over the city and everyone in it."

Amos.6.8

The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself-the LORD God Almighty declares: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it."

Amos.6.8

The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it."

Amos.6.8

The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the LORD God Almighty, says: "I despise the pride and false glory of Israel, and I hate their beautiful homes. I will give this city and everything in it to their enemies."

Amos.6.9

Ten men are in a house, all dead.

Amos.6.9

If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.

Amos.6.9

Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.

Amos.6.9

If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die.

Amos.6.10

A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, "Are there any more?" The answer: "Not a soul. But hush! GOD must not be mentioned in this desecrated place."

Amos.6.10

And if a relative who is to burn the bodies comes to carry them out of the house and asks anyone still hiding there, "Is anyone with you?" and he says, "No," then he will say, "Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD."

Amos.6.10

And when a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, "Are there any more with you?" Then someone will say, "None." And he will say, "Hold your tongue! For we dare not mention the name of the LORD."

Amos.6.10

And when a close relative--one who is responsible for burning the dead--goes into the house to carry away a dead body, he will ask the last survivor, "Is there anyone else with you?" And the person will answer, "No!" Then he will say, "Hush! Don't even whisper the name of the LORD. He might hear you!"

Amos.6.11

Note well: GOD issues the orders. He'll knock large houses to smithereens. He'll smash little houses to bits.

Amos.6.11

For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits.

Amos.6.11

For behold, the LORD gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house into pieces.

Amos.6.11

When the LORD gives the command, homes both great and small will be smashed to pieces.

Amos.6.12

Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks? Do you plow the sea with oxen? You'd cripple the horses and drown the oxen. And yet you've made a shambles of justice, a bloated corpse of righteousness,

Amos.6.12

Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness-

Amos.6.12

Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

Amos.6.12

Can horses gallop over rocks? Can oxen be used to plow rocks? Stupid even to ask--but that's how stupid you are when you turn justice into poison and make bitter the sweet fruit of righteousness.

Amos.6.13

Bragging of your trivial pursuits, beating up on the weak and crowing, "Look what I've done!"

Amos.6.13

you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, "Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?"

Amos.6.13

You who rejoice over Lo Debar, Who say, "Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves By our own strength?"

Amos.6.13

And just as stupid is this bragging about your conquest of Lo-debar. You boast, "Didn't we take Karnaim by our own strength and power?"

Amos.6.14

"Enjoy it while you can, you Israelites. I've got a pagan army on the move against you" -this is your GOD speaking, God-of-the-Angel-Armies--"And they'll make hash of you, from one end of the country to the other."

Amos.6.14

For the LORD God Almighty declares, "I will stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah."

Amos.6.14

"But, behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel," Says the LORD God of hosts; "And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the Valley of the Arabah."

Amos.6.14

"O people of Israel, I am about to bring an enemy nation against you," says the LORD God Almighty. "It will oppress you bitterly throughout your land--from Lebo-hamath in the north to the Arabah Valley in the south."

Amos.7.1

GOD, my Master, showed me this vision: He was preparing a locust swarm. The first cutting, which went to the king, was complete, and the second crop was just sprouting.

Amos.7.1

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 second crop was coming up.

Amos.7.1

Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king's mowings.

Amos.7.1

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.

Amos.7.2

The locusts ate everything green. Not even a blade of grass was left. I called out, "GOD, my Master! Excuse me, but what's going to come of Jacob? He's so small."

Amos.7.2

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

Amos.7.2

And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: "O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!"

Amos.7.2

In my vision the locusts ate everything in sight that was green. Then I said, "O Sovereign LORD, please forgive your people! Unless you relent, Israel will not survive, for we are only a small nation."

Amos.7.3

GOD gave in. "It won't happen," he said. [JC]

Amos.7.3

So the LORD relented. "This will not happen," the LORD said.

Amos.7.3

So the LORD relented concerning this. "It shall not be," said the LORD.

Amos.7.3

So the LORD relented and did not fulfill the vision. "I won't do it," he said.

Amos.7.4

GOD showed me this vision: Oh! GOD, my Master GOD was calling up a firestorm. It burned up the ocean. Then it burned up the Promised Land.

Amos.7.4

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.

Amos.7.4

Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, the Lord GOD called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory.

Amos.7.4

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.

Amos.7.5

I said, "God, my Master! Hold it--please! What's going to come of Jacob? He's so small."

Amos.7.5

Then I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!"

Amos.7.5

Then I said: "O Lord GOD, cease, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!"

Amos.7.5

Then I said, "O Sovereign LORD, please don't do it. Unless you relent, Israel will not survive, for we are only a small nation."

Amos.7.6

GOD gave in. "All right, this won't happen either," GOD, my Master, said. [JC]

Amos.7.6

So the LORD relented. "This will not happen either," the Sovereign LORD said.

Amos.7.6

So the LORD relented concerning this. "This also shall not be," said the Lord GOD.

Amos.7.6

Then the LORD turned from this plan, too. "I won't do that either," said the Sovereign LORD.

Amos.7.7

GOD showed me this vision: My Master was standing beside a wall. In his hand he held a plumb line.

Amos.7.7

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

Amos.7.7

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

Amos.7.7

Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was checking it with a plumb line to see if it was straight.

Amos.7.8

GOD said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" I said, "A plumb line." Then my Master said, "Look what I've done. I've hung a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I've spared them for the last time. This is it!

Amos.7.8

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.

Amos.7.8

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.

Amos.7.8

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.

Amos.7.9

Isaac's sex-and-religion shrines will be smashed, Israel's unholy shrines will be knocked to pieces. I'm raising my sword against the royal family of Jeroboam.

Amos.7.9

"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."

Amos.7.9

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

Amos.7.9

The pagan shrines of your ancestors and the temples of Israel will be destroyed, and I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end."

Amos.7.10

Amaziah, priest at the shrine at Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: "Amos is plotting to get rid of you; and he's doing it as an insider, working from within Israel. His talk will destroy the country. He's got to be silenced. Do you know what Amos is saying?

Amos.7.10

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.

Amos.7.10

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 bear all his words.

Amos.7.10

But when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, heard what Amos was saying, he rushed a message to King Jeroboam: "Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. It will lead to rebellion all across the land.

Amos.7.11

Jeroboam will be killed. Israel is headed for exile."

Amos.7.11

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.'"

Amos.7.11

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

Amos.7.11

He is saying, `Jeroboam will soon be killed and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.'"

Amos.7.12

Then Amaziah confronted Amos: "Seer, be on your way! Get out of here and go back to Judah where you came from!

Amos.7.12

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.

Amos.7.12

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

Amos.7.12

Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: "Get out of here, you seer! Go on back to the land of Judah and do your preaching there!

Amos.7.13

Hang out there. Do your preaching there. But no more preaching at Bethel! Don't show your face here again. This is the king's chapel. This is a royal shrine."

Amos.7.13

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

Amos.7.13

But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king's sanctuary, And it is the royal residence."

Amos.7.13

Don't bother us here in Bethel with your prophecies, especially not here where the royal sanctuary is!"

Amos.7.14

But Amos stood up to Amaziah: "I never set up to be a preacher, never had plans to be a preacher. I raised cattle and I pruned trees.

Amos.7.14

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

Amos.7.14

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.

Amos.7.14

But Amos replied, "I'm not one of your professional prophets. I certainly never trained to be one. I'm just a shepherd, and I take care of fig trees.

Amos.7.15

Then GOD took me off the farm and said, "Go preach to my people Israel.'

Amos.7.15

But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

Amos.7.15

Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, And the LORD said to me, "Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'

Amos.7.15

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

Amos.7.16

"So listen to GOD's Word. You tell me, "Don't preach to Israel. Don't say anything against the family of Isaac.'

Amos.7.16

Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, "'Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the house of Isaac.'

Amos.7.16

Now therefore, hear the word of the LORD: You say, "Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.'

Amos.7.16

"Now then, listen to this message from the LORD! You say, `Don't prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against my people. '

Amos.7.17

But here's what GOD is telling you: Your wife will become a whore in town. Your children will get killed. Your land will be auctioned off. You will die homeless and friendless. And Israel will be hauled off to exile, far from home."

Amos.7.17

"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 pagan country. And Israel will certainly go into exile, away from their native land.'"

Amos.7.17

"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."'

Amos.7.17

But this is what the LORD says: Because you have refused to listen, 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."