The Sermons of
Amos  
The Superscription and Text of the Book
1The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, and in the reign of Jeroboam the son of King Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
 2Amos said:
Whenever the Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel becomes arid.
The Judgment About to Overtake Israel's Guilty Neighbors
 3The Lord says:
For Damascus' three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.

 4Therefore I will send fire on Hazael's house,
and it will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad,
 5and I will break open the gate of Damascus,
and I will wipe out those who live in the valley of Aven,
and the sceptered ruler of Beth-Eden;
the people of Aram will go into captivity in Kir,
says the Lord.

 6The Lord says:
For Gaza's three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They carried away captive a whole nation,
sold them as slaves to Edom.

 7Therefore I will send fire on the wall of Gaza,
and it shall devour her palaces.
 8And I will wipe out those who live in Ashdod,
and the sceptered ruler of Askelon.
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,
the Lord says.

 9The Lord says:
For Tyre's three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They carried away captive a whole people into exile in Edom,
and did not remember the brotherly covenant.

 10So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre.
It will devour her palaces.

 11The Lord says:
For Edom's three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They pursued their relatives with the sword,
stilled their pity,
cherished their anger continually,
retained their fury forever.

 12So I will send a fire into Teman.
It will destroy the palaces of Bozrah.

 13The Lord says:
For Ammonites' three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,
in their lust for land.

 14So I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah.
It will destroy her palaces,
with a war-cry in the day of battle,
with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
 15Their king will go into exile,
he and his nobles together,
says the Lord.

  2The 1Lord says:
For Moab's three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They have burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom,      
 2to desecrate the dead.

So I will send a fire into Moab.
It will devour the palaces of Kirioth,
with a war-cry, 
with the sound of trumpets.
 3I will kill the ruler,
all his nobles I will slay with him,
says the Lord.

 4The Lord says:
For Judah's three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but their false gods their ancestors followed,
have led them astray.

 5So I will send a fire on Judah.
It will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
The Judgment Awaiting Thrice Guilty Israel
 6The Lord says:
For Israel's three crimes —
no, four! — I will not rescind my judgment.
They sell the righteous for money,
the needy for a pair of shoes.
 7They trample on the head of the poor,
push the humble out of the way.
Father and son go to the same temple girl,
and so profane my holy name.
 8They stretch themselves on garments taken in pledges beside every altar,
and they drink the wine of those who have been fined in the house of their God.      

 9It was I who destroyed the Amorites for your sake,
whose height was like that of the cedars, 
as strong as oaks.
I destroyed their fruit from above and their roots from below.

 10It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,       
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
and brought you here to possess the land of the Amorites.    

 11I raised up some of your sons to be prophets 
and some of your youths to be Nazirites.
Is not this indeed so, Israelites? 
says the Lord.       
 12But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and banned the prophets from prophesying.

 13Listen! 
It is I who will make you groan in your places,      
as a wagon groans under its load of grain.   

 14Then flight will fail the swift,  
and the strength of the strongest will be useless.
The warrior will not save his life,  
 15the archer will not stand firm,
the swift of foot will not escape,
the horseman will not save his life.
 16The bravest of warriors
will flee away naked in that day,
says the Lord.  
The Basis of the Prophet's Arraignment of Israel
3Hear this word
1which the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites,
against the whole nation that I brought out of Egypt:
 2You alone have I cared for of all the nations of the world,
this is why I will punish you for your crimes.

 3Do two walk together unless they agreed to meet?
 4Does a lion roar in the forest when there is no prey for him?
Does a young lion cry out in his den unless he has caught something?
 5Does a bird swoop down into a trap if no bait is set for it?
Does a trap spring up from the ground if nothing sets it off?
 6Can a trumpet be blown in a city and the people not tremble?
Can disaster strike a city and the Lord not have caused it?

 7Surely the Lord the Lord does nothing
without revealing his purpose to his servants the prophets.
 8The lion has roared; who does not fear?
The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?
The Guilt and Doom of Samaria
 9Proclaim over the palaces in Ashdod,
and over the palaces in the land of Egypt:
Gather upon the mountain of Samaria,
and see the violent turmoil,
the acts of oppression in her midst.
 10For they do not know how to do right.
They are heaping up violence and oppression in their palaces,
says the Lord.
 
11Therefore the Lord God says: 
An enemy will surround the land,     
he will strip your strength from you.
and your palaces will be looted. 
12The Lord says:
Just as a shepherd rescues from the jaws of a lion
two shin-bones or a piece of an ear,
so the Israelites living in Sameria will be rescued —
with the corner of a couch,
and the damask of a divan!
 
13Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,
says the Lord God, the God of hosts. 
14On the day when I punish Israel for their crimes,
I will also visit in judgment the altars of Bethel,
and the horns of the altar will be hacked off,
and they will fall to the ground.
 15I will destroy the winter houses together with the summer houses
and the houses of ivory will perish.
Many great houses will be swept away,
says the Lord.

  4Listen to this message, women of Sameria, 
1you well-fed cows of Bashan,
who oppress the poor and crush the needy,
who say to your husbands, “Bring us another drink!”

 2The Lord God has sworn by his holiness:
The time is coming when you will be carried away in baskets,
your children carried away in fish-baskets,
 3and through the breaches in the city wall you will go,
thrown out on the garbage dump,
says the Lord.
Israel's Failure to Understand the Lord's Judgments*********
 4Come to Bethel and transgress,
At Gilgald increase your transgression;
And bring in the morning your sacrifices,
On the third day your tithes!

 5And burn some leavened bread as a thank-offering,
And proclaim aloud the voluntary offerings,
For you love to do so, O Israelites!
It is the oracle of the Lord the Lord.

 6But it was also I who gave to you
Empty stomachs in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your palaces,
Yet ye have not returned to me, is the oracle of the Lord.

 7I also it was who withheld from you the rain,
And I sent rain upon one city,
While upon another I did not let it rain,
 8Yet ye did not return to me, is the oracle of the Lord.

 9I smote you with blight and mildew,
I laid waste your gardens and vineyards,
Your fig and your olive trees the young locust devoured;
Yet you did not return to me, is the oracle of the Lord.

 10I sent among you a pestilence by the way of Egypt,
I slew your youths with the sword, taking captive your horses,
And I caused the stench of your camps to rise in your nostrils;
Yet ye did not return to me, is the oracle of the Lord.

 11I wrought a destruction among you,
As God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,
And ye were as a brand plucked from the burning;
Yet ye did not return to me, is the oracle of the Lord.

 12Therefore thus will I do to thee, O Israel,
Because I am about to do this to thee,
Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

 13For behold it is he who formeth the mountains,
And createth the wind,
And declareth to man what is his thought;
He maketh dawn and darkness,
And treadeth upon the heights of the earth,
the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name.  
Certain Destruction Awaiting Israel Unless She Seeks the Lord
5Hear the word which I take up against you, even a dirge, O house of Israel:
 2Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel!
Hurled down upon her own soil she lies, with none to raise her!

 3For thus saith the Lord the Lord:
The city that taketh the field with a thousand hath but a hundred left,
And the one that taketh the field with a hundred bath but ten left.
 4For thus saith the Lord to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live,
 5But seek not Bethel,
And Gilgal do not enter,
To Beersheba go not over;
For Gilgal shall taste the gall of exile,
And Bethel shall go to perdition.

 6Seek the Lord and live,
Lest he cast fire on the house of Joseph,
And it devour and there be none to quench it for Bethel.

 8He it is who made the Pleades and Orions
Who turneth deep gloom into morning,
And darkeneth day again into night,
Who calleth the waters of the sea,
And poureth them out on the face of the earth,
 9Who causeth destruction to burst over the strong,
And bringeth devastation upon the fortress,
the Lord is his name..
A Solemn Warning to the Corrupt Judges
 7Alas, for those who turn judgment to wormwood,
And east righteousness to the ground,
Who hate him that reproves in the gate,
And abhor one that speaks uprightly!

 11Therefore, because ye trample upon the weak,
And take front him exactions of grain,
Houses of hewn stone have ye built,
But ye shall not dwell in them,
Charming vineyards have ye planted,
But ye shall not drink their wine.

 12Surely I know how many are your transgressions,
And how great are your sins!
Ye persecutors of the righteous, takers of bribes!
Yea, the needy in the gated they thrust aside.

 13Therefore since the prudent man at such a time keeps silent,
It is surely an evil time.
 14Seek good and not evil,
That ye may live;
That this the Lord, God of hosts,
May be with you, as ye have said.

 15Hate evil and love good,
And establish justice in the gate;
Perhaps the Lord will be gracious,
The God of hosts, to a remnant of Joseph.

 16Therefore thus saith the Lord thee God of hosts:
In all squares there shall be wailing,
And in every street they shall say, "Alas! Alas!"
And they shall summon the husbandman to mourning,
And to wailing those skilled in lamentation,
 17Yea, in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
When I pass through the midst of thee, saith the Lord.
Captivity Awaiting Corrupt Israel
 18Alas, for those who long for the day of the Lord!
What have you to do with the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light.
 19It is as when one flees from a lion,
And a bear falls upon him,
Or goes into the house and leans his hand upon the wall,
And a serpent bites him.
 20Shall not the Lord's day be darkness and not light,
Yea, murky darkness without a ray of light in it?
 21I hate, I despise your feasts,
And I will not smell the savor of your festivals,
 22And with your cereal-offerings I will not be pleased,
And the peace-offerings of your fatlings I will not regard with favor.
 23Banish from me the noise of your songs,
For to the melody of your lyres I will not listen.
 24But let justice roll on as a flood of waters,
And righteousness like an unfailing stream.

 25Was it only sacrifices and cereal-offerings ye brought me
In the wilderness during forty years, O house of Israel?
 26But now ye shall lift up the shrine of your king,
And the image of your God which you have made for yourselves,
 27And I will carry you away into exile beyond Damascus,
Saith the Lord the God of hosts.

  6Alas for those who are careless in Zion,
1And overconfident on the mountain of Samaria!
Men of mark of the first of the nations,
To whom the house of Israel resort!
 2Pass over to Calneh and see,'
And go from there to Hamath the great,
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines —
Are they better than these kingdoms,
Or is your territory larger than their territory?
 3They who would postpone the day of calamity,
And yet have instituted a rule of violence.
 4They who lie on ivory couches,
And sprawl upon their divans,
And eat lambs from the flock,
And calves from out the stall;
 5They drawl to the sound of the lyre,
Like David, they devise for themselves instruments of song.
 6They drink bowlfuls of wine,
And anoint themselves with the finest of oil,
But they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

 7Therefore now they must go into exile at the head of the captives,
And hushed shall be the revelry of the sprawlers,
 8It is the oracle of the Lord, the God of hosts.
the Lord hath sworn by himself:
I abhor the pride of Jacob,
And his palaces I hate,
Therefore I will deliver up the city and all that is in it,
 11And one shall smite the great house into atoms,
And the small house into fragments.

 12Do horses run upon crags?
Does one plow the sea with oxen?
That you turn justice into poison,
And, the fruit of righteousness into wormwood?
 13Ye who rejoice in that which is not,
Who say, 'Have we not by our own strength taken horns for ourselves.
 14Verily, I am now raising up against you,
O house of Israel, a nation;
And they shall oppress you,
From the entrance of Hamath
Even to the brook of the Arabah,
Is the oracle of the Lord, the God of hosts.  
Symbolic Pictures of the Impending Judgment
7Thus the Lord the 1Lord showed me,
And behold, he was forming locusts,
When the late spring grass began to come up.
 2And when they were making an end
Of devouring the vegetation of the land,
I said, O Lord the Lord, forgive, I pray,
How can Jacob stand, for he is small?
 3the Lord relented concerning this;
It shall not be, said the Lord.

 4Thus the Lord the Lord showed me,
And behold, he was giving command to execute judgment,
By fire — the Lord the Lord.
And it devoured the great deep,
And had begun to devour the tilled land;
 5Then I said, 0 Lord the Lord cease, I pray,
How can Jacob stand for he is small? '
 6the Lord relented concerning this;
Neither shall this be, said the Lord.

 7Thus the Lord showed me,
And behold the Lord was standing
Beside a wall, with a plumb-line in his hand.
 8And the Lord said to me,
What dost thou see, Amos?
And I answered, A plumb-line,
Then the Lord said, Behold I am setting a plumb-line
In the midst of my people Israel,
I will not again pass by them any more.
 9And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
The sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amaziah's Accusation and Amos's Reply
 10Then 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." 11For thus has Amos said, `Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.'

 12Also Amaziah said to Amos,O seer, go flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat bread and there prophesy; 13but you shall no longer prophesy at Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the royal residence.

 14Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, nor a son of a prophet; but I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores; 15but the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, prophesy against my people Israel.

 16Now therefore hear the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, "Thou shalt not prophesy against Israel, nor preach against the house of Isaac." 17Therefore thus saith the Lord: 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 by line; and thou shalt die upon an unclean soil, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.  
The Symbolic Picture of Israel's Approaching End
8Thus the Lord the 1Lord showed me,
And behold, a basket of summer fruit.
 2Then he said, 'What dost thou see, Amos?'
And I said, 'A basket of summer fruit.'
And the Lord said to me,'The end has come to my people Israel,
I will not again pass them by.'

 4Hear this, you who trample upon the needy,
And oppress the poor of the earth, saying,
 5When shall the new moon pass that we may sell grain,
And the sabbath that we may open the corn —
Making smaller the measure and enlarging the weight,
And perverting the false balances —
 6And that we may sell the refuse of the corn!

 7the Lord bath sworn by the pride of Jacob, 
Never shall I forget all their deeds!        
 8For this shall not the land tremble,       
And all her inhabitants mourn?       
Shall not the whole of it rise like the Nile,        
And sink like the Nile of Egypt?     

 9And it shall come to pass in that day,     
It is the oracle of the Lord the Lord,
That I will make the sun set at noon 
And darken the earth in broad day,
And the singing-women of the palace shall wail,
It is the oracle of the Lord the Lord.
A multitude of carcasses! In every place they are cast!

 10And I will turn your festivals into mourning,
And all your songs into dirges,
I will bring upon all loins sackcloth,
And upon every head baldness,
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
And the end of it like a bitter day. 

 11And I will send hunger in the land,
Not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water,        
But for hearing the word of the Lord.        
 12Then shall they wander from sea to sea,   
From the north to the rising of the sun shall they run to and fro,
To seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.

 13In that day shall faint   
The fairest maidens and the youths,  
 14Who swear by the guilts of Samaria,       
And say, 'As liveth thy God, O Dan!  
And as liveth thy patron, O Beersheba!'      
And they shall fall, no more to rise!  
The Portrayal of the Final Destruction of the Nation
9I saw the Lord standing by the altar;
1And he said, Smite the capitals that the thresholds may shake,
Yea, break them off upon the head of all of them,
And the rest of them I will slay with the sword,
Not one of them shall escape,
Nor shall a refugee be delivered from among them.

 2If they dig through to Sheol,
Thence will my hand take them;
And if they climb up to heaven,
Thence will I bring them down;
 3And if they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
Thence will I search them out and take them.

And if they hide out of my sight at the bottom of the sea,
Thence will I command the sea-serpent to bite them;
 4And if they go-into captivity before their enemies,
Thence will I command the sword to slay them,
And I will keep my eye on them,
For evil and not for good.

 5And it is the Lord the Lord of hosts,
Who toucheth the earth and it melts,
And all who dwell in it mourn,
And all of it rises up like the Nile,
And sinks like the Nile of Egypt.
 6He who buildeth his chambers in the heavens,
And hath established his vault upon the earth;
He that calleth for the waters of the sea.
And poureth them out upon the face of the earth
the Lord is his name.

 7Are ye not as the Cushites to me
O Israel? is the oracle of the Lord.
Did I not bring up Israel out of the land of Egypt,
And the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?
 8Behold the eyes of the Lord the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom,
And I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
Except that I will not completely destroy the house of Jacob,
It is the oracle of the Lord.
The Glories of the Restoration
 9For behold I am about to give command.
And I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations.
Just as one shakes grain in a sieve;
But not a kernel shall fall to the ground.
 10By the sword shall die all the sinners of my people,
Who say, Disaster shall not touch or befall us.

 11In that time I will raise up the hut of David that is fallen,
I will wall up its breaches and raise up its ruins,
And I will rebuild it as in the days of old,
 12In order that they may possess the remnant of Edom,
And all the nations which were called by my name,
It is the oracle of the Lord, who will do this.

 13Behold the days are coming, is the oracle of the Lord,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who soweth seed;
The mountains also shall drop sweet wine.
And all the hills shall melt.

 14And I will lead back the captivity of my people Israel,
And they shall rebuild waste cities and inhabit them.
And they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
And they shall make gardens and eat their fruit,
 15And I will plant them upon their own soil.
And they shall never again be torn away from their land,
Which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.