Shared Word Translation
Amos 7
The Vision of the Locusts
Thus the Lord GOD showed me:
Look, he was forming locusts
at the beginning of the growth of the late crop,
and look, it was the late crop
after the king’s mowing.
And when they had finished eating
the vegetation of the land,
I said:
“Lord GOD, please forgive!
How can Jacob stand?
For he is small.”
The LORD relented concerning this.
“It shall not be,”
said the LORD.
The Vision of Fire
Thus the Lord GOD showed me:
Look, the Lord GOD was calling
for judgment by fire.
It devoured the great deep
and began to devour the portion.
Then I said:
“Lord GOD, please stop!
How can Jacob stand?
For he is small.”
The LORD relented concerning this.
“This also shall not be,”
said the Lord GOD.
The Vision of the Plumb Line
Thus he showed me:
Look, the Lord was standing
beside a wall built with a plumb line,
with a plumb line in his hand.
The LORD said to me,
“What do you see, Amos?”
And I said,
“A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said:
“Look, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel.
I will no longer pass by him.
The high places of Isaac
will be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel
will be laid waste,
and I will rise against
the house of Jeroboam
with the sword.”
Amaziah Accuses Amos
Then Amaziah 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.
For thus Amos has said:
‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile
away from its land.’”
Go, Seer, Flee to Judah
Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Seer, go! Flee away to the land of Judah. Eat bread there and prophesy there. But at Bethel you shall no longer prophesy, for it is the king’s sanctuary and it is a royal house.”
The LORD Took Me from behind the Flock
Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.
But the LORD took me from behind the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
And now, hear the word of the LORD:
You say,
‘You shall not prophesy against Israel,
and you shall not drip words
against the house of Isaac.’
Therefore thus says the LORD:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters
will fall by the sword.
Your land will be divided
with a measuring line.
You yourself will die
in an unclean land,
and Israel will surely go into exile
away from its land.’”