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Amos 7
New Catholic Bible
Amos 7
New Catholic Bible
Visions: Amos, Confidant of God
Chapter 7
The Vision of Locusts. 1 This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming a swarm of locusts after the king’s share[a] had been harvested and the second growth was beginning to sprout. 2 When the locusts had finished eating all the grass in the land, I said:
Lord God, forgive, I beg you.
Jacob is so small;
how can he survive?
3 Thereupon the Lord relented. “This shall not happen,” said the Lord God.
The Vision of Fire. 4 This is what the Lord God then showed me: the Lord God was summoning a fire of judgment to devour the great abyss and to consume the land. 5 I said:
Lord God, cease, I beg you.
Jacob is so small;
how can he survive?
6 Thereupon the Lord relented. “This also shall not happen,” said the Lord God.
The Vision of the Plumb Line. 7 Then the Lord showed me this: he was standing by a wall, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said:
Behold, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
never again will I forgive their offenses.
9 The high places of Isaac shall be laid waste,
and the sanctuaries of Israel will be left desolate;
with sword in hand
I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.
10 Amos Expelled by the Priests of Bethel. Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent the following message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: “Amos has conspired against you here in the heart of the house of Israel, and the country cannot tolerate his message. 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“ ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and the Israelites will be taken into captivity,
far away from their native land.’ ”
12 To Amos himself Amaziah said, “Go, O seer, and flee to the land of Judah. There you can prophesy and earn your living. 13 But never again prophesy at Bethel, for this is the king’s sanctuary and a royal shrine.”
14 Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor a prophet’s son. I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me away from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go forth and prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 So now, listen to the word of the Lord. You tell me that I am not to prophesy against Israel or to preach against the house of Isaac. 17 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 parceled out by a measuring line;
you yourself will die in a pagan country,
and Israel will be deported in captivity
far from its native land.’ ”
Footnotes
- Amos 7:1 The king’s share: part of the first mowing was reserved for the king as a kind of tax.
Amos 7
New International Version
Amos 7
New International Version
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(A) He was preparing swarms of locusts(B) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean,(C) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(D) He is so small!(E)”
3 So the Lord relented.(F)
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(G)
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(H) it dried up the great deep and devoured(I) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(J)”
6 So the Lord relented.(K)
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(L)
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 line[b] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(M) Amos?(N)”
“A plumb line,(O)” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(P)
9 “The high places(Q) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries(R) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(S)”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(T) sent a message to Jeroboam(U) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(V) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(W) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,(X)
away from their native land.’”(Y)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(Z) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(AA) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(AB) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(AC) of the kingdom.(AD)”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(AE) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(AF) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(AG) and said to me, ‘Go,(AH) prophesy(AI) to my people Israel.’(AJ) 16 Now then, hear(AK) the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against(AL) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
New International Version (NIV) 
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