God’s Judgment Unavoidable

I saw the Lord standing beside the (A)altar, and He said,

“Strike the pillar capitals so that the (B)thresholds will shake,
And (C)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (D)put to death the rest of them with the sword;
They will (E)not have a fugitive who will flee,
Nor a survivor who will escape.
Though they dig into (F)Sheol,
From there My hand will take them;
And though they (G)ascend to heaven,
From there I will bring them down.
And though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
I will (H)track them down and take them from there;
And though they (I)hide themselves from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
I will command the (J)serpent from there, and it will bite them.
And though they go into (K)captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword and it will kill them,
And I will (L)set My eyes against them for harm and not for good.”

The Lord [a]God of armies,
The One who (M)touches the land so that it quakes,
And (N)all those who live in it mourn,
And all of it rises up like the Nile
And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
The One who builds His (O)upper chambers in the heavens
And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,
He who (P)calls for the waters of the sea
And (Q)pours them out on the face of the earth,
(R)The Lord is His name.

“Are you not as the sons of (S)Ethiopia to Me,
You sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the (T)Philistines from Caphtor and the (U)Arameans from (V)Kir?
Behold, the (W)eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I will (X)eliminate it from the face of the earth;
Nevertheless, I will (Y)not totally eliminate the house of Jacob,”
Declares the Lord.
“For behold, I am commanding,
And I will (Z)shake the house of Israel among all nations
As grain is shaken in a sieve,
But not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the (AA)sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘(AB)The catastrophe will not overtake or confront us.’

The Restoration of Israel

11 “On that day I will (AC)raise up the fallen [b](AD)shelter of David,
And wall up its (AE)gaps;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the (AF)days of old;
12 (AG)So that they may [c]possess the remnant of (AH)Edom
And all the [d]nations who are (AI)called by My name,”
Declares the Lord who does this.

13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When the (AJ)plowman will overtake the reaper,
And the one who treads grapes will overtake him who sows the seed;
When the (AK)mountains will drip grape juice,
And all the hills will come apart.
14 I will also (AL)restore the fortunes of My people Israel,
And they will (AM)rebuild the desolated cities and live in them;
They will also (AN)plant vineyards and drink their wine,
And make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will also plant them on their land,
And (AO)they will not be uprooted again from their land
Which I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Amos 9:11 Heb sukkah; i.e., hut or dwelling
  3. Amos 9:12 Or take possession of
  4. Amos 9:12 Or Gentiles

Israel to Be Destroyed

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.(B)
Though they dig down to the depths below,(C)
    from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(D)
    from there I will bring them down.(E)
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(F)
    there I will hunt them down and seize them.(G)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(H)
    there I will command the serpent(I) to bite them.(J)
Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
    there I will command the sword(K) to slay them.

“I will keep my eye on them
    for harm(L) and not for good.(M)(N)

The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(O)
    and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
    then sinks like the river of Egypt;(P)
he builds his lofty palace[a](Q) in the heavens
    and sets its foundation[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.(R)

“Are not you Israelites
    the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”(S)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
    the Philistines(T) from Caphtor[d](U)
    and the Arameans from Kir?(V)

“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
    are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(W) it
    from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
    the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(X)
“For I will give the command,
    and I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations
as grain(Y) is shaken in a sieve,(Z)
    and not a pebble will reach the ground.(AA)
10 All the sinners among my people
    will die by the sword,(AB)
all those who say,
    ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(AC)

Israel’s Restoration

11 “In that day

“I will restore David’s(AD) fallen shelter(AE)
    I will repair its broken walls
    and restore its ruins(AF)
    and will rebuild it as it used to be,(AG)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(AH)
    and all the nations that bear my name,[e](AI)
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(AJ)

13 “The days are coming,”(AK) declares the Lord,

“when the reaper(AL) will be overtaken by the plowman(AM)
    and the planter by the one treading(AN) grapes.
New wine(AO) will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,(AP)
14     and I will bring(AQ) my people Israel back from exile.[f](AR)

“They will rebuild the ruined cities(AS) and live in them.
    They will plant vineyards(AT) and drink their wine;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(AU)
15 I will plant(AV) Israel in their own land,(AW)
    never again to be uprooted(AX)
    from the land I have given them,”(AY)

says the Lord your God.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
  4. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
  5. Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
  6. Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel