The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of Hazael,
And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).

“I also will break the bar [of the gate] of Damascus,
And cut off and destroy the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven (Wickedness),
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden (Damascus);
And the people of Aram [conquered by the Assyrians] will go into exile to Kir,”
Says the Lord.

“And I will cut off and destroy the inhabitants from Ashdod,
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon;
And I will unleash My power and turn My hand [in judgment] against Ekron,
And the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall die,”
Says the Lord God.

Who are panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And the way of the humble they turn aside, And a man and his father go unto the damsel, So as to pollute My holy name.

and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

Yet I destroyed the Amorite {before them}, {who was as tall as} cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.

And it was, I, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, - and led you in the desert, forty years, to take possession of the land of the Amorites;

But to those who were separate you gave wine for drink; and to the prophets you said, Be prophets no longer.

“He who handles the bow will not stand his ground,
The one who is swift of foot will not escape,
Nor will he who rides the horse save his life [from the invading army].

“Even the bravest among the warriors shall flee naked on that day,” says the Lord.

Hear, what the LORD speaketh unto you, O ye children of Israel: namely, unto all the tribes, whom I brought out of Egypt, and said,

The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.

Therefore - Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, An adversary! Yea round about the land, - and he who shall bring down, from thee, thy strength, And spoiled shall be thy palaces.

Thus said Jehovah: As the shepherd delivereth from the lion's mouth Two legs, or a piece of an ear, So delivered are the sons of Israel, Who are sitting in Samaria on the corner of a bed, And in Damascus on that of a couch.

Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking!

Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, Who are in the mountain of Samaria, Who are oppressing the poor, Who are bruising the needy, Who are saying to their lords: 'Bring in, and we do drink.'

For behold, he who formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, who maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, Jehovah, the God of hosts, is his name.

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

The maker of Kimah and Kesil, And the turner to morning of death-shade, And day as night He hath made dark, Who is calling to the waters of the sea, And poureth them on the face of the earth, Jehovah is His name;

Who is brightening up the spoiled against the strong, And the spoiled against a fortress cometh.

They hate the one who reprimands [the unrighteous] in the [court held at the city] gate [regarding him as unreasonable and rejecting his reprimand],
And they detest him who speaks [the truth] with integrity and honesty.

For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great (shocking, innumerable),
You who distress the righteous and take bribes,
And turn away from the poor in the [court of the city] gate [depriving them of justice].

Therefore, he who is prudent and has insight will keep silent at such a [corrupt and evil] time, for it is an evil time [when people will not listen to truth and will disregard those of good character].

Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you, as you claim he is.

Hate what is wrong, love what is right! Promote justice at the city gate! Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph.

Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, my Lord, "In all [of] the public squares [there will be] wailing, and in all [of] the streets [they will say], 'Alas, alas, alas!' They shall call [the] farmers to mourning and [to] wailing, to those who are skilled [in] lamentation.

Ho, ye who are desiring the day of Jehovah, Why is this to you -- the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light,

It will be like a man who flees from a lion
only to have a bear confront him.
He goes home and rests his hand against the wall
only to have a snake bite him.

and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus," says the Lord. He is called the God who commands armies!

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Who are putting away the day of evil, And ye bring nigh the seat of violence,

Who are lying down on beds of ivory, And are spread out on their couches, And are eating lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the stall,

Who are taking part according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music;

Who are drinking with bowls of wine, And with chief perfumes anoint themselves, And have not been pained for the breach of Joseph.

Therefore, they will now go into exile with the first of the captives,
And the cultic revelry and banqueting of those who lounge around [on their luxurious couches] will pass away.

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: "I despise Jacob's arrogance; I hate their fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it."

And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who is in the sides of the house, 'Is there yet with thee?' And he said, 'None,' then he said, 'Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'

Who can run with horses, or plow with oxen upon the hard rocks of stone? For why? Ye have turned true judgment into bitterness, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.

O ye who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, 'Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves horns?'

"Look! I am about to bring a nation against you, family of Israel." The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking. "They will oppress you all the way from Lebo-Hamath to the Stream of the Arabah."

And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

“And the [idolatrous] high places of Isaac (Israel) will be devastated and deserted,
And the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.
Then I shall rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword [and destroy the monarchy].”

Then Amos in answer said to Amaziah, I am no prophet, or one of the sons of the prophets; I am a herdman and one who takes care of sycamore-trees:

Hear this, ye who are swallowing up the needy, To cause to cease the poor of the land,

Who say, When will the new moon, pass away, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath that we may open grain? who diminish the ephah, and increase the shekel, and who falsify by deceitful weights:

Getting the poor for silver, and him who is in need for the price of two shoes, and taking a price for the waste parts of the grain.

The Lord has sworn [an oath] by the pride of Jacob,
“Surely I shall never forget [nor leave unpunished] any of their [rebellious] acts.

“Because of this [coming judgment] will the land not quake
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
Indeed, all of it shall rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed around [from the impact of judgment]
And [afterward] subside again like the Nile of Egypt.

“Those who swear [their oaths] by the sin (guilt) of Samaria or Ashimah (a pagan goddess),
Who say, ‘By the life of your god [the golden calf], O Dan!’
And [swear], ‘By the life of the way of [idolatrous] Beersheba,’
They shall fall and not rise again.”

I saw [in a vision] the Lord standing at the altar, and He said,

“Destroy the capitals (tops) of the pillars so that the thresholds will shake,
And break them on the heads of all of the people!
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword;
They will not have a fugitive who will get away,
Or a survivor who will escape.

And it is the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Who is striking against the land, and it melteth, And mourned have all the inhabitants in it, And come up as a flood hath all of it, And it hath sunk -- like the flood of Egypt.

Who is building in the heavens His upper chambers; As to His troop, Upon earth He hath founded it, Who is calling for the waters of the sea, And poureth them out on the face of the land, Jehovah is His name.

"Yes, look, I [am] going to command and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations like one who shakes with a sieve, but not a pebble will fall [to the] ground.

All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us.

In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen, and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;

that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations upon whom my name is called, saith Jehovah who doeth this.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“When the plowman shall overtake the one who gathers the harvest,
And the one who treads the grapes [shall overtake] him who sows the seed [for the harvest continues until planting time];
When the mountains will drip sweet wine
And all the hills shall melt [that is, everything that was once barren will overflow with streams of blessing].