Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria! You oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your husbands, "Bring us more to drink!"

Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

Be certain of this, the time is coming," says the sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!

Do two walk together without having met?

"In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David. I will seal its gaps, repair its ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.

"Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets and your sons and daughters will die violently. Your land will be given to others and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.'"

"I absolutely despise your festivals! I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!

Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?

Amos said: "The Lord comes roaring out of Zion; from Jerusalem he comes bellowing! The shepherds' pastures wilt; the summit of Carmel withers."

Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord! Why do you want the Lord's day of judgment to come? It will bring darkness, not light.

If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?

All the sinners among my people will die by the sword -- the ones who say, 'Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.'

So I will set Hazael's house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad's fortresses.

"I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins."

The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Woe to those who live in ease in Zion, to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation. The family of Israel looks to them for leadership.

Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up.

Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?

The Lord said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" I said, "Tin." The sovereign One then said, "Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sin.

The Israelites turn justice into bitterness; they throw what is fair and right to the ground.

Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! For you love to do this, you Israelites." The sovereign Lord is speaking!

This is what the Lord says: "Because Gaza has committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They deported a whole community and sold them to Edom.

So I will set Gaza's city wall on fire; fire will consume her fortresses.

Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, and the religious banquets where they sprawl on couches will end.

This is what the Lord says: "Because Tyre has committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold a whole community to Edom; they failed to observe a treaty of brotherhood.

Isaac's centers of worship will become desolate; Israel's holy places will be in ruins. I will attack Jeroboam's dynasty with the sword."

I will remove Moab's leader; I will kill all Moab's officials with him." The Lord has spoken!

I will remove the ruler from Ashdod, the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. I will strike Ekron with my hand; the rest of the Philistines will also die." The sovereign Lord has spoken!

This is what the Lord says: "Because Edom has committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them.

So I will set fire to Tyre's city wall; fire will consume her fortresses."

Ammon's king will be deported; he and his officials will be carried off together." The Lord has spoken!

I will turn your festivals into funerals, and all your songs into funeral dirges. I will make everyone wear funeral clothes and cause every head to be shaved bald. I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day.

So I will set fire to Rabbah's city wall; fire will consume her fortresses. War cries will be heard on the day of battle; a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm.

So I will set Teman on fire; fire will consume Bozrah's fortresses."

This is what the Lord says: "Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead's pregnant women so they could expand their territory.

If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.

Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel: "Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! The land cannot endure all his prophecies.

He flashes destruction down upon the strong so that destruction overwhelms the fortified places.)

Amaziah then said to Amos, "Leave, you visionary! Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living and prophesy there!

This is what the Lord says: "Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord's law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.

As a result they will conquer those left in Edom and all the nations subject to my rule." The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!

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."

A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy?

"I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted.

Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, family of Israel:

Don't prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!"

As a matter of fact, Amos is saying this: 'Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.'"

So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem's fortresses."

Make this announcement in the fortresses of Ashdod and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say this: "Gather on the hills around Samaria! Observe the many acts of violence taking place within the city, the oppressive deeds occurring in it."

This is what the Lord says: "Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion's mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch."

They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.

Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.

"I destroyed your crops with blight and disease. Locusts kept devouring your orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. Still you did not come back to me." The Lord is speaking!

Because of Israel's sins this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says: "In all the squares there will be wailing, in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail.

People will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for a revelation from the Lord, but they will not find any.

I will plant them on their land and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God.

Therefore," says the sovereign Lord, "an enemy will encircle the land. He will take away your power; your fortresses will be looted."

"They do not know how to do what is right." (The Lord is speaking.) "They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses.

For Israel's sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.

"I overthrew some of you the way God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the flames. Still you did not come back to me." The Lord is speaking!

These are the ones who now take oaths in the name of the sinful idol goddess of Samaria. They vow, 'As surely as your god lives, O Dan,' or 'As surely as your beloved one lives, O Beer Sheba!' But they will fall down and not get up again."

I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. The houses filled with ivory will be ruined, the great houses will be swept away." The Lord is speaking!

In all the vineyards there will be wailing, for I will pass through your midst," says the Lord.

For this reason whoever is smart keeps quiet in such a time, for it is an evil time.

When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses, pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, "Is anyone else with you?" He will respond, "Be quiet! Don't invoke the Lord's name!"

They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral; they do so right beside every altar! They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God!

People from two or three cities staggered into one city to get water, but remained thirsty. Still you did not come back to me." The Lord is speaking!

In that day your beautiful young women and your young men will faint from thirst.

You did not bring me sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family of Israel.

Then the Lord took me from tending flocks and gave me this commission, 'Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!'

"Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel's altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for forty years so you could take the Amorites' land as your own.

"I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. I killed your young men with the sword, along with the horses you had captured. I made the stench from the corpses rise up into your nostrils. Still you did not come back to me." The Lord is speaking!

"You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight," says the Lord. "Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir.

This is what the Lord says: "Because Moab has committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom's king into lime.

I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. Is this not true, you Israelites?" The Lord is speaking!

Indeed, look! The Lord is giving the command. He will smash the large house to bits, and the small house into little pieces.

"But you made the Nazirites drink wine; you commanded the prophets, 'Do not prophesy!'

You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.

The Lord says this to the family of Israel: "Seek me so you can live!

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

Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.

They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.

Take away from me your noisy songs; I don't want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.

Do not seek Bethel! Do not visit Gilgal! Do not journey down to Beer Sheba! For the people of Gilgal will certainly be carried into exile; and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds."

So now listen to the Lord's message! You say, 'Don't prophesy against Israel! Don't preach against the family of Isaac!'

You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. You say, "Did we not conquer Karnaim by our own power?"

This is what the Lord says: "Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.

Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

"The virgin Israel has fallen down and will not get up again. She is abandoned on her own land with no one to help her get up."

Don't you realize the Lord's day of judgment will bring darkness, not light -- gloomy blackness, not bright light?

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: "Certainly the time is approaching when you will be carried away in baskets, every last one of you in fishermen's pots.

"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."

This is what the Lord says: "Because Damascus has committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.

Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.

So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth's fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram's horn.

Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, my hand would pull them up from there. Even if they could climb up to heaven, I would drag them down from there.

Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.

Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives.

"Be sure of this, the time is coming," says the Lord, "when the plowman will catch up to the reaper and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter. Juice will run down the slopes, it will flow down all the hillsides.

Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day." The Lord is speaking!

They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.

They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments.

The sovereign Lord says this: "The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers will have only a hundred left; the town that marches out with a hundred soldiers will have only ten left for the family of Israel."

Because of this the earth will quake, and all who live in it will mourn. The whole earth will rise like the River Nile, it will surge upward and then grow calm, like the Nile in Egypt.

Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses.

He said, "What do you see, Amos?" I replied, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me, "The end has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins.

The women singing in the temple will wail in that day." The sovereign Lord is speaking. "There will be many corpses littered everywhere! Be quiet!"

Look, the sovereign Lord is watching the sinful nation, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will not completely destroy the family of Jacob," says the Lord.

He builds the upper rooms of his palace in heaven and sets its foundation supports on the earth. He summons the water of the sea and pours it out on the earth's surface. The Lord is his name.

Amos replied to Amaziah, "I was not a prophet by profession. No, I was a herdsman who also took care of sycamore fig trees.

They say to the people: "Journey over to Calneh and look at it! Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! Then go down to Gath of the Philistines! Are they superior to our two kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?"

When they had completely consumed the earth's vegetation, I said, "Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!"

The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw the sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields.

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

(But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion; he can turn the darkness into morning and daylight into night. He summons the water of the seas and pours it out on the earth's surface. The Lord is his name!

You will pick up your images of Sikkuth, your king, and Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves,

In that day," says the sovereign Lord, "I will make the sun set at noon, and make the earth dark in the middle of the day.

You say, "When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We're eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales!

He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand.

Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; you will be thrown out toward Harmon." The Lord is speaking!

We're eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!"

I saw the sovereign One standing by the altar and he said, "Strike the tops of the support pillars, so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the survivors with the sword. No one will be able to run away; no one will be able to escape.

"Go to Bethel and rebel! At Gilgal rebel some more! Bring your sacrifices in the morning, your tithes on the third day!

The Lord confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob: "I swear I will never forget all you have done!

The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. He touches the earth and it dissolves; all who live on it mourn. The whole earth rises like the River Nile, and then grows calm like the Nile in Egypt.

For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men. He turns the dawn into darkness and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is his name!"

"But surely I gave you no food to eat in any of your cities; you lacked food everywhere you live. Still you did not come back to me." The Lord is speaking!

Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I would hunt them down and take them from there. Even if they tried to hide from me at the bottom of the sea, from there I would command the Sea Serpent to bite them.

The Lord decided not to do this. "It will not happen," the Lord said.

Listen to this, you who trample the needy, and do away with the destitute in the land.

Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt:

I said, "Sovereign Lord, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!"

The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw a basket of summer fruit.

Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, from there I will command the sword to kill them. I will not let them out of my sight; they will experience disaster, not prosperity."

The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.

The Lord decided not to do this. The sovereign Lord said, "This will not happen either."

I will bring back my people, Israel; they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce.

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.

"Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel!

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.

Seek the Lord so you can live! Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph's family; the fire will consume and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.

I will break the bar on the gate of Damascus. I will remove the ruler from Wicked Valley, the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported to Kir." The Lord has spoken!

The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw him making locusts just as the crops planted late were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest.)

"For look, I am giving a command and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations. It will resemble a sieve being shaken, when not even a pebble falls to the ground.