He said, "From Zion the LORD roars, and from Jerusalem he shouts aloud. The shepherds' pastures will languish, and Carmel's summit will wither."

I will shatter the gate bars of Damascus, and I will cut off the residents of the Aven Valley, along with the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; and the people of Aram will be exiled to Kir," says the LORD.

Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites in front of them, though their height seemed like a cedar, though their strength seemed like an oak, but whose fruit I destroyed from above and the roots from beneath.

Furthermore, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, leading you in the wilderness for 40 years, to take possession of the land of the Amorites.

I also raised up your sons to be prophets, and from your young men I raised up Nazirites. Is this not true, people of Israel?" declares the LORD.

"Listen to this message that the LORD has spoken about you, people of Israel. It concerns the entire family that I brought from the land of Egypt:

"You alone have I known from among all of the families of mankind; therefore I will hold you accountable for all your iniquities.'"

Will a lion roar in the forest without having found its prey? Will a young lion cry from its den without having caught anything?

Because they do not know how to act right," declares the LORD, "they are filling their strongholds with treasures that they took from others by violence into their fortified citadels."

This is what the LORD says: "Just as a shepherd might save from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear, the Israelis will be saved in a similar manner those in Samaria who sit on the remains of their broken beds, and those in Damascus who lie on the edge of their couches."

"Listen to this message, you fat cows from Bashan, who live on the Samaritan mountains, who oppress the poor, who rob the needy, and who constantly ask your husbands for one more drink!"

"I therefore have withheld the rain from you three months before the harvest, causing rain to come upon one city, but not upon another, and upon one field but not upon another, so that it would wither.

"I sent plagues among you as I did with Egypt. I killed your choicest young men with the sword. I took your horses away from you. I filled your noses with the stench of your encampments, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.

"I overthrew your cities, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You've become like a burning ember, snatched from the fire, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.

"Therefore, since you trample the poor continuously, taxing his grain, building houses of stone in which you won't live and planting fine vineyards from which you won't drink

It will be like a man who runs from a lion, only to encounter a bear; or who comes home, leans his hand against a wall, and a serpent bites him!

Cross over to Calneh and look around, then go on to that great city of Hamath, and from there go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory more extensive than yours?

lying on ivory beds, stretching out on your couches, eating lambs from the flock, and fattened calves from the stall,

drinking wine from bowls, anointing themselves with the choicest of oils, but not grieving on the occasion of Joseph's ruin

One's relative will pick up the corpse to carry them from the house for burning, saying to whomever remains inside the house, "Is there anyone still with you?' And he will say, "No.' He will respond, "Be quiet, because we do not mention the name "LORD".'

"So look, house of Israel! I will raise up a nation against you," declares the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, "and they will harass you from the entrance of Hamath to the wadi of the wilderness."

So the LORD relented from this. "This will not happen," said the LORD.

So the LORD relented from this. "This will not happen, either," said the Lord GOD.

because Amos is saying this: "By the sword will Jeroboam die, and Israel will surely go into exile far from her homeland.'"

But the LORD took me from tending the flock and the LORD kept saying to me, "Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

"Very well then, hear this message from the LORD: "You are saying, "Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach against the house of Isaac."

"Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Your wife will become a whore in the city, and your sons and daughters will die by the sword. Your land will be divided and apportioned, and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will surely go into exile, far from its homeland."'"

People will stagger from sea to sea, from north to east. They will run back and forth, searching for a message from the LORD, but they won't find it.

At that time, the beautiful virgins will faint, as will the strong young men from thirst.

"Even if they burrow into Sheol, from there my hand will find them. Even if they ascend to the heavens, from there I will bring them down.

Even if they hide at the top of Mount Carmel, from there I will search and seize them. Even if they hide from my sight in the depths of the sea, from there I will order the serpent to strike them.

Even if they go into exile among their enemies, from there I will order the sword to kill them. I will fix my gaze on them to inflict disaster, and not to do good.

"Aren't you people of Israel like the people of Cush to me?" declares the LORD. "I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, did I not, as well as the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?

Look! The eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth; but I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.

"Look! The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the one who sows will overtake the harvester and the treader of grapes will overtake the planter. Fresh wine will drip down from the mountains, cascading down from the hills.

I will surely restore my people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them. They will plant gardens and eat the fruit from them.