Words of Amos -- who hath been among herdsmen of Tekoa -- that he hath seen concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the shaking;

“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 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.

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!

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.

“On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,
And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

Yet it was, I, who destroyed the Amorite, from before them, whose height was, like the height of cedars, and, strong, was he, like the oaks, - but 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.

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

“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,

A lion hath roared -- who doth not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken -- who doth not prophesy?

And they have not known to act straightforwardly, An affirmation of Jehovah, Who are treasuring up violence and spoil 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 are turning to wormwood judgment, And righteousness to the earth have put down,

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 man who, in the gate, rebuketh, - and, him who speaketh truthfully, they abhor.

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, saith Yahweh, God of hosts, My Lord, In all broadways, shall be lamentation, and, in all streets, shall they say, Alas! Alas! And they shall call the husbandman unto the mourning, and, unto the lamentation, them who know a wailing song;

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 runs from a lion, only to encounter a bear; or who comes home, leans his hand against a wall, and a serpent bites 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 that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the renowned of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come.

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 you will be the first to go into exile, and the celebrations of those who are lounging will end."

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, when they had made an end of eating the herbage of the land, that I said - Oh, My Lord, Yahweh, forgive, I beseech thee: By whom shall Jacob, arise? for, small, he is.

Then said I, My Lord, Yahweh, forbear, I beseech thee, By whom shall Jacob, arise? for, small, he is.

“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].”

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

Who buy - for silver - the poor, and the needy for a pair of shoes, - and that the refuse of the grain we may sell.

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

Surely the land will tremble because of this, won't it? And all who live in it will mourn, won't they? The entire land will swell up like a flooded river. It will be stirred up and then will sink like the river of Egypt.

They who swear by the Guilt of Samaria, and say, As thy God, liveth, O Dan! and, As the Way of Beer-sheba, liveth, shall fall, and shall not rise any more.

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar as he was saying, "Strike the doorposts so that the thresholds tremble, bringing them down on the heads of all of them. Those who survive I will kill with the sword. Those who flee will not escape. There will be no deliverance for the fugitives.

Now, My Lord, Yahweh of hosts, is he - -who toucheth the earth, and it melteth, and all that dwell therein, mourn; and it cometh up like the Nile, all of it, and subsideth like the river of Egypt:

Who buildeth, in the heavens, his upper rooms, and, as for his vault, upon the earth, hath he founded it, - who calleth to the waters of the sea, and poureth them out over the face of the land, Yahweh, 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, Evil shall not overtake nor befall 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.

"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.