Israel is [as if] swallowed up [by enemies];
They are now among the nations
Like a vessel [of cheap, coarse pottery] that is useless.

For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey wandering alone and taking her own way;
Ephraim has hired lovers (pagan allies).

I wrote for him the ten thousand precepts of My law,
But they are regarded as a strange thing [which does not concern him].

As for My sacrificial offerings,
They sacrifice the meat [as a mere formality] and eat it,
But the Lord is not pleased with them and does not accept them.
Now He will remember and take into account their wickedness and guilt,
And punish them for their sins.
They will return [in captivity] to [another] Egypt [that is, Assyria].

Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation as do the [pagan] peoples,
For you have played the prostitute, turning away from your God.
You have loved prostitutes’ earnings on every threshing floor [attributing the harvest to the Baals instead of to God].

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord;
Their sacrifices will not please Him.
Their bread will be like mourners’ bread [eaten at funerals];
All who eat it will be [ceremonially] unclean,
For their bread will be for themselves;
It will not enter the house of the Lord [to be consecrated].

The days of punishment have come;
The days of retribution are at hand;
Let Israel know this!
The prophet is [considered] a fool;
The man [of God] who is inspired is [treated as if] demented,
Because of the abundance of your wickedness and guilt,
And because your deep antagonism [toward God and the prophets] is so great.

They have deeply corrupted (perverted) themselves
As in the days of Gibeah.
The Lord will remember their wickedness and guilt;
He will punish their sins.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness [an unexpected and refreshing delight];
I saw your fathers (ancestors) as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season,
But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shamefulness [the worship of Baal],
And [because of their spiritual and physical adultery] they became as detestable and loathsome as the thing they loved.

As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird;
No birth, no pregnancy, and [because of their impurity] no conception.

Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pleasant [and prosperous] meadow like Tyre;
But Ephraim will bring out his children to the executioner [for slaughter].

Surely now they will say [in despair], “We have no [true] king,
For we do not revere the Lord;
And as for the king, what can he do for us [to rescue us]?”

The golden calf itself will be carried to Assyria
As tribute to King Jareb;
Ephraim will be seized with shame
And Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel [to worship the calf and separate Israel from Judah].

As for Samaria, her king will be cut off and float away
Like a twig on the surface of the water.

Therefore an uproar will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

I led them gently with cords of a man, with bonds of love [guiding them],
And I was to them as one who lifts up and eases the yoke [of the law] over their jaws;
And I bent down to them and fed them.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within Me;
All My compassions are kindled together [for My nation of Israel].

But I have been the Lord your God since [you became a nation in] the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed and solemn festival.

When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling and terror.
He exalted himself [above the other tribes] in Israel;
But through [the worship of] Baal he became guilty and died [spiritually, and then came ruin, sealing Israel’s doom as a nation].

And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves molten images,
Idols skillfully made from their silver [as it pleased them],
All of them the work of the craftsmen.
They say of these [very works of their hands], “Let those who sacrifice kiss and show respect to the calves [as if they were living gods]!”

Therefore they will be [swiftly dissipated] like the morning cloud
Or like dew which soon disappears,
Like chaff which swirls with the whirlwind from the threshing floor,
And like smoke from the chimney or through the window [worthless and without substance —they will vanish].

I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs,
And I will tear open their chests;
There I will also devour them like a lioness,
As a wild beast would tear them.

The wickedness of Ephraim [which is not yet completely punished] is bound up [as in a bag];
His sin is stored up [for judgment and destruction].

Take the words [confessing your guilt] with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “Take away all our wickedness;
Accept what is good and receive us graciously,
So that we may present the fruit of our lips (gratitude).

Hear this, O elders,
Listen closely, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing as this occurred in your days,
Or even in the days of your fathers?

Alas for the day!
For the [judgment] day of the Lord is at hand,
And it will come [upon the nation] as a destruction from the Almighty.

Before them a fire devours,
And behind them a flame burns;
Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden,
But behind them a desolate wilderness;
And nothing at all escapes them.

So rejoice, O children of Zion,
And delight in the Lord, your God;
For He has given you the early [autumn] rain in vindication
And He has poured down the rain for you,
The early [autumn] rain and the late [spring] rain, as before.

“And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be saved [from the coming judgment]
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the remnant [of survivors] whom the Lord calls.

And I shall avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the Lord dwells in Zion.

Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]
And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].

Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because they [as middlemen] deported an entire [Jewish] population to Edom
And did not [seriously] remember their covenant of brotherhood.

“Yet it was I [not the false gods] who destroyed the Amorite before them,
Though his height was like the height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below.

“Behold, I am weighted down beneath you
As a cart that is weighted down when it is full of sheaves.

If a trumpet is blown in a city [warning of danger] will not the people tremble?
If a disaster or misfortune occurs in a city has not the Lord caused it?

Thus says the Lord,
“Just as the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion a couple of legs or a piece of the [sheep’s] ear [to prove to the owner that he has not stolen the animal],
So will the [remaining] children of Israel living in Samaria be snatched away
With the corner of a bed and [part of] the damask covering of a couch.

“I overthrew and destroyed [some among] you, as [I, your] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were [rescued] like a log pulled out of the flame;
Yet you have not returned to Me [in repentance],” says the Lord.

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,

“Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live.

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.

Seek (long for, require) good and not evil, that you may live;
And so may the Lord God of hosts be with you,
Just as you have said!

Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Lord,

“There is wailing in all the public plazas,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
And they call the farmers to mourning [for those who have died]
And professional mourners to wailing.

It is as if a man runs from a lion [escaping one danger]
And a bear meets him [so he dies anyway],
Or goes home, and leans with his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.

“But let justice run down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream [flowing abundantly].

The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting a plumb line [as a standard]
Among My people Israel [showing the defectiveness of the nation, requiring judgment].
I shall not spare them any longer. [The door of mercy is shut.]

Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, run for your life [from Israel] to the land of Judah [your own country] and eat bread and live as a prophet there!

But the Lord took me as I followed the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

So that we may buy the poor [as slaves] for silver [since they are unable to support themselves]
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the leftovers of the wheat [as if it were a good grade of grain]?”

“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.

“And I shall turn your festivals and feasts into mourning
And all your songs into dirges (funeral poems to be sung);
And I shall cause sackcloth to be put on everyone’s loins
And baldness on every head [shaved for mourning].
And I shall make that time like a time of mourning for an only son [who has died],
And the end of it shall be like a bitter day.

“People shall stagger from sea to sea [to the very ends of the earth]
And from the north even to the east;
They will roam here and there to seek the word of the Lord [longing for it as essential for life],
But they will not find it.

“For behold, I am commanding,
And I shall shake and sift the house of Israel among all nations [and cause it to tremble]
Like grain is shaken in a sieve [removing the chaff],
But not a kernel [of the faithful remnant] shall fall to the ground and be lost [from My sight].

“In that day I shall raise up and restore the fallen tabernacle (booth) of David,
And wall up its breaches [in the city walls];
I will also raise up and restore its ruins
And rebuild it as it was in the days of old,

“Though you build [your nest] on high like the eagle,
Though you set your nest among the stars,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.

“On the day that [Jerusalem was destroyed] you stood aloof [from your brother Jacob]—
On the day that strangers took his forces captive and carried off his wealth,
And foreigners entered his gates
And cast lots for Jerusalem [dividing the city for plunder]—
You too were like one of them [collaborating with the enemy].

“For the [judgment] day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you [in retribution];
Your [evil] dealings will return on your own head.

“Because just as you [Edom] drank on My holy mountain [desecrating it in the revelry of the destroyers],
So shall all the nations drink continually [one by one, of My wrath];
Yes, they shall drink and swallow [the full measure of punishment]
And become as though they had never existed.

And the exiles of this host of the sons (descendants) of Israel
Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
Shall possess the cities of the Negev.

But Jonah ran away to Tarshish to escape from the presence of the Lord [and his duty as His prophet]. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading cities]. So he paid the fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.

Then the men became extremely frightened and said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was running from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Then they called on the Lord and said, “Please, O Lord, do not let us perish because of taking this man’s life, and do not make us accountable for innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as You pleased.”

“But [as for me], I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I shall pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation is from the Lord!”

Moreover, I will bring on you
The one who takes possession,
O inhabitant of Mareshah (Prominent Place).
The glory (nobility) of Israel will enter Adullam [seeking refuge].

Make yourself bald [in mourning]—shave off your hair
For the children of your delight;
Remain as bald as the eagle,
For your children will be taken from you into exile.

“But lately My people have stood up as an enemy [and have made Me their antagonist].
You strip the ornaments off the garment
Of those unsuspecting passers-by,
Like those returned from war.

You who eat the flesh of my people,
Strip off their skin from them,
Break their bones
And chop them in pieces as for the pot,
Like meat in a kettle.”

But it shall come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the Lord
Shall be established as the highest and chief of the mountains;
It shall be above the hills,
And peoples shall flow [like a river] to it.

“But they (Gentile nations) do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His purpose and plan;
For He has gathered them (Gentiles) like sheaves to the threshing floor [for destruction].

“And in anger and wrath I shall execute vengeance
On the nations which have not obeyed [such vengeance as they have not known before].”

Woe is me (judgment is coming)! For I am
Like one who gathers the summer fruits, like one who gleans the vintage grapes.
There is not a cluster of grapes to eat,
No first-ripe fig which my appetite craves.

Concerning evil, both of their hands pursue it and do it diligently and thoroughly;
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,
And a great man speaks the [evil] desire of his soul.
So they twist the course of justice between them.

But as for me, I will look expectantly for the Lord and with confidence in Him I will keep watch;
I will wait [with confident expectation] for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.

Then my enemy [all the pagan nations] shall see it,
And shame [for despising the Lord] will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will look on her [with satisfaction at her judgment];
Now she (unbelievers) will be trampled down
Like mud of the streets.

Shepherd and rule Your people with Your scepter [of blessing],
The flock of Your inheritance and Your possession
Which dwells alone [separate and secure from attack] in the forest,
In the midst of a garden land.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
As in the days of old [the days of Moses and Elijah].

“As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt,
I shall show you marvelous and miraculous things.”

You shall give truth to Jacob
And lovingkindness and mercy to Abraham,
As You have sworn to our forefathers
From the days of old.

Like tangled thorn branches [gathered for fuel],
And like those drowned in drunkenness,
The people of Nineveh are consumed [through fire]
Like stubble completely withered and dry [in the day of the Lord’s wrath].

For the Lord will restore the splendor and majesty of Jacob
Like the splendor of [ancient and united] Israel,
Even though destroyers have destroyed them
And ruined their vine branches.

Behold, your people are [as weak and helpless as] women in your midst!
The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes the bars across your gates.

But there [in the very midst of these preparations] the fire will devour you;
The sword will cut you down;
It will devour you as the locust does.
Multiply yourself like the creeping locusts;
Multiply yourself like the swarming locusts.

“Then they will sweep by like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They [and all men] whose own power and strength is their god.”

I will stand at my guard post
And station myself on the tower;
And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me,
And what answer I will give [as His spokesman] when I am reproved.

Then the Lord answered me and said,
“Write the vision
And engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets
So that the one who reads it will run.

“Moreover, wine is treacherous and betrays the arrogant man,
So that he does not stay at home.
His appetite is large like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He gathers to himself all nations
And collects to himself all peoples [as if he owned them].

“But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.

“What profit is the carved image when its maker has formed it?
It is only a cast image, and a teacher of lies.
For its maker trusts in his own creation [as his god]
When he makes speechless idols.

Before Him goes the pestilence [of judgment as in Egypt],
And [the burning] plague [of condemnation] follows at His feet [as in Sennacherib’s army].

The mountains saw You and [they] trembled and writhed [as if in pain];
The downpour of waters swept by [as a deluge].
The deep uttered its voice and raged,
It lifted its hands high.

The sun and moon stood in their places [as before Joshua];
They went away at the light of Your [swift] arrows,
At the radiance and gleam of Your glittering spear.

With the enemy’s own spears, You pierced
The head of his hordes.
They stormed out to scatter us,
Rejoicing like those
Who secretly devour the oppressed [of Israel].

And those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And those who have not sought the Lord [as their most important need] or inquired of Him.”

Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life],
All you humble of the land
Who have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments;
Seek righteousness, seek humility [regard them as vital].
Perhaps you will be hidden [and pardoned and rescued]
In the day of the Lord’s anger.

“Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
“Moab will in fact become like Sodom
And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah,
A land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will plunder them
And what is left of My nation will inherit them [as their own].”

And the Lord will stretch out His hand against the north
And destroy Assyria,
And He will make Nineveh a desolation [a wasteland],
Parched as the desert.

“Therefore [you of the godly remnant of Judah, patiently] wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“[Wait] for the day when I rise up as a witness [against the nations].
For it is My decision and My right to gather the nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All [the heat of] My burning anger;
For [in that day] all the earth shall be consumed
By the fire of My zeal.

Go up to the hill country, bring lumber and rebuild My house (temple), that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord [accepting it as done for My glory].

‘Who is left among you who saw this house (temple) in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Ask the priests for a ruling:

Is the seed still in the barn? As to the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree—they have not produced. Yet from this day on I will bless you [in the harvest of your crops].’”

On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you [through the Messiah, your descendant] like a signet ring, for I have chosen you [as the one with whom to renew My covenant to David’s line],’” declares the Lord of hosts.

Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Repent [that is, change your way of thinking] and return now from your evil way [of life] and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord.