My people are obsessed with turning away from me; they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them!

I cannot carry out my fierce anger! I cannot totally destroy Ephraim! Because I am God, and not man -- the Holy One among you -- I will not come in wrath!

He will roar like a lion, and they will follow the Lord; when he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.

They will return in fear and trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes," declares the Lord.

The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old.

Is there idolatry in Gilead? Certainly its inhabitants will come to nothing! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

But Ephraim bitterly provoked him to anger; so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, his Lord will repay him for the contempt he has shown.

Therefore they will disappear like the morning mist, like early morning dew that evaporates, like chaff that is blown away from a threshing floor, like smoke that disappears through an open window.

So I will pounce on them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs -- I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion -- like a wild animal would tear them apart.

I will destroy you, O Israel! Who is there to help you?

I granted you a king in my anger, and I will take him away in my wrath!

The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb!

Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!

Even though he flourishes like a reed plant, a scorching east wind will come, a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert. As a result, his spring will dry up; his well will become dry. That wind will spoil all his delightful foods in the containers in his storehouse.

Samaria will be held guilty, because she rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their infants will be dashed to the ground -- their pregnant women will be ripped open.

Assyria cannot save us; we will not ride warhorses. We will never again say, 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made. For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!"

"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger will turn away from them.

I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily, he will send down his roots like a cedar of Lebanon.

His young shoots will grow; his splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

People will reside again in his shade; they will plant and harvest grain in abundance. They will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.

O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do with idols anymore! I will answer him and care for him. I am like a luxuriant cypress tree; your fruitfulness comes from me!

How awful that day will be! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer.

Even the wild animals cry out to you; for the river beds have dried up; fire has destroyed the grassy pastures.

It will be a day of dreadful darkness, a day of foreboding storm clouds, like blackness spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army -- there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!

Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, and leave blessing in his wake -- a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God!

The Lord responded to his people, "Look! I am about to restore your grain as well as fresh wine and olive oil. You will be fully satisfied. I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.

I will remove the one from the north far from you. I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place. Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea, and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise up as a foul smell." Indeed, the Lord has accomplished great things.

Do not fear, wild animals! For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass. Indeed, the trees bear their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest.

I will make up for the years that the 'arbeh-locust consumed your crops -- the yeleq-locust, the hasil-locust, and the gazam-locust -- my great army that I sent against you.

You will have plenty to eat, and your hunger will be fully satisfied; you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has acted wondrously in your behalf. My people will never again be put to shame.

You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God; there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.

After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions.

Even on male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

I will produce portents both in the sky and on the earth -- blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes -- that great and terrible day!

It will so happen that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who survive, just as the Lord has promised; the remnant will be those whom the Lord will call.

For look! In those days and at that time I will return the exiles to Judah and Jerusalem.

Then I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment against them there concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, whom they scattered among the nations. They partitioned my land,

Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? I will very quickly repay you for what you have done!

Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them. I will repay you for what you have done!

I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. They will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away. Indeed, the Lord has spoken!

Let the nations be roused and let them go up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.

You will be convinced that I the Lord am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy -- conquering armies will no longer pass through it.

On that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the dry stream beds of Judah will flow with water. A spring will flow out from the temple of the Lord, watering the Valley of Acacia Trees.

Egypt will be desolate and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

But Judah will reside securely forever, and Jerusalem will be secure from one generation to the next.

I will avenge their blood which I had not previously acquitted. It is the Lord who dwells in Zion!

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

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.

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

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!

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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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."

"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 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!

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.

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

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

"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."

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."

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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!"