This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Judah and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they rejected the Law of the LORD and did not keep his statutes. Their own lies made them wander off, following along the same path their ancestors walked.

This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Israel and now for a fourth I will not turn away; because they sold the righteous for money, and the poor for sandals,

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.

And I raise of your sons for prophets, And of your choice ones for Nazarites, Is not this true, O sons of Israel? An affirmation of Jehovah.

Even those who are strong of heart among the mighty will flee away naked from the city on that day. [This is] the declaration of Yahweh!"

Hear ye this word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning you, O sons of Israel, concerning all the family that I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

Only you, have I acknowledged, of all the families of the ground, For this cause, will I visit upon you all your iniquities.

Announce this in the fortified citadels of Ashdod, and in the fortified citadels of the land of Egypt. Tell them, "Gather together on the mountains of Samaria; look at the great misery among the citadels, along with the oppression within Egypt.'

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "An enemy will surround the land. He will pull down your defenses, and plunder your 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 and testify against the house of Jacob—
this is the declaration of the Lord God,
the God of Hosts.

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.'

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.

You will go through breaches in the wall,
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be driven along toward Harmon.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

and burn a thank-offering with leaven, and proclaim, publish, voluntary offerings: for this pleaseth you, children of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Therefore, thus I do to thee, O Israel, at last, Because this I do to thee, Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:

"For this is what the Lord GOD says: "The city that is sending out a thousand will have a hundred left; The city that is sending out a hundred will have ten left of the house of Israel.'"

"For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live,

For this, because of your treading upon the poor one, and ye will take away the liftings up of wheat from him: ye built houses of hewn stone, and ye shall not dwell in them; ye planted vineyards of desire and ye shall not drink their wine.

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in this time; for it is an evil time.

"Pursue good and not evil, so that you may live, and this is what will happen: The LORD God of the Heavenly Armies will be with you, as you have been claiming.

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, the Lord, says: "There will be dirges in all of the streets; and in all of the highways they will cry out in anguish. They will call the farmer to mourning and those who lament to grieve.

Ho, ye who are desiring the day of Jehovah, Why is this to you -- the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light,

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria—
the notable people in this first of the nations,
those the house of Israel comes to.

For this now shall they be carried away captive with the head of those carried away captive, and the shouting a those poured forth was removed.

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."

But look, I am raising up a nation
against you, house of Israel—
this is the declaration of the Lord,
the God of Hosts—
and they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath
to the Brook of the Arabah.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: Look! He was forming locust swarms as the latter plantings were just beginning to sprout. Indeed, the king had just taken his first fruit tax.

Jehovah hath repented of this, 'It shall not be,' said Jehovah.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: Look! The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire, and it was drying up the great depths of the ocean and consuming the land.

Jehovah hath repented of this, 'It also shall not be,' said the Lord Jehovah.

This is what he showed me: Look! The Lord was standing upon a wall that stood straight and true, with a plumb line in his hand.

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.

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

But do not prophesy again at Bethel, because this [is] a sanctuary of a king and this [is] a temple of a kingdom."

Then the Lord took me from tending flocks and gave me this commission, '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."'"

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: Look! A basket of summer fruit!

Hear this, ye who are swallowing up the needy, To cause to cease the poor of the land,

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

For this doth not the land tremble, And mourned hath every dweller in it? And come up as a flood hath all of it. And it hath been cast out, and hath sunk, Like the flood of Egypt.

And in that day—
this is the declaration of the Lord God—
I will make the sun go down at noon;
I will darken the land in the daytime.

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!

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.

Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,
and the Arameans from Kir?

For lo, this I promise: though I sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as they use to sift in a sieve: yet shall not the smallest gravel stone fall upon the earth.

that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations upon whom my name is called, saith Jehovah who doeth this.

"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.

1Obadiah's vision: This is what the Lord God has to say about Edom. We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been dispatched among the nations to say "Get up! Let us rise up against her to fight!"

Though you seem to soar like an eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

“If thieves came to you,
If robbers by night—
How you will be ruined!—
Would they not steal only until they had enough?
If grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave some grapes for gleaning?

From this violence of thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou wert cut off forever.

and the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess what belonged to the Canaanites, unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who were in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

Now this message from the LORD came to Amittai's son Jonah:

At this point the mariners became terrified, and each man cried out to his gods. They began to throw the cargo into the sea in order to lighten the vessel. But Jonah had gone down into the vessel's hold, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.”

And they said each one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

And they said unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this thou hast done? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of Jehovah: for he had told them.

So they said to him, “What should we do to you to calm this sea that’s against us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.

And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you.

And they cried unto Jehovah and said, Ah, Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee.

This message from the LORD came to Jonah a second time:

Then he had this proclamation published throughout Nineveh: "By decree of the king and his nobles:

This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry.

And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Ah, Jehovah, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I was minded to flee at first unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

The Lord said, "You were upset about this little plant, something for which you have not worked nor did you do anything to make it grow. It grew up overnight and died the next day.

Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!"

This message from the LORD came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of the Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah concerning the vision he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem:

Hear all ye people, mark this well, O earth, and all that therein is: Yea, the LORD God himself be witness among you, even the Lord from his holy temple.

For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. Whence is the transgression of Jacob? is it not from Samaria? And whence are the high places of Judah? are they not from Jerusalem?

For this will I lament, and I will howl; I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.

Harness the horses to the chariot,
you residents of Lachish.
This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion,
because Israel’s acts of rebellion can be traced to you.

For this cause give a parting offering to Moresheth-gath: the daughter of Achzib will be a deceit to the king of Israel.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye walk haughtily: for it is an evil time.

"When this happens, someone will compose a proverb about you, lamenting sorrowfully, "We are completely ruined! He has given my people's heritage to others. How he has removed it from me, dividing up our fields!'

"This is why there will not be left even a single person to settle boundary disputes in the LORD's community.

"Tush, hold your tongue," say they. "It shall not fall on this people, we shall not come so to confusion,"

"It is said, house of Jacob, "The Spirit of the LORD is limited, if he acts this way, is he not?' "But my words benefit those who live righteously, do they not?

Arise ye, and depart; for this is not the resting-place, because of defilement that bringeth destruction, even a grievous destruction.

If a man walking in wind and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink, he shall be the prophet of this people.

"This is what the LORD says about the prophets who are causing my people to go astray, who are calling out "Peace' when they're being fed, but who declare war against those who won't feed them:

For this cause it will be night for you, without a vision; and it will be dark for you, without knowledge of the future; the sun will go down over the prophets, and the day will be black over them.

But I am full of the courage that the Lord's Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice. This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion, and Israel with its sin.

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity,

For this reason, Zion will be ploughed like a field because of you, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like a high place in the woods.

But each man will sit under his grapevine
and under his fig tree
with no one to frighten him.
For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts
has promised this.

On that day—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,
those I have injured.

“I shall make the lame a [godly] remnant
And the outcasts a strong nation;
And the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion
From this time on and forever.

Jerusalem, why are you now shouting so loudly? Has your king disappeared? Has your wise leader been destroyed? Is this why pain grips you as if you were a woman in labor?

For this cause he will give them up till the time when she who is with child has given birth: then the rest of his brothers will come back to the children of Israel.

And this man shall be Peace. When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight princes of men.

The shepherds will devastate the land of Assyria with the sword, along with the entrances to the land of Nimrod. "This is how he will vanquish Assyria when he invades our land, trampling within our borders:

The best of them is like a brier;
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;
at this time their panic is here.

When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame. They say to me, "Where is the Lord your God?" I will gloat over them. Then they will be trampled down like mud in the streets.

Nations will see this and be disappointed by all their strength, they will put their hands over their mouths, and act as if they were deaf.

This is the heavy burden of Nineveh, which Nahum of Elkosh did write, as he saw it.

This is what the LORD says: "No matter how strong they are, and no matter how numerous, they will surely be annihilated and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will do so no more.