The Prophet Amos

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

⮜ Back | Contents | Next ⮞

- Chapter 9 -

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.

Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.

Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent

(a)

to bite them.

Though they are driven by their enemies into captivity, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix My eyes upon them for harm and not for good.”

The Lord GOD of Hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all its dwellers mourn— all the land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt—

He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is His name.

“Are you not like the Cushites (b) to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor,(c) and the Arameans from Kir?

Surely the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”

declares the LORD. “For surely I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve; but not a pebble will reach the ground.

All the sinners among My people will die by the sword— all those who say, ‘Disaster will never draw near or confront us.’”

A Promise of Restoration

(Acts 15:5–21)

“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,

that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,”(d)

declares the LORD, who will do this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, with which all the hills will flow.

I will restore My people Israel from captivity;(e) they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

I will firmly plant them in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land that I have given them,” says the LORD your God.

Footnotes

(a)9:3 Hebrew nachash; translated in most cases as snake

(b)9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region

(d)9:12 Hebrew; LXX that the remnant of men, and all the nations that bear My name, may earnestly seek Me; cited in Acts 15:16–18

(e)9:14 Or restore the fortunes of My people Israel

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, “Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake. Break them in pieces on the head of all of them. I will kill the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will flee away. Not one of them will escape.

Though they dig into Sheol,(a) there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.

Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out from there; and though they be hidden from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.

Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good.

For the Lord, the LORD of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt.

It is he who builds his rooms in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth—the LORD is his name.

Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?” says the LORD. “Haven’t I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says the LORD.

“For behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth.

All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’

A Promise of Restoration

(Acts 15:5–21)

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 who are called by my name,” says the LORD who does this.

“Behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the one treading grapes him who sows seed; and sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and flow from the hills.

I will bring my people Israel back from captivity, and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens, and eat their fruit.

I will plant them on their land, and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them,” says the LORD your God.

Footnotes

(a)9:2 Sheol is the place of the dead.