| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up. | 1The Sovereign LORD showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up. |
| 2And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” | 2In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.” |
| 3So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said. | 3So the LORD relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said. A Vision of Fire |
| 4This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. | 4Then the Sovereign LORD showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. |
| 5Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” | 5Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.” |
| 6So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD. | 6Then the LORD relented from this plan, too. “I will not do that either,” said the Sovereign LORD. A Vision of a Plumb Line |
| 7This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. | 7Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. |
| 8“Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them: | 8And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I answered, “A plumb line.” And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. |
| 9The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.” | 9The pagan shrines of your ancestors will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.” Amos and Amaziah |
| 10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words, | 10Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. |
| 11for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’ ” | 11He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’” |
| 12And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. | 12Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! |
| 13But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.” | 13Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!” |
| 14“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. | 14But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. |
| 15But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ | 15But the LORD called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ |
| 16Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ | 16Now then, listen to this message from the LORD: “You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against my people. ’ |
| 17Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’ ” | 17But this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city, and your sons and daughters will be killed. Your land will be divided up, and you yourself will die in a foreign land. And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile, far from their homeland.’” |
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