| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. | 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 so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: “O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is 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 concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the LORD. | 3So the LORD relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said. A Vision of Fire |
| 4Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, the Lord GOD called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory. | 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: “O Lord GOD, cease, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!” | 5Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.” |
| 6So the LORD relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” 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 |
| 7Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, 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. |
| 8And 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 In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. | 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 shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.” | 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 to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to 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 thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away captive From their own land.’ ” | 11He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’” |
| 12Then Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy. | 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 again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.” | 13Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!” |
| 14Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit. | 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. |
| 15Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, And the LORD 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, And do not spout 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. ’ |
| 17“Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.’ ” | 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.’” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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