Amos 6:1-14, Amos 7:1-17 NIV

Amos 6:1-14

Woe to the Complacent

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,

and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,

you notable men of the foremost nation,

to whom the people of Israel come!

Go to Kalneh and look at it;

go from there to great Hamath,

and then go down to Gath in Philistia.

Are they better off than your two kingdoms?

Is their land larger than yours?

You put off the day of disaster

and bring near a reign of terror.

You lie on beds adorned with ivory

and lounge on your couches.

You dine on choice lambs

and fattened calves.

You strum away on your harps like David

and improvise on musical instruments.

You drink wine by the bowlful

and use the finest lotions,

but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;

your feasting and lounging will end.

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor the pride of Jacob

and detest his fortresses;

I will deliver up the city

and everything in it.”

If ten people are left in one house, they too will die. And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

For the Lord has given the command,

and he will smash the great house into pieces

and the small house into bits.

Do horses run on the rocky crags?

Does one plow the sea6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there with oxen?

But you have turned justice into poison

and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—

you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.

and say, “Did we not take Karnaim6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength. by our own strength?”

For the Lord God Almighty declares,

“I will stir up a nation against you, Israel,

that will oppress you all the way

from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.”

Read More of Amos 6

Amos 7:1-17

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

So the Lord relented.

“This will not happen,” the Lord said.

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”

So the Lord relented.

“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. with a plumb line7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8. in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”

“A plumb line,” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

“The high places of Isaac will be destroyed

and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined;

with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”

Amos and Amaziah

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. For this is what Amos is saying:

“ ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,

and Israel will surely go into exile,

away from their native land.’ ”

Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”

Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,

“ ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,

and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

“Therefore 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 measured and divided up,

and you yourself will die in a pagan7:17 Hebrew an unclean country.

And Israel will surely go into exile,

away from their native land.’ ”

Read More of Amos 7