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Scripture: Amos 6-7
6 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion(A)
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.
2 Cross over to Calneh(B) and see;
go from there to great Hamath;(C)
then go down to Gath(D) of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
3 You dismiss any thought of the evil day(E)
and bring in a reign of violence.(F)
4 They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,(G)
sprawled out on their couches,(H)
and dine on lambs from the flock(I)
and calves from the stall.
5 They improvise songs[a] to the sound of the harp(J)
and invent[b] their own musical instruments like David.(K)
6 They drink wine by the bowlful(L)
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.(M)
7 Therefore, they will now go into exile
as the first of the captives,(N)
and the feasting(O) of those who sprawl out
will come to an end.
8 The Lord God has sworn by himself(P)—this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Armies:
I loathe Jacob’s pride(Q)
and hate his citadels,(R)
so I will hand over the city(S) and everything in it.
9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they will die.(T) 10 A close relative[c] and burner[d](U) will remove his corpse[e] from the house. He will call to someone in the inner recesses of the house, “Any more with you?”
That person will reply, “None.”
Then he will say, “Silence, because the Lord’s name must not be invoked.”(V)
11 For the Lord commands:
The large house will be smashed to pieces,
and the small house to rubble.(W)
12 Do horses gallop on the cliffs?
Does anyone plow there with oxen?[f]
Yet you have turned justice into poison(X)
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood(Y)—
13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar(Z)
and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim
for ourselves by our own strength?” (AA)
14 But look, I am raising up a nation
against you, house of Israel(AB)—
this is the declaration of the Lord,
the God of Armies—
and they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath[g](AC)
to the Brook of the Arabah.[h]
7 The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts(AD) at the time the spring crop first began to sprout—after the cutting of the king’s hay. 2 When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land,(AE) I said, “Lord God, please forgive!(AF) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?” (AG)
3 The Lord relented concerning this.(AH) “It will not happen,” he said.
4 The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire.(AI) It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I said, “Lord God, please stop!(AJ) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”
6 The Lord relented concerning this.(AK) “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.
7 He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” (AL)
I replied, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel;(AM) I will no longer spare them:(AN)
9 Isaac’s high places(AO) will be deserted,
and Israel’s sanctuaries will be in ruins;(AP)
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam
with a sword.”
10 Amaziah the priest(AQ) of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you(AR) right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words, 11 for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.’”(AS)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer!(AT) Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living[i] and give your prophecies there, 13 but don’t ever prophesy(AU) at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary(AV) and a royal temple.”
14 So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was[j] not a prophet or the son of a prophet;[k](AW) rather, I was[l] a herdsman,(AX) and I took care of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock(AY) and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”(AZ)
16 Now hear the word of the Lord. You say:
17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,(BC)
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,(BD)
and your land will be divided up
with a measuring line.
You yourself will die on pagan[m] soil,(BE)
and Israel will certainly go into exile(BF)
from its homeland.