1 ach. 8:1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold,b[Joel 1:4]; See Ex. 10:4 he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
“O Lord God, please forgive!
c[Ps. 130:3] How can Jacob stand?
He is so small! ”
3 d[Deut. 32:36; Joel 2:13] The Lord relented concerning this;
“It shall not be, ” said the Lord.
4 a[See ver. 1 above] This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was callinge[Rev. 8:7, 8] for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.
5 Then I said,
“O Lord God, please cease!
c[See ver. 2 above] How can Jacob stand?
He is so small! ”
6 d[See ver. 3 above] The Lord relented concerning this;
“This also shall not be, ” said the Lord God.
7 a[See ver. 1 above] This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built withf[ver. 17]; See 2 Kgs. 21:13 a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
8 And the Lord said to me,gch. 8:2 “Amos, what do you see? ” And I said, “A plumb line. ” Then the Lord said,
“Behold, I am settingf[See ver. 7 above] a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
gch. 8:2 I will never again pass by them;
9 hGen. 26:23, 25 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise againstiSee 2 Kgs. 15:8-12 the house of Jeroboam with the sword. ”
10 Then Amaziahj1 Kgs. 12:32 the priest of Bethel sent tokch. 1:1 Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos hasl[Jer. 38:4] conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.
11 For thus Amos has said,
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
andmch. 6:7 Israel must go into exile
away from his land. ’ ”
12 And Amaziah said to Amos,nSee 1 Sam. 9:9 “O seer, go, flee awayo[ch. 1:1] to the land of Judah, andp[Mic. 3:5, 11] eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 butqSee ch. 2:12 never again prophesy at Bethel, forrSee 1 Kgs. 12:29–13:1 it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom. ”
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah,sch. 1:1; [Zech. 13:5] “I was1Or am; twice in this verse no prophet, nor a prophet's son, buttch. 1:1 I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.
15 u[Ps. 78:71] But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel. ’
16 vch. 3:1 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say,n[See ver. 12 above] ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
andwEzek. 20:46; 21:2; Mic. 2:6 do not preach against the house ofx[ver. 9] Isaac. ’
17 y[Jer. 28:16; 29:21, 31, 32] Therefore thus says the Lord :
‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your landz[ver. 7, 8] shall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
andm[See ver. 11 above] Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land. ’ ”