Amos 1-5; Psalms 126 - Prayer Tents

1This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash

, was king of Israel.H1697H5986H5349H8620H2372H3478H3117H5818H4428H3063H3117H3379H1121H3101H4428H3478H8141H6440H7494

2This is what he saw and heard. “The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem! The lush pastures of the shepherds will dry up; the grass on Mount Carmel will wither and die.”H559H3068H7580H6726H5414H6963H3389H4999H7462H56H7218H3760H3001

God’s Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

3This is what the Lord says. “The people of Damascus have sinned again and again

, and I will not let them go unpunished! They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges.H559H3068H7969H6588H1834H702H7725H1758H1568H2742H1270

4So I will send down fire on King Hazael’s palace, and the fortresses of King Ben-hadad will be destroyed.H7971H784H1004H2371H398H759H1130

5I will break down the gates of Damascus and slaughter the people in the valley of Aven. I will destroy the ruler in Beth-eden, and the people of Aram will go as captives to Kir,” says the Lord.H7665H1280H1834H3772H3427H1237H206H8551H7626H1004H5731H1040H5971H758H1540H7024H559H3068

6This is what the Lord says: “The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sent whole villages into exile, selling them as slaves to Edom.H559H3068H7969H6588H5804H702H7725H1540H8003H1546H5462H123

7So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza, and all its fortresses will be destroyed.H7971H784H2346H5804H398H759

8I will slaughter the people of Ashdod and destroy the king of Ashkelon. Then I will turn to attack Ekron, and the few Philistines still left will be killed,” says the Sovereign Lord.H3772H3427H795H8551H7626H831H7725H3027H6138H7611H6430H6H559H136H3069

9This is what the Lord says: “The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They broke their treaty of brotherhood with Israel, selling whole villages as slaves to Edom.H559H3068H7969H6588H6865H702H7725H5462H8003H1546H123H2142H251H1285

10So I will send down fire on the walls of Tyre, and all its fortresses will be destroyed.”H7971H784H2346H6865H398H759

11This is what the Lord says: “The people of Edom have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords, showing them no mercy. In their rage, they slashed them continually and were unrelenting in their anger.H559H3068H7969H6588H123H702H7725H7291H251H2719H7843H7356H639H2963H5703H8104H5678H5331

12So I will send down fire on Teman, and the fortresses of Bozrah will be destroyed.”H7971H784H8487H398H759H1224

13This is what the Lord says. “The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders, they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.H559H3068H7969H6588H1121H5983H702H7725H1234H2030H1568H7337H1366

14So I will send down fire on the walls of Rabbah, and all its fortresses will be destroyed. The battle will come upon them with shouts, like a whirlwind in a mighty storm.H3341H784H2346H7237H398H759H8643H3117H4421H5591H3117H5492

15And their king

and his princes will go into exile together,” says the Lord.H4428H1980H1473H8269H3162H559H3068

2This is what the Lord says. “The people of Moab have sinned again and again

, and I will not let them go unpunished! They desecrated the bones of Edom’s king, burning them to ashes.H559H3068H7969H6588H4124H702H7725H8313H6106H4428H123H7875 2So I will send down fire on the land of Moab, and all the fortresses in Kerioth will be destroyed. The people will fall in the noise of battle, as the warriors shout and the ram’s horn sounds.H7971H784H4124H398H759H7152H4124H4191H7588H8643H6963H7782 3And I will destroy their king and slaughter all their princes,” says the Lord.H3772H8199H7130H2026H8269H559H3068

God’s Judgment on Judah and Israel

4This is what the Lord says. “The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They have rejected the instruction of the Lord, refusing to obey his decrees. They have been led astray by the same lies that deceived their ancestors.H559H3068H7969H6588H3063H702H7725H3988H8451H3068H8104H2706H3577H8582H310H1H1980 5So I will send down fire on Judah, and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”H7971H784H3063H398H759H3389 6This is what the Lord says: “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals.H559H3068H7969H6588H3478H702H7725H4376H6662H3701H34H5275 7They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. Both father and son sleep with the same woman, corrupting my holy name.H7602H6083H776H7218H1800H5186H1870H6035H376H1H3212H5291H2490H6944H8034 8At their religious festivals, they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security. In the house of their god, they drink wine bought with unjust fines.H5186H899H2254H681H4196H8354H3196H6064H1004H430 9“But as my people watched, I destroyed the Amorites, though they were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed the fruit on their branches and dug out their roots.H8045H567H6440H1363H1363H730H2634H437H8045H6529H4605H8328 10It was I who rescued you from Egypt and led you through the desert for forty years, so you could possess the land of the Amorites.H5927H776H4714H3212H705H8141H4057H3423H776H567 11I chose some of your sons to be prophets and others to be Nazirites. Can you deny this, my people of Israel?” asks the Lord.H6965H1121H5030H970H5139H1121H3478H5002H3068 12“But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine, and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’H5139H3196H8248H6680H5030H559H5012 13“So I will make you groan like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.H5781H5699H5781H4392H5995 14Your fastest runners will not get away. The strongest among you will become weak. Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.H4498H6H7031H2389H553H3581H1368H4422H5315 15The archers will not stand their ground. The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape. Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.H5975H8610H7198H7031H7272H4422H7392H5483H4422H5315 16On that day the most courageous of your fighting men will drop their weapons and run for their lives,” says the Lord.H533H3820H1368H5127H6174H3117H5002H3068

3Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel and Judah—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt.H8085H1697H3068H1696H1121H3478H4940H5927H776H4714H559 2“From among all the families on the earth, I have been intimate with you alone. That is why I must punish you for all your sins.”H3045H4940H127H6485H5771

Witnesses against Guilty Israel

3Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?H8147H3212H3162H1115H3259 4Does a lion ever roar in a thicket without first finding a victim? Does a young lion growl in its den without first catching its prey?H738H7580H3293H2964H3715H5414H6963H4585H3920H1115 5Does a bird ever get caught in a trap that has no bait? Does a trap spring shut when there’s nothing to catch?H6833H5307H6341H776H4170H5927H6341H127H3920H3920 6When the ram’s horn blows a warning, shouldn’t the people be alarmed? Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has planned it?H7782H8628H5892H5971H2729H7451H5892H3068H6213 7Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.H136H3069H6213H1697H1540H5475H5650H5030 8The lion has roared—so who isn’t frightened? The Sovereign Lord has spoken—so who can refuse to proclaim his message?H738H7580H3808H3372H136H3069H1696H5012 9Announce this to the leaders of Philistia

and to the great ones of Egypt. “Take your seats now on the hills around Samaria, and witness the chaos and oppression in Israel.”H8085H759H795H759H776H4714H559H622H2022H8111H7200H7227H4103H7130H6217H8432 10“My people have forgotten how to do right,” says the Lord. “Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence.H3045H6213H5229H5002H3068H686H2555H7701H759 11Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord, “an enemy is coming! He will surround them and shatter their defenses. Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”H559H136H3069H6862H5439H776H3381H5797H759H962 12This is what the Lord says. “A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep from a lion’s mouth will recover only two legs or a piece of an ear. So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds, and for the people of Damascus reclining on couches.

H559H3068H7462H5337H6310H738H8147H3767H915H241H1121H3478H5337H3427H8111H6285H4296H1833H6210 13“Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel

,” says the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.H8085H5749H1004H3290H5002H136H3069H430H6635 14“On the very day I punish Israel for its sins, I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.H3117H6485H6588H3478H6485H4196H1008H7161H4196H1438H5307H776 15And I will destroy the beautiful homes of the wealthy—their winter mansions and their summer houses, too—all their palaces filled with ivory,” says the Lord.H5221H2779H1004H7019H1004H1004H8127H6H7227H1004H5486H5002H3068

Israel’s Failure to Learn

4Listen to me, you fat cows

living in Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, and who are always calling to your husbands, “Bring us another drink!”H8085H1697H6510H1316H2022H8111H6231H1800H7533H34H559H113H935H8354

2The Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness. “The time will come when you will be led away with hooks in your noses. Every last one of you will be dragged away like a fish on a hook!H136H3069H7650H6944H3117H935H5375H6793H319H1729H5518

3You will be led out through the ruins of the wall; you will be thrown from your fortresses

,” says the Lord.H3318H6556H802H7993H2038H5002H3068

4“Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel. Keep on disobeying at Gilgal. Offer sacrifices each morning, and bring your tithes every three days.H935H1008H6586H1537H7235H6586H935H2077H1242H4643H7969H3117

5Present your bread made with yeast as an offering of thanksgiving. Then give your extra voluntary offerings so you can brag about it everywhere! This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do,” says the Sovereign Lord.H6999H8426H2557H7121H8085H5071H3651H157H1121H3478H5002H136H3069

6“I brought hunger to every city and famine to every town. But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.H5414H5356H8127H5892H2640H3899H4725H7725H5002H3068

7“I kept the rain from falling when your crops needed it the most. I sent rain on one town but withheld it from another. Rain fell on one field, while another field withered away.H4513H1653H7969H2320H7105H4305H259H5892H4305H259H5892H259H2513H4305H2513H4305H3001

8People staggered from town to town looking for water, but there was never enough. But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.H8147H7969H5892H5128H259H5892H8354H4325H7646H7725H5002H3068

9“I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured all your fig and olive trees. But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.H5221H7711H3420H1593H3754H8384H2132H7235H1501H398H7725H5002H3068

10“I sent plagues on you like the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago. I killed your young men in war and led all your horses away

. The stench of death filled the air! But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.H7971H1698H1870H4714H970H2026H2719H7628H5483H889H4264H5927H639H7725H5002H3068

11“I destroyed some of your cities, as I destroyed

Sodom and Gomorrah. Those of you who survived were like charred sticks pulled from a fire. But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.H2015H430H4114H5467H6017H181H5337H8316H7725H5002H3068

12“Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced. Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!”H6213H3478H6118H6213H3559H7125H430H3478

13For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!H3335H2022H1254H7307H5046H120H7808H6213H7837H5890H1869H1116H776H3068H430H6635H8034

A Call to Repentance

5Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing.H8085H1697H5375H7015H1004H3478 2“The virgin Israel has fallen, never to rise again! She lies abandoned on the ground, with no one to help her up.”H1330H3478H5307H3254H6965H5203H127H6965 3The Sovereign Lord says. “When a city sends a thousand men to battle, only a hundred will return. When a town sends a hundred, only ten will come back alive.”H559H136H3069H5892H3318H505H7604H3967H3318H3967H7604H6235H1004H3478 4Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel. “Come back to me and live!H559H3068H1004H3478H1875H2421 5Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel; don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”H1875H1008H935H1537H5674H884H1537H1540H1540H1008H205 6Come back to the Lord and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel

like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames.H1875H3068H2421H6743H784H1004H3130H398H3518H1008 7You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt.H2015H4941H3939H3240H6666H776 8It is the Lord who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is his name!H6213H3598H3685H2015H6757H1242H3117H2821H3915H7121H4325H3220H8210H6440H776H3068H8034 9With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all their defenses.H1082H7701H5794H7701H935H4013 10How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth!H8130H3198H8179H8581H1696H8549 11You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent. Therefore, though you build beautiful stone houses, you will never live in them. Though you plant lush vineyards, you will never drink wine from them.H3282H1318H1800H3947H4864H1250H1129H1004H1496H3427H5193H2531H3754H8354H3196 12For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.H3045H7227H6588H6099H2403H6887H6662H3947H3724H5186H34H8179 13So those who are smart keep their mouths shut, for it is an evil time.H7919H1826H6256H7451H6256 14Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed.H1875H2896H7451H2421H3068H430H6635H559 15Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people

.H8130H7451H157H2896H3322H4941H8179H3068H430H6635H2603H7611H3130 16Therefore, this is what the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says. “There will be crying in all the public squares and mourning in every street. Call for the farmers to weep with you, and summon professional mourners to wail.H3068H430H6635H136H559H4553H7339H559H2351H1930H1930H7121H406H60H3045H5092H4553 17There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will destroy them all,” says the Lord.H3754H4553H5674H7130H559H3068

Warning of Coming Judgment

18What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the Lord were here!” You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light.H1945H183H3117H3068H4100H3117H3068H2822H216 19In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion—only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—and he’s bitten by a snake.H376H5127H6440H738H1677H6293H935H1004H5564H3027H7023H5175H5391 20Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope.H3117H3068H2822H216H651H5051 21“I hate all your show and pretense—the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.H8130H3988H2282H7306H6116 22I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.H5927H5930H4503H7521H5027H8002H4806 23Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps.H5493H1995H7892H8085H2172H5035 24Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.H4941H1556H4325H6666H386H5158 25“Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel?H5066H2077H4503H4057H705H8141H1004H3478 26No, you served your pagan gods—Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god—the images you made for yourselves.H5375H5522H4428H3594H6754H3556H430H6213 27So I will send you into exile, to a land east of Damascus

,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of Heaven’s Armies.H1540H1973H1834H559H3068H8034H430H6635