NET Bible

Symbolic Visions of Judgment

^7:1 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw him making locusts just as the crops planted late were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest.) ^7:2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,

^7:2 “Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!”

^7:3 The Lord decided not to do this. “It will not happen,” the Lord said.

^7:4 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw the Sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields. ^7:5 I said,

^7:5 “Sovereign Lord, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!”

^7:6 The Lord decided not to do this. The Sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”

^7:7 He showed me this: I saw the Lord standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand. ^7:8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The Lord then said,

^7:8 “Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sin. ^7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship will become desolate; Israel’s holy places will be in ruins. I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.”

Amos Confronts a Priest

^7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ^7:11 As a matter of fact, Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”

^7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! Run away to the land of Judah. Earn your living and prophesy there! ^7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here.”

^7:14 Amos replied to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. No, I was a herdsman who also took care of sycamore fig trees. ^7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending flocks and gave me this commission, ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel.’ ^7:16 So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach against the family of Isaac!’

^7:17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

^7:17 ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets, and your sons and daughters will die violently. Your land will be given to others, and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”