7Amos 7

A Vision of Locusts

1I had a vision from the Sovereign Lord. In it I saw him create a swarm of locusts just after the king's share of the hay had been cut and the grass was starting to grow again.Select Amos 7:1

2In my vision I saw the locusts eat up every green thing in the land, and then I said, “Sovereign Lord, forgive your people! How can they survive? They are so small and weak!”Select Amos 7:2

3The Lord changed his mind and said, “What you saw will not take place.”Select Amos 7:3

A Vision of Fire

4I had another vision from the Sovereign Lord. In it I saw him preparing to punish his people with fire. The fire burned up the great ocean under the earth and started to burn up the land.Select Amos 7:4

5Then I said, “Stop, O Sovereign Lord! How can your people survive? They are so small and weak!”Select Amos 7:5

6The Lord changed his mind again and said, “This will not take place either.”Select Amos 7:6

A Vision of a Plumb Line

7I had another vision from the Lord. In it I saw him standing beside a wall that had been built with the use of a plumb line, and there was a plumb line in his hand.Select Amos 7:7

8He asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” “A plumb line,” I answered. Then he said, “I am using it to show that my people are like a wall that is out of line. I will not change my mind again about punishing them.Select Amos 7:8

9The places where Isaac's descendants worship will be destroyed. The holy places of Israel will be left in ruins. I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to an end.”Select Amos 7:9

Amos and Amaziah

10Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, then sent a report to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is plotting against you among the people. His speeches will destroy the country.Select Amos 7:10

11This is what he says: ‘Jeroboam will die in battle, and the people of Israel will be taken away from their land into exile.’”Select Amos 7:11

12Amaziah then said to Amos, “That's enough, prophet! Go on back to Judah and do your preaching there. Let them pay you for it.Select Amos 7:12

13Don't prophesy here at Bethel any more. This is the king's place of worship, the national temple.”Select Amos 7:13

14Amos answered, “I am not the kind of prophet who prophesies for pay. I am a herdsman, and I take care of fig trees.Select Amos 7:14

15But the Lord took me from my work as a shepherd and ordered me to come and prophesy to his people Israel.Select Amos 7:15

16So now listen to what the Lord says. You tell me to stop prophesying, to stop raving against the people of Israel.Select Amos 7:16

17And so, Amaziah, the Lord says to you, ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your children will be killed in war. Your land will be divided up and given to others, and you yourself will die in a heathen country. And the people of Israel will certainly be taken away from their own land into exile.’”Select Amos 7:17