Amos 9

Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar

1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said:

Strike the capitals of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.
None of those who flee will get away;
none of the fugitives will escape.
2 If they dig down to Sheol,
from there My hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.
3 If they hide themselves
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from My sight on the sea floor,
from there I will command
the [sea] serpent to bite them.

4 And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.
I will fix My eyes on them
for harm and not for good.

5 The Lord, the God of Hosts-
He touches the earth;
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.

6 He builds His upper chambers
in the heavens
and lays the foundation of His vault
on the earth.
He summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the face of the earth.
Yahweh is His name.

Announcement of Judgment

7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to Me?
[This is] the Lord's declaration.
Didn't I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,
and the Arameans from Kir?
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob-
[this is] the Lord's declaration-
9 for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.

10 All the sinners among My people
who say: "Disaster will never overtake
or confront us,"
will die by the sword.

Announcement of Restoration

11 In that day
I will restore the fallen booth of David:
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,

12 so that they may possess
the remnant of Edom
and all the nations
that are called by My name-
[this is] the Lord's declaration-
He will do this.

13 Hear this! The days are coming-
[this is] the Lord's declaration-
when the plowman will overtake the reaper
and the one who treads grapes,
the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow [with it].
14 I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel.
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
make gardens and eat their produce.
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them.
Yahweh your God has spoken.

Amos 9

1 I saw the sovereign Onet standing by the altars and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars,t so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people,t
and I will kill the survivorst with the sword.
No one will be able to run away;t
no one will be able to escape.t

2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld,t
my hand would pull them up from there.
Even if they could climb up to heaven,
I would drag them down from there.

3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,
I would hunt them down and take them from there.
Even if they tried to hide from met at the bottom of the sea,
from theret I would command the Sea Serpents to bite them.

4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity,t
from theret I will command the sword to kill them.
I will not let them out of my sight;
they will experience disaster, not prosperity.”t

5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this.t
He touches the earth and it dissolves;t
all who live on it mourn.
The whole eartht rises like the River Nile,t
and then grows calmt like the Nile in Egypt.s

6 He builds the upper rooms of his palaces in heaven
and sets its foundation supportst on the earth.s
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.

7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,”ts says the Lord.
“Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,
but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtors and the Arameans from Kir.t

8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watchingt the sinful nation,t
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the familyt of Jacob,” says the Lord.

9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground.t

10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword –
the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’

The Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty

11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hutt of David.
I will seal itss gaps,
repair itss ruins,
and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.t

12 As a result theys will conquer those left in Edomt
and all the nations subject to my rule.”ts
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!

13 “Be sure of this,t the time ist coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reapers
and the one who stomps the grapess will overtaket the planter.s
Juice will run down the slopes,t
it will flow down all the hillsides.t

14 I will bring back my people, Israel;t
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubblet and settle down.t
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;t
they will grow orchardst and eat the fruit they produce.t

15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from thet land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.