Amos 9

Israel Thrown into a Sieve

1-4 I saw my Master standing beside the altar at the shrine. He said: "Hit the tops of the shrine's pillars, make the floor shake. The roof's about to fall on the heads of the people, and whoever's still alive, I'll kill. No one will get away, no runaways will make it. If they dig their way down into the underworld, I'll find them and bring them up. If they climb to the stars, I'll find them and bring them down. If they hide out at the top of Mount Carmel, I'll find them and bring them back. If they dive to the bottom of the ocean, I'll send Dragon to swallow them up. If they're captured alive by their enemies, I'll send Sword to kill them. I've made up my mind to hurt them, not help them."

5-6 My Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, touches the earth, a mere touch, and it trembles. The whole world goes into mourning. Earth swells like the Nile at flood stage; then the water subsides, like the great Nile of Egypt. God builds his palace—towers soaring high in the skies, foundations set on the rock-firm earth. He calls ocean waters and they come, then he ladles them out on the earth. God, your God, does all this.

7-8  "Do you Israelites think you're any better than the far-off Cushites?" God's Decree.
"Am I not involved with all nations? Didn't I bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, the Arameans from Qir? But you can be sure that I, God, the Master, have my eye on the Kingdom of Sin. I'm going to wipe it off the face of the earth. Still, I won't totally destroy the family of Jacob." God's Decree.

9-10  "I'm still giving the orders around here. I'm throwing Israel into a sieve among all the nations and shaking them good, shaking out all the sin, all the sinners. No real grain will be lost, but all the sinners will be sifted out and thrown away, the people who say, 'Nothing bad will ever happen in our lifetime. It won't even come close.'

Blessings Like Wine Pouring off the Mountains

11-12 "But also on that Judgment Day I will restore David's house that has fallen to pieces. I'll repair the holes in the roof, replace the broken windows, fix it up like new. David's people will be strong again and seize what's left of enemy Edom, plus everyone else under my sovereign judgment." God's Decree. He will do this.

13-15  "Yes indeed, it won't be long now." God's Decree.
"Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won't be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. I'll make everything right again for my people Israel:
"They'll rebuild their ruined cities. They'll plant vineyards and drink good wine. They'll work their gardens and eat fresh vegetables. And I'll plant them, plant them on their own land. They'll never again be uprooted from the land I've given them."
God, your God, says so.

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.