[1] The Lord showed this to me: He was making locusts at the time the second crop began growing. It was the second crop after the king’s cutting ˻of the first crop˼.
[2] The locusts ate all the grass in the country. After that I said, “Lord my Master, I beg you, forgive us! Jacob can’t survive! He is ˻too˼ small!”
[3] Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord said, “That thing will not happen.”
[4] The Lord my Master showed these things to me: ˻I˼ saw the Lord God calling for judgment by fire. The fire destroyed the Great Deep. The fire was beginning to eat up the land.
[5] But I said, “Lord God, stop, I beg you! Jacob can’t survive! He is ˻too˼ small!”
[6] Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord God said, “That thing will not happen either.”
[7] The Lord showed me this: The Lord stood by a wall with a plumbline in his hand. (The wall had been marked with a plumbline.)
[8] The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A plumbline.” Then my Master said, “See, I will put a plumbline among my people Israel. I will not let their 'crookedness’ pass inspection any more. ˻I will remove those bad spots.˼
[9] Isaac’s high places will be destroyed. Israel’s holy places will be made into a pile of rocks. I will attack and kill Jeroboam’s family with swords.”
[10] Amaziah, a priest at Bethel, sent this message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: “Amos is making plans against you. He is trying to make the people of Israel fight against you. ˻He has been speaking so much that˼ this country can’t hold all his words.
[11] Amos has said, 'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and the people of Israel will be taken as prisoners out of their country.’”
[12] Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go down to Judah and eat there. Do your preaching there.
[13] But don’t prophesy any more here at Bethel! This is Jeroboam’s holy place. This is Israel’s temple!”
[14] Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am not a professional prophet. And I am not from a prophet’s family. I keep cattle and take care of sycamore trees.
[15] ˻I was a shepherd˼ and the Lord took me from following the sheep. The Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
[16] So listen to the Lord’s message. You tell me, 'Don’t prophesy against Israel. Don’t preach against Isaac’s family.’
[17] But the Lord says: 'Your wife will become a prostitute in the city. Your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Other people will take your land and divide it among themselves. And you will die in a foreign country. The people of Israel will definitely be taken from this country as prisoners.’”