The World English Bible (WEB) Part 73

2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, "Spare your people, Yahweh, and don't give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them.

Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their G.o.d?'" 2:18 Then Yahweh was jealous for his land, And had pity on his people. 2:19 Yahweh answered his people, "Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. 2:20 But I will remove the northern army far away from you, and will drive it into a barren and desolate land, its front into the eastern sea, and its back into the western sea; and its stench will come up, and its bad smell will rise." Surely he has done great things. 2:21 Land, don't be afraid. Be glad and rejoice, for Yahweh has done great things. 2:22 Don't be afraid, you animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree bears its fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. 2:23 "Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in Yahweh, your G.o.d; for he gives you the former rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before. 2:24 The thres.h.i.+ng floors will be full of wheat, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 2:25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the gra.s.shopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you. 2:26 You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied, and will praise the name of Yahweh, your G.o.d, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed. 2:27 You will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your G.o.d, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed. 2:28 "It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. 2:29 And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. 2:30 I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. 2:31 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes. 2:32 It will happen that whoever will call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls. 3:1 "For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 3:2 I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations.

They have divided my land, 3:3 and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prost.i.tute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. 3:4 "Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head. 3:5 Because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my finest treasures into your temples, 3:6 and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border. 3:7 Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them, and will return your repayment on your own head; 3:8 and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the men of Sheba, to a faraway nation, for Yahweh has spoken it." 3:9 Proclaim this among the nations: "Prepare for war! Stir up the mighty men. Let all the warriors draw near. Let them come up. 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' 3:11 Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together." Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.

3:12 "Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

3:13 Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great."

3:14 Mult.i.tudes, mult.i.tudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision. 3:15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their s.h.i.+ning. 3:16 Yahweh will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but Yahweh will be a refuge to his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel. 3:17 "So you will know that I am Yahweh, your G.o.d, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pa.s.s through her any more. 3:18 It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters, and a fountain will come forth from the house of Yahweh, and will water the valley of s.h.i.+ttim. 3:19 Egypt will be a desolation, and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 3:20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 3:21 I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Yahweh dwells in Zion."

Amos

1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 1:2 He said:

"Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither." 1:3 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with thres.h.i.+ng instruments of iron; 1:4 but I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad. 1:5 I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from the house of Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir," says Yahweh.

1:6 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole community, to deliver them up to Edom; 1:7 but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its palaces. 1:8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish," says the Lord Yahweh.

1:9 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole community to Edom, and didn't remember the brotherly covenant; 1:10 but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it will devour its palaces." 1:11 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger raged continually, and he kept his wrath forever; 1:12 but I will send a fire on Teman, and it will devour the palaces of Bozrah." 1:13 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border. 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces, with shouting in the day of battle, with a storm in the day of the whirlwind; 1:15 and their king will go into captivity, he and his princes together," says Yahweh.

2:1 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime; 2:2 but I will send a fire on Moab, and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab will die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet; 2:3 and I will cut off the judge from their midst, and will kill all its princes with him," says Yahweh.

2:4 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected Yahweh's law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked; 2:5 But I will send a fire on Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem." 2:6 Thus says Yahweh:

"For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; 2:7 They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed; and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name; 2:8 and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their G.o.d they drink the wine of those who have been fined. 2:9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. 2:10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 2:11 I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for n.a.z.irites. Isn't this true, you children of Israel?" says Yahweh. 2:12 "But you gave the n.a.z.irites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, 'Don't prophesy!' 2:13 Behold, I will crush you in your place, as a cart crushes that is full of grain. 2:14 Flight will perish from the swift; and the strong won't strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; 2:15 neither shall he stand who handles the bow; and he who is swift of foot won't escape; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself; 2:16 and he who is courageous among the mighty will flee away naked on that day," says Yahweh.

3:1 Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

3:2 "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins." 3:3 Do two walk together, unless they have agreed? 3:4 Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? 3:5 Can a bird fall in a trap on the earth, where no snare is set for him? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when there is nothing to catch? 3:6 Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, and Yahweh hasn't done it? 3:7 Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. 3:8 The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord Yahweh has spoken. Who can but prophesy? 3:9 Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, "a.s.semble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see what unrest is in her, and what oppression is among them." 3:10 "Indeed they don't know to do right," says Yahweh, "Who h.o.a.rd plunder and loot in their palaces." 3:11 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh:

"An adversary will overrun the land; and he will pull down your strongholds, and your fortresses will be plundered." 3:12 Thus says Yahweh:

"As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cus.h.i.+ons of a bed."

3:13 "Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob," says the Lord Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies.

3:14 "For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground. 3:15 I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will have an end," says Yahweh.

4:1 Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husbands, "Bring us drinks!"

4:2 The Lord Yahweh has sworn by his holiness that behold, "The days shall come on you that they will take you away with hooks, and the last of you with fish hooks. 4:3 You will go out at the breaks in the wall, everyone straight before her; and you will cast yourselves into Harmon,"

says Yahweh. 4:4 "Go to Bethel, and sin; to Gilgal, and sin more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your t.i.thes every three days, 4:5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim free will offerings and brag about them: for this pleases you, you children of Israel," says the Lord Yahweh. 4:6 "I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in every town; yet you haven't returned to me," says Yahweh. 4:7 "I also have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One place was rained on, and the piece where it didn't rain withered. 4:8 So two or three cities staggered to one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet you haven't returned to me," says Yahweh. 4:9 "I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards; and your fig trees and your olive trees have the swarming locust devoured: yet you haven't returned to me," says Yahweh. 4:10 "I sent plagues among you like I did Egypt. I have slain your young men with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp, yet you haven't returned to me,"

says Yahweh. 4:11 "I have overthrown some of you, as when G.o.d overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire; yet you haven't returned to me," says Yahweh. 4:12 "Therefore thus will I do to you, Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your G.o.d, Israel. 4:13 For, behold, he who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought; who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the Earth: Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies, is his name." 5:1 Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

5:2 "The virgin of Israel has fallen; She shall rise no more. She is cast down on her land; there is no one to raise her up." 5:3 For thus says the Lord Yahweh:

"The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth one hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel." 5:4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel:

"Seek me, and you will live; 5:5 but don't seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and don't pa.s.s to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing. 5:6 Seek Yahweh, and you will live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel. 5:7 You who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth: 5:8 seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name, 5:9 who brings sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the fortress. 5:10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly. 5:11 Forasmuch therefore as you trample on the poor, and take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

5:12 For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins--you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts. 5:13 Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. 5:14 Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies, will be with you, as you say. 5:15 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts. It may be that Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph." 5:16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies, the Lord:

"Wailing will be in all the broad ways; and they will say in all the streets, 'Alas! Alas!' and they will call the farmer to mourning, and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing. 5:17 In all vineyards there will be wailing; for I will pa.s.s through the midst of you," says Yahweh. 5:18 "Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light. 5:19 As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him. 5:20 Won't the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it? 5:21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can't stand your solemn a.s.semblies. 5:22 Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals. 5:23 Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 5:24 But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

5:25 "Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel? 5:26 You also carried the tent of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your G.o.d, which you made for yourselves. 5:27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus," says Yahweh, whose name is the G.o.d of Armies.

6:1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come! 6:2 Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border? 6:3 Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; 6:4 Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 6:5 who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; 6:6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 6:7 Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end. 6:8 "The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself," says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

6:9 It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. 6:10 "When a man's relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, 'Is there yet any with you?' And he says, 'No;' then he will say, 'Hus.h.!.+ Indeed we must not mention the name of Yahweh.'

6:11 "For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits. 6:12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness; 6:13 you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, 'Haven't we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?' 6:14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel," says Yahweh, the G.o.d of Armies; "and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah." 7:1 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's harvest. 7:2 It happened that, when they made an end of eating the gra.s.s of the land, then I said, "Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand?

For he is small."

7:3 Yahweh relented concerning this. "It shall not be," says Yahweh.

7:4 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land. 7:5 Then I said, "Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small."

7:6 Yahweh relented concerning this. "This also shall not be," says the Lord Yahweh.

7:7 Thus he showed me and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 7:8 Yahweh said to me, "Amos, what do you see?"

I said, "A plumb line."

Then the Lord said, "Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not again pa.s.s by them any more. 7:9 The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."

7:10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 7:11 For Amos says, 'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.'"

7:12 Amaziah also said to Amos, "You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 7:13 but don't prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house!"

7:14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; 7:15 and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' 7:16 Now therefore listen to the word of Yahweh: 'You say, Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach against the house of Isaac.' 7:17 Therefore thus says Yahweh: 'Your wife shall be a prost.i.tute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.'"

8:1 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.

8:2 He said, "Amos, what do you see?"

I said, "A basket of summer fruit."