Certainly ¹  I am aware of ²  your many rebellious acts ³  and your numerous sins. You ⁴  torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to ⁵  the needy at the city gate. ⁶ 

“In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut ¹  of David. I will seal its ²  gaps, repair its ³  ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. ⁴ 

I will break the bar ¹  on the gate of Damascus. I will remove ²  the ruler ³  from Wicked Valley, ⁴  the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. ⁵  The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” ⁶  The Lord has spoken!

Be certain of this, ¹  the time is ²  coming,” says the sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation! ³ 

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ¹  The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: “I despise Jacob’s arrogance; I hate their ²  fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies ³  the city of Samaria ⁴  and everything in it.”

This is what the Lord says: “Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  They rejected the Lord’s law; ⁴  they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, ⁵  to which their fathers were loyal, ⁶  led them astray.

“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets ¹  and your sons and daughters will die violently. ²  Your land will be given to others ³  and you will die in a foreign ⁴  land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile ⁵  away from its land.’”

I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹  and all your songs into funeral dirges. I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ²  and cause every head to be shaved bald. ³  I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ⁴  when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ⁵ 

The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. ¹  He ²  was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him ³  during the time of ⁴  King Uzziah of Judah and ⁵  King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ⁶ 

“Be sure of this, ¹  the time is ²  coming,” says the Lord, “when the plowman will catch up to the reaper ³  and the one who stomps the grapes ⁴  will overtake ⁵  the planter. ⁶  Juice will run down the slopes, ⁷  it will flow down all the hillsides. ⁸ 

This is what the Lord says: “Because Edom has committed three crimes ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  He chased his brother ⁴  with a sword; he wiped out his allies. ⁵  In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; ⁶  in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. ⁷ 

“But you made the Nazirites drink wine; ¹  you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’

Do two walk together without having met? ¹ 

Make this announcement in ¹  the fortresses of Ashdod and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say this: “Gather on the hills around Samaria! ²  Observe the many acts of violence ³  taking place within the city, ⁴  the oppressive deeds ⁵  occurring in it.” ⁶ 

You did not bring me ¹  sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family ²  of Israel.

If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.

I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for forty years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.

I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. ¹  Is this not true, you Israelites?” The Lord is speaking!

“You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” ¹  says the Lord. “Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor ²  and the Arameans from Kir. ³ 

This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes ¹  – make that four! ²  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ³  They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. ⁴