Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, ¹  my hand would pull them up from there. Even if they could climb up to heaven, I would drag them down from there.

A lion has roared! ¹  Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? ² 

Take away from me your ¹  noisy songs; I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments. ² 

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 me ¹  at the bottom of the sea, from there ²  I would command the Sea Serpent ³  to bite them.

Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? ¹  Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?

Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you, as you claim he is.

For this reason whoever is smart ¹  keeps quiet ²  in such a time, for it is an evil ³  time.

“I absolutely despise ¹  your festivals! I get no pleasure ²  from your religious assemblies!

Amos ¹  said: “The Lord comes roaring ²  out of Zion; from Jerusalem ³  he comes bellowing! ⁴  The shepherds’ pastures wilt; ⁵  the summit of Carmel ⁶  withers.” ⁷ 

If an alarm sounds ¹  in a city, do people not fear? ²  If disaster overtakes a ³  city, is the Lord not responsible? ⁴ 

Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?

I said, “Sovereign Lord, stop! How can Jacob survive? ¹  He is too weak!” ² 

They trample ¹  on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; ²  they push the destitute away. ³  A man and his father go to the same girl; ⁴  in this way they show disrespect ⁵  for my moral purity. ⁶ 

When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said, “Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! ¹  How can Jacob survive? ²  He is too weak!” ³ 

Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions ¹  like a stream that never dries up.

They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, ¹  and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.

Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? ¹  Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. ² 

Woe ¹  to those who live in ease in Zion, ²  to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as ³  the elite class of the best nation. The family ⁴  of Israel looks to them for leadership. ⁵ 

Amaziah the priest of Bethel ¹  sent this message ²  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ³  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ⁴