“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 

People ¹  will stagger from sea to sea, ²  and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for a revelation from ³  the Lord, but they will not find any. ⁴ 

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.

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.

In that day your ¹  beautiful young women ²  and your ³  young men will faint from thirst. ⁴ 

I will remove ¹  the ruler ²  from Ashdod, ³  the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. ⁴  I will strike Ekron ⁵  with my hand; ⁶  the rest of the Philistines will also die.” ⁷  The sovereign Lord has spoken!

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 

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

Then the Lord took me from tending ¹  flocks and gave me this commission, ²  ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’

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.

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

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!

Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops ¹  and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine ²  vineyards you planted. ³ 

Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ¹  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ²  from the land of Egypt:

As a matter of fact, ¹  Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile ²  away from its land.’”

They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ¹  and pour the very best oils on themselves. ²  Yet they are not concerned over ³  the ruin ⁴  of Joseph.

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.

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?

I will plant them on their land and they will never again be uprooted from the ¹  land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.

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?