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 

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 

You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ¹  but you establish a reign of violence. ² 

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!

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 

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 

This is what the Lord says: “Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. ¹  They will be left with just a corner of a bed, ²  and a part ³  of a couch.”

Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, ¹  family ²  of Israel:

The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw ¹  a basket of summer fruit. ² 

They sing ¹  to the tune of ²  stringed instruments; ³  like David they invent ⁴  musical instruments.

The Lord says this to the family ¹  of Israel: “Seek me ²  so you can live!

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

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 

“Look! I am about to bring ¹  a nation against you, family ²  of Israel.” The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking. “They will oppress ³  you all the way from Lebo-Hamath ⁴  to the Stream of the Arabah.” ⁵ 

Listen and warn ¹  the family ²  of Jacob! ³  The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, ⁴  is speaking!

The Lord confirms this oath ¹  by the arrogance of Jacob: ²  “I swear ³  I will never forget all you have done! ⁴ 

So I will set fire to Rabbah’s ¹  city wall; ²  fire ³  will consume her fortresses. War cries will be heard on the day of battle; ⁴  a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. ⁵ 

Look, the sovereign Lord is watching ¹  the sinful nation, ²  and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will not completely destroy the family ³  of Jacob,” says the Lord.

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 

So I will set Moab on fire, ¹  and it will consume Kerioth’s ²  fortresses. Moab will perish ³  in the heat of battle ⁴  amid war cries and the blaring ⁵  of the ram’s horn. ⁶