Vision of swarming locusts
1The LORD God showed me a vision of locust [1] swarms he was creating. This was just after the first harvest, which went to the king. [2] Sprouts of the second planting were just beginning to grow.2I watched as locusts ate all the plants. Then I said, “Oh no. LORD God, please forgive them. Israel [3] is just a small nation. How can it survive something like this?”
3The LORD agreed to my request. He said, “Okay then, it won’t happen.” [4]
Vison of worldwide fire
4The LORD God showed me another vision. He was ordering a rain of fire that would destroy everything on the land and in the sea. 5I said, “No. Stop. LORD God, please. Israel is small. How can it survive this?”6The LORD God agreed to do as I asked. He said, “It won’t happen.”
Vision of a Israel, as a crooked wall
7The LORD showed me another vision. He was standing beside a wall under construction. Beside the wall he held up a string with a small weight on the bottom—a plumb line. [5]8The LORD said, “Amos, what do you see here?” I said, “It’s a plumb line.” The LORD said, “I want you to understand what I’m doing to Israel. I’m seeing if they measure up. And I’m telling you they don’t. I won’t overlook it anymore. 9Every sacred site in Israel will be destroyed. Worship centers. [6] Holy places from the time of Isaac. [7] All will turn into ruins. I’m going to bring my sword to Israel. And I’m going to cut off Jeroboam’s family dynasty, ending it once and for all."
Amos to priest: Your wife will become a hooker
10Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, reported Amos to the king. Amaziah said, “Amos is plotting against you. And he’s doing it right here in the heart of Israel. He has already said too much. 11He’s telling everyone, ‘Jeroboam is going to die by the sword and Israel will have to go into exile in a foreign land.’”12Then, Amaziah told Amos, “Vision guy [8] get out of here. Take your visions back to Judah. Make your money predicting the future there. 13But don’t ever prophesy here in Bethel again. The king worships at this temple. It’s a sacred place of worship for the entire nation.”
14Amos told Amaziah, “I’m not a prophet. I’m not even related to one. I’m a herder and a farmer. I tend an orchard of sycamore fig trees. 15The LORD told me to leave my flock. He said, ‘I have some messages for my people in Israel. And I want you to deliver them.’ 16So here I am. Now I have a message from the LORD to you. You told me, ‘Don’t say anything bad about Israel. No judgmental preaching or prophesying against Isaac’s descendants.’
17"For that, the LORD says you’ll lose your land; people will divide it among themselves. Your children will all die—sons and daughters, killed by the sword. Your wife will live, but as a hooker here in town. You, on the other hand, will live the rest of your life exiled in a foreign land far, far away."
