Amos 7

1 This is what the Lord God showed me. I saw that he was preparing a swarm of locusts just when the spring crops began to grow. (Spring crops begin to grow right after the time when the king's hay is cut.)

Here, My Lord, Yahweh gave me to see, and lo! he was preparing the locust, in the beginning of the shooting up of the after-grass, —and lo! after-grass, cometh after the mowings for the king.

2 And so when the locusts finished eating every green plant in the fields, I pleaded with the Lord God, “Please forgive your people! How can the descendants of Jacob survive? They are so weak.”

And it came to pass, when they had made an end of eating the herbage of the land, that I said—Oh, My Lord, Yahweh, forgive, I beseech thee: By whom shall Jacob, arise? for, small, he is.

3 So the Lord changed his mind. “It won't happen,” said the Lord.

Grieved was Yahweh, over this, —It shall not be, said Yahweh?

4 This is what the Lord God showed me. I saw that the Lord God was calling for a judgment of fire. The fire burned up the depths of the sea and destroyed the farmland.

Here, My Lord, Yahweh gave me to see, and lo! My Lord Yahweh proclaiming that, the controversy should be settled by fire, —which, having devoured the mighty roaring deep, should devour the inheritance.

5 I pleaded with the Lord God, “Please stop! How can the descendants of Jacob survive? They are so weak.”

Then said I, My Lord, Yahweh, forbear, I beseech thee, By whom shall Jacob, arise? for, small, he is.

6 So the Lord changed his mind. “This too won't happen,” said the Lord.

Grieved was Yahweh, over this, —Even this, shall not be, said My Lord, Yahweh.

7 This is what he showed me. I saw the Lord was standing beside a wall that had been built with a plumb line. He was holding a plumb line in his hand.

Here, he gave me to see, and lo! My Lord, stationed upon a pinnacle, —and, in his hand a plummet.

8 And the Lord asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” I replied, “A plumb line.” And the Lord God said, “I am placing a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I won't ignore their sins anymore.

And Yahweh said unto me, What canst thou see, Amos? And I said, A plummet, —Then said My Lord, Behold me! fixing a plummet in the midst of my people Israel, I will not again any more forgive him.

9 The high places of the descendents of Isaac will be torn down, and the holy places of Israel will be destroyed. Sword in hand, I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam.”

So shall the high places of Isaac, be made desolate, and, the holy places of Israel, be laid waste, —and I will rise up, against the house of Jeroboam, with the sword.

10 Then Amaziah, priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, “Amos is plotting against you among the people of Israel. What he's saying is unbearable!

Then sent Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, unto Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: A conspiracy hath Amos, raised against thee, in the midst of the house of Israel, The land, is not able to endure, all his words;

11 For he's saying Jeroboam will be killed by the sword, and the people will be taken away from their land into exile.”

For, thus, saith Amos, By the sword, shall Jeroboam, die, —and, Israel, shall, surely be exiled, from off his own soil.

12 Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away prophet! Run away to the land of Judah. Go and prophesy there to earn your bread.

Then said Amaziah unto Amos, O seer, go flee thee away unto the land of Judah—and eat, there, bread, and, there, mayest thou prophesy;

13 But don't ever prophesy again at Bethel, for this is where the king worships, the national Temple.”

But, at Bethel, not again, any more, mayest thou prophesy, —for, the holy place of the king, it is, and, the house of the kingdom, it is.

14 But Amos replied, “I'm not a trained prophet, or the son of a prophet. I was just a shepherd, and also took care of fig trees.

Then answered Amos, and said unto Amaziah, No prophet, was I, —nor the son of a prophet, was I, —but, a herdman, was I, and a preparer of sycamore fruit;

15 The Lord took me from following my flock, and the Lord told me, ‘Go, and give my message to my people of Israel.’”

But Yahweh, took me away, from following the flock, —and Yahweh, said unto me, Go prophesy against my people Israel.

16 So now hear what the Lord is telling you: You say, “Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach against the descendants of Isaac.”

Now, therefore, hear thou the word of Yahweh, —Thou art saying, Thou must not prophesy concerning Israel, nor let thy word drop down upon the house of Isaac.

17 But this is what the Lord says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city; your sons and daughters will be killed by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a foreign land. The people of Israel will definitely be taken from the land and go into exile.

Therefore—Thus, saith Yahweh, Thy wife, in the city, will commit unchastity, and, thy sons and thy daughters, by the sword, shall fall, and, thine own soil, by line, shall he apportioned, —and, thou, on a polluted soil, shalt die, and, Israel, shall, surely go into exile, away from his own soil.