Scripture of the Day

Amos 6–7 (Listen)

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

6:1   “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
    and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
  the notable men of the first of the nations,
    to whom the house of Israel comes!
2   Pass over to Calneh, and see,
    and from there go to Hamath the great;
    then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
  Are you better than these kingdoms?
    Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3   O you who put far away the day of disaster
    and bring near the seat of violence?
4   “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
    and stretch themselves out on their couches,
  and eat lambs from the flock
    and calves from the midst of the stall,
5   who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
    and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
6   who drink wine in bowls
    and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
    but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7   Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
    and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

8 The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts:

  “I abhor the pride of Jacob
    and hate his strongholds,
    and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”

9 And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the LORD.”

11   For behold, the LORD commands,
    and the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
    and the little house into bits.
12   Do horses run on rocks?
    Does one plow there¹ with oxen?
  But you have turned justice into poison
    and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood²—
13   you who rejoice in Lo-debar,³
    who say, “Have we not by our own strength
    captured Karnaim⁴ for ourselves?”
14   “For behold, I will raise up against you a nation,
    O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of hosts;
  “and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
    to the Brook of the Arabah.”

Warning Visions

7:1 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

  “O Lord GOD, please forgive!
    How can Jacob stand?
    He is so small!”
3   The LORD relented concerning this:
    “It shall not be,” said the LORD.

4 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,

  “O Lord GOD, please cease!
    How can Jacob stand?
    He is so small!”
6   The LORD relented concerning this:
    “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

  “Behold, I am setting a plumb line
    in the midst of my people Israel;
    I will never again pass by them;
9   the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
    and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
    and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,

  “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
    and Israel must go into exile
    away from his land.’”

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was⁵ no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.

  “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
    and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore thus says the LORD:

  “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
    and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
    and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
  you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
    and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

(ESV)