Amo 4 | HCSB | STEP | Listen to this message , you cows of Bashan who are on the hill of Samaria , women who oppress the poor and crush the needy , who say to their husbands , “Bring us something to drink .”

‏ Amos 4

Social and Spiritual Corruption

1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ^a
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy, ^b
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink.” ^c

2 The Lord God has sworn ^d by His holiness: ^e

Look, the days are coming ^{▼▼Lit coming on you}
when you will be taken away with hooks, ^g
every last one of you with fishhooks. ^h
3 You will go through breaches in the wall, ⁱ
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be driven along toward Harmon.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

4 Come to Bethel and rebel;
rebel even more at Gilgal! ^j
Bring your sacrifices every morning, ^k
your tenths every three days.
5 Offer leavened bread as a thank offering, ^l
and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings, ^m
for that is what you Israelites love to do! ⁿ

This is the Lord’s declaration.

God’s Discipline and Israel’s Apostasy

6 I gave you absolutely nothing to eat ^{▼▼Lit you cleanness of teeth
,} ^p
in all your cities,
a shortage of food in all your communities,
yet you did not return to Me. ^q

This is the Lord’s declaration.

7 I also withheld the rain from you ^r
while there were still three months until harvest.
I sent rain on one city
but no rain on another. ^s
One field received rain
while a field with no rain withered. ^t
8 Two or three cities staggered
to another city to drink water ^u
but were not satisfied, ^v
yet you did not return ^w to Me.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

9 I struck you with blight and mildew; ^x
the locust devoured ^y
your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees, ^z
yet you did not return to Me. ^aa

This is the Lord’s declaration.

10 I sent plagues like those of Egypt; ^ab
I killed your young men with the sword, ^ac
along with your captured horses. ^ad
I caused the stench of your camp
to fill your nostrils, ^ae
yet you did not return to Me. ^af

This is the Lord’s declaration.

11 I overthrew some of you
as I ^{▼▼Lit God} overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, ^ah
and you were like a burning stick
snatched from a fire, ^ai
yet you did not return to Me ^aj –

this is the Lord’s declaration.

12 Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,
and since I will do that to you,
Israel, prepare to meet your God! ^ak
13 He is here:
the One who forms the mountains, ^al
creates the wind, ^am
and reveals His ^{▼▼Or his} thoughts to man, ^ao
the One who makes the dawn out of darkness
and strides on the heights of the earth. ^ap
^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh, the God of ^{▼▼Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel}Hosts, is His name. ^as

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