Amo 9 | HCSB | STEP | I saw the Lord standing beside the altar , and He said : Strike the capitals of the pillars so that the thresholds shake ; knock them down on the heads of all the people. Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword . None of those who flee will get away ; none of the fugitives will escape .

Amos 9

Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar

1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, ^a and He said:

Strike the capitals of the pillars ^b
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword. ^c
None of those who flee will get away; ^d
none of the fugitives will escape.
2 If they dig down to ^{▼▼Sheol: A Hebrew word for either the grave or the realm of the dead}Sheol, ^f
from there My hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven, ^g
from there I will bring them down.
3 If they hide themselves
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down ^h
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from My sight on the sea floor, ⁱ
from there I will command
the sea serpent to bite them. ^j
4 And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity, ^k
from there I will command
the sword to kill them. ^l
I will fix My eyes on them
for harm and not for good. ^m

5 The Lord, the God of ^{▼▼Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel}Hosts –
He touches the earth; ^o
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt. ^p
6 He builds His upper chambers
in the heavens ^q
and lays the foundation of His vault
on the earth. ^r
He summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the face of the earth. ^s
^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh is His name. ^u

Announcement of Judgment

7 Israelites, are you not like the ^{▼▼Cush/ Cushite: The lands of the Nile in southern Egypt, including Nubia and Northern Sudan; the people who lived in that region}Cushites to Me? ^w
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor, ^{▼▼Probably Crete
,} ^y
and the Arameans from Kir? ^z
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom, ^aa
and I will destroy it
from the face of the earth. ^ab
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob ^ac –
this is the Lord’s declaration –

9 for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel ^ad
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among My people ^ae
who say: “Disaster will never overtake ^{▼▼Or You will not let disaster come near}
or confront us,” ^ag
will die by the sword.

Announcement of Restoration

11 In that day
I will restore the fallen booth ^ah of David: ^ai
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins, ^aj
and rebuild it as in the days of old, ^ak
12 so that they may possess
the remnant of Edom ^al
and all the nations
that are called by My name ^{▼▼LXX reads so that the remnant of man and all the nations . . . may seek [Me]; Ac 15:17
,} ^an –

this is the Lord’s declaration –
He will do this.

13 Hear this! The days are coming –
this is the Lord’s declaration –

when the plowman will overtake the reaper ^ao
and the one who treads grapes,
the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it. ^ap
14 I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel. ^{▼▼Or restore My people Israel from captivity
,} ^ar
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities, ^as
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
make gardens and eat their produce. ^at
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them. ^au
Yahweh your God has spoken.