Amos Chapter 8

3 And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more;

4 and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

5 Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

6 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.

7 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thou away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

8 but prophesy not again any more at Beth-el; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house.

9 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore-trees:

10 and Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

11 Now therefore hear thou the word of Jehovah: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not

12 thy word against the house of Isaac;

13 therefore thus saith Jehovah: Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou thyself shalt die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.

14 Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, a basket of summer fruit.

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 Thus did Jehovah shew unto me; and behold, a basket of summer-fruit.

2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer-fruit. And Jehovah said unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.

3 And the songs of the palace shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah. The dead bodies shall be many; in every place they shall be cast forth. Silence!

4 Hear this, ye that pant after the needy, even to cause to fail the poor of the land,

5 saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat? making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances for deceit:

6 that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; and that we may sell the refuse of the wheat.

7 Jehovah hath sworn by the glory of Jacob, Certainly I will never forget any of their works.

8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? And it shall wholly rise up like the Nile; and it shall surge and sink down, as the river of Egypt.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the land in the clear day.

10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day.

11 Behold, days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, when I will send a famine in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah.

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it.

13 In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst;

14 they that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, [As] thygod, O Dan, liveth! and, [As] the way of Beer-sheba liveth! even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And behold a fowler's basket.

2 And he said, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, A fowler's basket. And the Lord said to me, The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not pass by them any more.

3 And the ceilings of the temple shall howl in that day, saith the Lord God: [there shall be] many a fallen one in every place; I will bring silence upon [them].

4 Hear now this, ye that oppress the poor in the morning, and drive the needy ones by tyranny from the earth,

5 saying, When will the month pass away, and we shall sell, and the sabbath, and we shall open the treasure, to make the measure small, and to enlarge the weight, and make the balance unfair?

6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for shoes; and we will trade in every kind of fruit.

7 The Lord swears against the pride of Jacob, None of your works shall ever be forgotten.

8 And shall not the land be troubled for these things, and shall not every one who dwells in it mourn? whereas destruction shall come up as a river, and shall descend as the river of Egypt.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, [that] the sun shall go down at noon, and the light shall be darkened on the earth by day:

10 and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; and I will make them as the mourning of a beloved [friend], and those with them as a day of grief.

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send forth a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord.

12 And the waters shall be troubled from sea to sea, and from the north to the east shall [men] run hither and thither, seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find [it].

13 In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst;

14 they who swear by the propitiation of Samaria, and who say, Thy god, O Dan, lives; and, Thy god, O Bersabee, lives; and they shall fall, and shall no more rise again.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Hæc ostendit mihi Dominus Deus: et ecce uncinus pomorum.

2 Et dixit: Quid tu vides Amos? Et dixi: Uncinum pomorum. Et dixit Dominus ad me: Venit finis super populum meum Israel: non adiiciam ultra ut pertranseam eum.

3 Et stridebunt cardines templi in die illa, dicit Dominus Deus: multi morientur: in omni loco proiicietur silentium.

4 Audite hoc qui conteritis pauperem, et deficere facitis egenos terræ,

5 dicentes: Quando transibit mensis, et venundabimus merces: et sabbatum, et aperiemus frumentum: ut imminuamus mensuram, et augeamus siclum, et supponamus stateras dolosas,

6 ut possideamus in argento egenos et pauperes pro calceamentis, et quisquilias frumenti vendamus?

7 Iuravit Dominus in superbiam Iacob: Si oblitus fuero usque ad finem omnia opera eorum.

8 Numquid super isto non commovebitur terra, et lugebit omnis habitator eius: et ascendet quasi fluvius universus, et eiicicetur, et defluet quasi rivus Ægypti?

9 Et erit in die illa, dicit Dominus Deus: occidet sol in meridie, et tenebrescere faciam terram in die luminis:

10 et convertam festivitates vestras in luctum, et omnia cantica vestra in planctum: et inducam super omne dorsum vestrum saccum, et super omne caput calvitium: et ponam eam quasi luctum unigeniti, et novissima eius quasi diem amarum.

11 Ecce dies veniunt, dicet Dominus: et mittam famem in terram: non famem panis, neque sitim aquæ, sed audiendi verbum Domini.

12 Et commovebuntur a Mari usque ad mare, et ab Aquilone usque ad Orientem: circuibunt quærentes verbum Domini, et non invenient.

13 In die illa deficient virgines pulchræ et adolescentes in siti.

14 Qui iurant in delicto Samariæ, et dicunt: Vivit Deus tuus Dan: et vivit via Bersabee, et cadent, et non resurgent ultra.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.

2 He said, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come on my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.

3 The songs of the temple will be wailing in that day,” says the Lord GOD. “The dead bodies will be many. In every place they will throw them out with silence.

4 Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail,

5 saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel large, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;

6 that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the sweepings with the wheat?’”

7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob, “Surely I will never forget any of their works.

8 Won’t the land tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? Yes, it will rise up wholly like the River; and it will be stirred up and sink again, like the River of Egypt.

9 It will happen in that day,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.

10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies, and baldness on every head. I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.

11 Behold, the days come,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the LORD’s words.

12 They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek the LORD’s word, and will not find it.

13 In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst.

14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, ‘As your god, Dan, lives,’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives,’ they will fall, and never rise up again.”

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 Thus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and, lo, a basket of summer-fruit.

2 And He saith, `What art thou seeing, Amos?' and I say, `A basket of summer-fruit.' And Jehovah saith unto me: `The end hath come unto My people Israel, I do not add any more to pass over to it.

3 And howled have songstresses of a palace in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Many <FI>are<Fi> the carcases, into any place throw--hush!

4 Hear this, ye who are swallowing up the needy, To cause to cease the poor of the land,

5 Saying, When doth the new moon pass, And we sell ground corn? And the sabbath, and we open out pure corn? To make little the ephah, And to make great the shekel, And to use perversely balances of deceit.

6 To purchase with money the poor, And the needy for a pair of sandals, Yea, the refuse of the pure corn we sell.

7 Sworn hath Jehovah by the excellency of Jacob: `I forget not for ever any of their works.

8 For this doth not the land tremble, And mourned hath every dweller in it? And come up as a flood hath all of it. And it hath been cast out, and hath sunk, Like the flood of Egypt.

9 And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I have caused the sun to go in at noon, And caused darkness on the land in a day of light,

10 And have turned your festivals to mourning, And all your songs to lamentation, And caused sackcloth to come up on all loins, And on every head--baldness, And made it as a mourning <FI>of<Fi> an only one, And its latter end as a day of bitterness.

11 Lo, days are coming, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And I have sent a famine into the land, Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water But of hearing the words of Jehovah.

12 And they have wandered from sea unto sea, And from north even unto east, They go to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, And they do not find.

13 In that day faint do the fair virgins, And the young men, with thirst.

14 Those swearing by the guilt of Samaria, And have said, Live doth thy god, O Dan, And, Live doth the way of Beer-Sheba, And they have fallen--and rise not again!'

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).