| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1This 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. | 1The Lord GOD showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts at the time the spring crop first began to sprout--after the cutting of the king's hay. |
| 2When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” | 2When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land, I said, "Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?" |
| 3The LORD relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the LORD. | 3The LORD relented concerning this. "It will not happen," He said. |
| 4This 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. | 4The Lord GOD showed me this: The Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. |
| 5Then I said, “O Lord GOD, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” | 5Then I said, "Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?" |
| 6The LORD relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD. | 6The LORD relented concerning this. "This will not happen either," said the Lord GOD. |
| 7This 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. | 7He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. |
| 8And 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; | 8The LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" I replied, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them: |
| 9the 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.” | 9Isaac's high places will be deserted, and Israel's sanctuaries will be in ruins; I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword." |
| 10Then 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. | 10Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words, |
| 11For thus Amos has said, “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’” | 11for Amos has said this: 'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.'" |
| 12And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, | 12Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living and give your prophecies there, |
| 13but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” | 13but don't ever prophesy at Bethel again, for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal temple." |
| 14Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. | 14So Amos answered Amaziah, "I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs. |
| 15But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ | 15But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'" |
| 16Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ | 16Now hear the word of the LORD. You say: Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac. |
| 17Therefore 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.’” | 17Therefore, this is what the LORD says: Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, and your land will be divided up with a measuring line. You yourself will die on pagan soil, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland. |
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