Amos 9

Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar

1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar,  * 9:1 Am 3:14 and he said:

Strike the capitals of the pillars  * 9:1 Zph 2:14

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.  * 9:1 Jos 5:13–15; Am 7:9,17

None of those who flee will get away;  * 9:1 Jr 11:11

none of the fugitives will escape.

2 If they dig down to Sheol,  * 9:2 Ps 139:8

from there my hand will take them;

if they climb up to heaven,  * 9:2 Jr 51:53; Ob 4

from there I will bring them down.

3 If they hide

on the top of Carmel,

from there I will track them down  * 9:3 Jb 34:22; Ps 139:9–10

and seize them;

if they conceal themselves

from my sight on the sea floor,  * 9:3 Jnh 2:2–6

from there I will command

the sea serpent to bite them.  * 9:3 Is 27:1

4 And if they are driven

by their enemies into captivity,  * 9:4 Lv 26:33

from there I will command

the sword to kill them.  * 9:2–4 Jb 34:21–22; Ps 139:7–12; Jr 23:24

I will keep my eye on them

for harm and not for good.  * 9:4 Jr 21:10; 44:27

5 The Lord, the God of Armies —

he touches the earth;  * 9:5 Ps 104:32; 144:5; Is 64:1

it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;

all of it rises like the Nile

and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.  * 9:5 Am 8:8

6 He builds his upper chambers

in the heavens  * 9:6 Ps 104:3,13

and lays the foundation of his vault

on the earth.  * 9:6 Ps 102:25; Is 48:13; 51:13

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out over the surface of the earth.  * 9:6 Ps 104:6

The Lord is his name.  * 9:6 Am 4:13; 5:8–9

Announcement of Judgment

7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to me?  * 9:7 2Ch 14:9,12; Is 20:4; 43:3

This is the  Lord’s declaration.

Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,

the Philistines from Caphtor,  * 9:7 Probably Crete,* 9:7 Dt 2:23; Jr 47:4

and the Arameans from Kir?  * 9:7 2Kg 16:9; Is 22:6

8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God

are on the sinful kingdom,  * 9:8 Am 9:4

and I will obliterate it

from the face of the earth.  * 9:8 Am 3:12

However, I will not totally destroy

the house of Jacob  * 9:8 Jr 5:10; 30:11; 31:35–36; Jl 2:32  —

this is the  Lord’s declaration —

9 for I am about to give the command,

and I will shake the house of Israel  * 9:9 Is 30:28; Lk 22:31

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  * 9:10 Is 33:14; Zch 13:8

who say, "Disaster will never overtake  * 9:10 Or "You will not let disaster come near

or confront us,"  * 9:10 Jr 5:12; 23:17; Am 6:3

will die by the sword.

Announcement of Restoration

11 In that day

I will restore the fallen shelter  * 9:11 Lv 23:42–43; 2Sm 11:11; 1Kg 20:12; Is 4:6 of David:  * 9:11 2Sm 7:11–16; Jr 23:5; Ezk 34:23–24; Zch 9:9–10; Lk 1:32; Rv 5:5

I will repair its gaps,

restore its ruins,  * 9:11 Is 44:26

and rebuild it as in the days of old,  * 9:11 Is 63:11; Jr 46:26

12 so that they may possess

the remnant of Edom  * 9:12 Ezk 36:5; Ob 21

and all the nations

that bear my name  * 9:12 LXX reads so that the remnant of man and all the nations . . . may seek me; Ac 15:17,* 9:11–12 Is 43:6–7; Mal 1:11; Ac 15:15–18  —

this is the declaration of the  Lord; he will do this.

13 Look, the days are coming —

this is the  Lord’s declaration —

when the plowman will overtake the reaper  * 9:13 Lv 26:5

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.  * 9:13 Jl 2:24; 3:18

14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel.  * 9:14 Or restore my people Israel from captivity,* 9:14 Dt 30:3; Jr 31:23; 32:42–44

They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,  * 9:14 Jr 30:18; 33:10–11

plant vineyards and drink their wine,

make gardens and eat their produce.  * 9:14 Is 65:21; Jr 31:5

15 I will plant them on their land,

and they will never again be uprooted

from the land I have given them.  * 9:15 2Sm 7:10; Jr 24:6

The Lord your God has spoken.