1I saw the Lord standing next to the altar in the temple. He said to me, ‘Strike the tops of the temple pillars. Then the heavy stones at the base of the entrance will shake. Bring everything down on the heads of everyone there. I will kill with my swords those who are left alive. None of the Israelites will escape. None will get away.2They might dig down deep. But my powerful hand will take them out of there. They might climb up to the heavens. But I will bring them down from there.3They might hide on top of Mount Carmel. But I will hunt them down and grab them. They might hide from me at the bottom of the ocean. But even there I will command the snake to bite them.4Their enemies might take them away as prisoners to another country. But there I will command Israel’s enemies to cut them down with swords. I will keep my eye on Israel to harm them. I will not help them.’5The LORD rules over all. The Lord touches the earth, and it melts. Everyone who lives in it mourns. The whole land rises like the River Nile. Then it settles back down again like that river in Egypt.6The LORD builds his palace high in the heavens. He lays its foundation on the earth. He sends for the waters in the clouds. Then he pours them out on the surface of the land. His name is the LORD.7‘You Israelites are just like the people of Cush to me,’ announces the LORD. ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt. I also brought the Philistines from Crete and the Arameans from Kir.8‘I am the LORD and King. My eyes are watching the sinful kingdom of Israel. I will wipe it off the face of the earth. But I will not totally destroy the people of Jacob,’ announces the LORD.9‘I will give an order. I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations. They will be like corn that is shaken through a screen. Not a pebble will fall to the ground.10All the sinners among my people will be killed by swords. They say, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us.”
Israel will be made like new again
11‘The time will come when I will set up David’s fallen shelter. I will repair its broken walls. I will rebuild what was destroyed. I will make it what it used to be.12Then my people will take control of those who are left alive in Edom. They will also possess all the nations that belong to me,’ announces the LORD. He will do all these things.13‘The days are coming,’ announces the LORD. ‘At that time those who plough the land will catch up with those who harvest the crops. Those who tread grapes will catch up with those who plant the vines. Fresh wine will drip from the mountains. It will flow down from all the hills.14I will bring my people Israel back home. I will bless them with great success again. They will rebuild the destroyed cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce. They will make gardens and eat their fruit.15I will plant Israel in their own land. They will never again be removed from the land I have given them,’ says the LORD your God.
Amos 9
English Standard Version
The Destruction of Israel
1I saw the Lord standing beside[1] the altar, and he said: “Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people;[2] and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape. (Jud 16:26; Isa 6:4; Am 2:14; Zep 2:14)2“If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. (Ps 139:8)3If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them. (Job 26:5; Am 1:2)4And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.” (De 28:65; Jer 21:10)5The Lord God of hosts, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile, and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt; (Ps 46:6; Am 8:8)6who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth— the Lord is his name. (Ps 104:3; Ps 104:5; Am 4:13; Am 5:8)7“Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir? (Ge 10:14; Ex 20:2; Jer 47:4; Am 1:5; Zep 3:10)8Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord. (Jer 30:11; Am 9:4; Ob 1:17)9“For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. (Jer 15:7; Mt 3:12; Lu 3:17)10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’ (Am 6:3)
The Restoration of Israel
11“In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, (Ac 15:16)12that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,”[3] declares the Lord who does this. (Ob 1:19; Ac 15:17)13“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. (Le 26:5; Joe 3:18)14I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. (Isa 61:4; Jer 30:3; Jer 31:5)15I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. (Jer 3:18; Jer 24:6; Eze 34:29; Joe 3:20)