New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Amos 7
1
The Lord and King gave me a vision. He was bringing large numbers of locusts on the land. The king's share of the first crop had already been harvested. Now the second crop was coming up.
Reference
2
The locusts stripped the land clean. Then I cried out, "Lord and King, forgive Israel! How can Jacob's people continue? They are such a weak nation!"
Reference
Parallel theme
Exodus 10:15
References God
Isaiah 37:4
Ezekiel 11:13
Jeremiah 42:2
Ezekiel 9:8
References Lord
Jeremiah 14:7
4
The Lord and King gave me a second vision. He was using fire to punish his people. It dried up the deep waters. It burned the land up.
Reference
References God
Amos 7:1
5
Then I cried out, "Lord and King, please stop! How can Jacob's people continue? They are such a weak nation!"
Reference
References God
Psalm 85:4
6
So the Lord had pity on them. "I will let them continue for now," the Lord and King said.
7
Then the Lord gave me a third vision. He was standing by a wall. It had been built very straight, all the way up and down. He was holding a plumb line.
Reference
8
The Lord asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" "A plumb line," I replied. Then the Lord said, "Look at what I am doing. I am hanging a plumb line next to my people Israel. It will show how crooked they are. I will no longer spare them.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 28:17
2 Kings 21:13
Micah 7:18
References Lord
Amos 8:2
Lamentations 2:8
Jeremiah 15:6
9
"The high places where Isaac's people worship other gods will be destroyed. The other places of worship in Israel will also be torn down. I will use my sword to attack Jeroboam's royal family."
10
Amaziah was priest of Bethel. He sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. He said, "Amos is making evil plans against you right here in Israel. The people in the land can't stand to listen to what he's saying.
Reference
11
Amos is telling them, " 'Jeroboam will be killed with a sword. The people of Israel will be taken away as prisoners. They will be carried off from their own land.' "
Reference
References Israel
2 Kings 17:6
12
Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out of Israel, you prophet! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your living there. Do your prophesying there.
Reference
13
Don't prophesy here at Bethel anymore. This is where the king worships. The main temple in the kingdom is located here."
Reference
14
Amos answered Amaziah, "I was not a prophet. I wasn't even a prophet's son. I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
Reference
Parallel theme
Amos 1:1
2 Chronicles 19:2
Prophecy
Zechariah 13:5
2 Kings 2:5
2 Kings 4:38
2 Kings 2:3
15
But the Lord took me away from taking care of the flock. He said to me, 'Go. Prophesy to my people Israel.'
Reference
16
Now then, listen to the Lord's message. You say, " 'Don't prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against the people of Isaac.'
Reference
17
"But the Lord says, " 'Your wife will become a prostitute in the city of Bethel. Your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Your land will be measured and divided up. And you yourself will die in another country. The people of Israel will be taken away as prisoners. They will be carried off from their own land.' "
Reference
References Israel
2 Kings 17:6
References Lord
Hosea 9:3
Jeremiah 28:16
Ezekiel 4:13
Jeremiah 29:21
Word
Amos 7:11
Summary of Amos 7
Amos 7 presents three visions of judgment followed by a confrontation between the prophet and the religious establishment, showing both God's willingness to respond to intercession and the seriousness of His final judgment when a corrupt society repeatedly refuses correction.
The first vision shows a devastating swarm of locusts appearing after the king's harvest, threatening to destroy the nation's next crop and leave Israel unable to recover.
Amos responds not by celebrating Israel's punishment but by pleading for mercy, asking how Jacob can survive because the nation is small and vulnerable.
God responds to Amos's intercession by relenting from the announced disaster.
A second vision follows in which Amos sees a consuming fire that threatens to destroy the land.
Again, the prophet pleads for mercy, and again God relents.
These two visions establish an important tension between justice and mercy, showing that Amos is not simply announcing punishment because he wants Israel destroyed but is deeply concerned about the nation's survival.
The third vision is different.
Amos sees God standing beside a wall with a plumb line, a tool used to determine whether a wall has been built correctly.
The image represents God's precise evaluation of Israel.
Unlike the first two visions, there is no recorded request from Amos for the judgment to be removed, and God declares that He will no longer overlook Israel's condition.
The nation's moral structure has been measured and found defective.
God therefore announces judgment against the religious centers and against the royal house of Jeroboam.
The message quickly becomes political when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, reports Amos to King Jeroboam.
Amaziah describes Amos as a threat to the kingdom and presents his prophetic message as though it were an act of political conspiracy.
This response reveals how deeply Israel's religious establishment has become connected with royal authority.
Amaziah tells Amos to leave Bethel and return to Judah, essentially suggesting that Amos should find another place to preach and stop interfering with the official religious institution.
Amos responds by explaining that he did not choose this career for personal advantage.
He was a shepherd and agricultural worker when God took him and commanded him to prophesy to Israel.
His authority therefore does not come from a religious institution, royal appointment, or professional prophetic position but directly from God's calling.
Because Amaziah has attempted to silence that calling, Amos announces personal judgment against him and his household while repeating the larger prophecy that Israel itself will go into exile.
The central message is that Amos 7 shows that God is willing to respond to sincere intercession and delay judgment, but persistent corruption eventually reaches a point where the nation's moral condition has been measured and found unacceptable, making divine judgment unavoidable.
The chapter also demonstrates that God's word cannot be controlled by political leaders or religious institutions, because Amos speaks not from personal ambition but from divine calling, and when Amaziah attempts to silence the prophet, he discovers that rejecting God's messenger cannot prevent the fulfillment of God's message.
The first vision shows a devastating swarm of locusts appearing after the king's harvest, threatening to destroy the nation's next crop and leave Israel unable to recover.
Amos responds not by celebrating Israel's punishment but by pleading for mercy, asking how Jacob can survive because the nation is small and vulnerable.
God responds to Amos's intercession by relenting from the announced disaster.
A second vision follows in which Amos sees a consuming fire that threatens to destroy the land.
Again, the prophet pleads for mercy, and again God relents.
These two visions establish an important tension between justice and mercy, showing that Amos is not simply announcing punishment because he wants Israel destroyed but is deeply concerned about the nation's survival.
The third vision is different.
Amos sees God standing beside a wall with a plumb line, a tool used to determine whether a wall has been built correctly.
The image represents God's precise evaluation of Israel.
Unlike the first two visions, there is no recorded request from Amos for the judgment to be removed, and God declares that He will no longer overlook Israel's condition.
The nation's moral structure has been measured and found defective.
God therefore announces judgment against the religious centers and against the royal house of Jeroboam.
The message quickly becomes political when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, reports Amos to King Jeroboam.
Amaziah describes Amos as a threat to the kingdom and presents his prophetic message as though it were an act of political conspiracy.
This response reveals how deeply Israel's religious establishment has become connected with royal authority.
Amaziah tells Amos to leave Bethel and return to Judah, essentially suggesting that Amos should find another place to preach and stop interfering with the official religious institution.
Amos responds by explaining that he did not choose this career for personal advantage.
He was a shepherd and agricultural worker when God took him and commanded him to prophesy to Israel.
His authority therefore does not come from a religious institution, royal appointment, or professional prophetic position but directly from God's calling.
Because Amaziah has attempted to silence that calling, Amos announces personal judgment against him and his household while repeating the larger prophecy that Israel itself will go into exile.
The central message is that Amos 7 shows that God is willing to respond to sincere intercession and delay judgment, but persistent corruption eventually reaches a point where the nation's moral condition has been measured and found unacceptable, making divine judgment unavoidable.
The chapter also demonstrates that God's word cannot be controlled by political leaders or religious institutions, because Amos speaks not from personal ambition but from divine calling, and when Amaziah attempts to silence the prophet, he discovers that rejecting God's messenger cannot prevent the fulfillment of God's message.