en_t4t/30-AMO.usfm

\id AMO - Translation 4 Translators 1
\ide 65001 - Unicode (UTF-8)
\h AMOS
\toc1 Amos
\toc2 Amos
\toc3 Amo
\mt1 Amos
\c 1
\p
\v 1 This is the message that \add Yahweh\add* gave to me, Amos. I am a ◄shepherd/man who takes care of sheep►. I am from near Tekoa \add town south of Jerusalem\add*. I received this message about Israel in a vision two years before the \add big\add* earthquake. It was when Uzziah was the king of Judah and Jeroboam, the son of \add King\add* Jehoash, was the king of Israel.
\p
\v 2 This is what Yahweh said:
\q1 “I will roar \add like a lion\add* [MET];
\q2 when I speak from Zion \add Hill in\add* Jerusalem [DOU], my voice will \add resemble the sound of\add* thunder.
\q1 \add When that happens\add*, the pastures where you shepherds \add take care of\add* your sheep will dry up,
\q2 and \add the grass\add* on top of Carmel \add Mountain\add* will ◄wither/become brown►
\q2 \add because I will cause that no rain will fall\add*.”
\s1 Yahweh will punish Syria
\p
\v 3 This is also what Yahweh said to me:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of\add* Damascus, \add the capital of Syria\add*, because of the many sins that they have committed;
\q2 I will not \add change my mind about punishing them\add* [MTY],
\q1 because \add the cruel things that they did to the people of the\add* Gilead \add region\add*
\q2 \add were like\add* [MET] people threshing grain using sledges \add that have ◄iron teeth/sharp iron nails► in them\add*.
\q1
\v 4 I will cause a fire to burn the palace \add that King\add* Hazael \add built and lived in\add*,
\q2 the fortress where \add his son King\add* Ben-Hadad also lived.
\q1
\v 5 I will cause the gates of Damascus to be broken down;
\q2 I will get rid of the king who rules in Aven Valley
\q1 and the one who rules in Beth Eden.
\q2 And the people of Syria will be captured and taken to the Kir \add region where they originally lived\add*.”
\s1 Yahweh will punish Philistia
\p
\v 6 Yahweh also said this to me:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of the cities of Philistia:\add*
\q2 \add I will punish the people of\add* Gaza \add city\add* because of the many sins that they have committed;
\q2 I will not change my mind about punishing them,
\q1 because they captured large groups of people and took them to Edom
\q2 and sold them to become the slaves of \add the people of\add* Edom.
\q1
\v 7 I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Gaza
\q2 and also destroy its fortresses.
\q1
\v 8 I will get rid of the king of Ashdod \add city\add*
\q2 and the king who rules [MTY] in Ashkelon \add city\add*.
\q1 I will also strike/punish \add the people of\add* Ekron \add city\add*,
\q2 and all the people of Philistia who are still alive will be killed.”
\s1 Yahweh will punish Tyre
\p
\v 9 Yahweh also said this to me:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of\add* Tyre \add city\add* because of the many sins that their people have committed;
\q2 I will not change my mind about punishing them
\q1 because they also captured large groups of our people and took them to Edom,
\q2 disregarding the treaty of friendship that they had made \add with your rulers\add*.
\q1
\v 10 So I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Tyre
\q2 and also destroy its fortresses.”
\s1 Yahweh will punish Edom
\p
\v 11 Yahweh also said this to me:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of\add* Edom because of the many sins that \add their people\add* have committed;
\q2 I will not change my mind about punishing them,
\q1 because they pursued the people of Israel, who descended from Esau's \add brother Jacob, and killed them\add* with swords;
\q2 they did not act mercifully toward them at all.
\q1 They were extremely angry \add with the people of Israel\add*,
\q2 and they continued to be angry with them.
\q1
\v 12 I will cause a fire to burn Teman \add district in Edom\add*
\q2 and completely burn the fortresses of Bozrah, \add the biggest city in Edom\add*.”
\s1 Yahweh will punish Ammon
\p
\v 13 Yahweh also said this to me:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of\add* Ammon because of the many sins that \add they\add* have committed;
\q2 I will not change my mind about punishing them,
\q1 because \add their soldiers\add* even ripped open \add the bellies of\add* pregnant women
\q2 \add when their army attacked\add* Gilead \add region\add* to gain more territory.
\q1
\v 14 I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Rabbah \add city\add*
\q2 and completely burn its fortresses.
\q1 During that battle, \add their enemies\add* will shout loudly
\q2 and the fighting will be like [MET] a fierce/raging wind/storm.
\q1
\v 15 \add After the battle\add*, the king \add of Ammon\add* and his officials will be ◄exiled/forced to go to another country►.”
\c 2
\s1 Yahweh will punish Moab
\p
\v 1 Yahweh also said this:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of\add* Moab because of the many sins \add that they have committed\add*;
\q2 I will not change my mind about punishing them,
\q1 because they \add dug up\add* the bones of the king of Edom and burned them completely,
\q2 with the result that \add the ashes became as white\add* as lime.
\q1
\v 2 So I will cause a fire to completely burn the fortresses of Kerioth \add city in Moab\add*.
\q2 People will hear soldiers shouting and blowing trumpets loudly
\q2 while I am causing Moab to be destroyed
\q1
\v 3 and while I am getting rid of its king and all its leaders.
\q2 \add That will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!”
\b
\s1 Yahweh will punish Judah
\p
\v 4 Yahweh also said this:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of\add* Judah because of the many sins \add that they have committed\add*;
\q2 I will not change my mind about punishing them,
\q1 because they have rejected what I taught them
\q2 and they have not obeyed my commands.
\q1 They have been deceived \add and persuaded to worship\add* false gods,
\q2 the same gods that their ancestors \add worshiped\add*.
\q1
\v 5 So I will cause a fire to completely burn \add everything in\add* Judah, including the fortresses in Jerusalem.”
\s1 Yahweh will punish Israel
\p
\v 6 Yahweh also said this:
\q1 “\add I will punish the people of\add* Israel because of the many sins \add that they have committed\add*;
\q2 I will not change my mind about punishing them,
\q1 because they sell righteous people to get \add a small amount of\add* silver;
\q2 they sell poor people, \add causing them to become slaves\add*,
\q2 getting for each of them \add only the amount of money with which they could buy\add* a pair of sandals.
\q1
\v 7 \add It is as though\add* they trample the poor people into the dirt
\q2 and do not allow those who are helpless to be treated fairly.
\q2 Men and their fathers dishonor me [MTY] by both having sex [EUP] with the same slave girl.
\q1
\v 8 \add When poor people borrow money\add*,
\q2 \add the lenders force those people to give to them a piece of clothing\add* for them to keep until he can pay back the money.
\q1 \add But at the end of each day, instead of returning that garment as Yahweh had commanded them to\add*,
\q2 they lie down on that garment at the places where they worship \add their gods\add*
\q1 They fine people,
\q2 and with that money \add they buy\add* wine and drink it in the temples of their gods.
\b
\q1
\v 9 \add Long ago\add*, to assist your ancestors, I got rid of the Amor people-group.
\q2 They \add seemed to be\add* as tall as cedar trees
\q2 and as strong as oak trees,
\q1 but I got rid of them completely,
\q2 \add as easily as someone cuts off\add* [MET] the branches of a tree and then digs out all the roots.
\b
\q1
\v 10 I brought your \add ancestors\add* out of Egypt,
\q2 and then I led them through the desert for forty years.
\q2 And then I enabled them to conquer/possess the Amor area.
\q1
\v 11 I chose some of you Israelis to be prophets,
\q2 and I chose others to be Nazir-men \add who were completely dedicated to me\add*.
\q1 You people of Israel certainly [RHQ] know that what I have said is true!
\b
\q1
\v 12 But you commanded the prophets to not speak the messages that \add I gave to\add* them,
\q1 and you persuaded the Nazir-men to drink wine,
\q2 \add which I told them never to do\add*.
\b
\q1
\v 13 So I will crush you
\q2 like [SIM] \add the wheels of\add* a wagon that is loaded with grain crushes whatever it rolls over.
\q1
\v 14 Even if you run fast,
\q2 you will not escape;
\q1 even if you are strong, \add it will be as though\add* you are weak,
\q2 and warriors will be unable to save themselves.
\q1
\v 15 Even if you are able to shoot arrows well,
\q2 you will be forced to retreat [LIT];
\q1 even if you run fast or if you ride away on a horse,
\q2 you will not be able to save yourself.
\q1
\v 16 Even warriors who are very brave will drop their weapons
\q2 when they try to flee on the day \add that I get rid of them\add*.
\q1 \add That will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it.”
\c 3
\s1 Yahweh warned the Israeli people
\p
\v 1 “You people of Israel, I brought all your ancestors out of Egypt;
\q2 so listen to what I am saying about you.
\q1
\v 2 From all the people-groups on the earth,
\q2 I \add chose and\add* took care of only you.
\q1 That is the reason that I will punish you
\q2 for the sins that you have committed.”
\s1 The prophets' task
\q1
\v 3 Two people certainly cannot [RHQ] walk together
\q2 if they have not already agreed \add about what place they will start walking from\add*.
\q1
\v 4 A lion certainly does not [RHQ] roar in the bushes/forest
\q2 if it has not killed another animal.
\q1 It does not [RHQ] growl in its den
\q2 if it is not eating \add the flesh of an animal that it has caught\add*.
\q1
\v 5 No one can [RHQ] catch a bird
\q2 if he does not set a trap for it.
\q1 A trap does not spring shut
\q2 when some animal has not sprung the trap.
\q1
\v 6 \add Similarly\add*, all the people in a city certainly [RHQ] become afraid
\q2 when \add they hear someone\add* blowing a trumpet
\q2 to signal \add that enemies are\add* attacking.
\q1 And when a city experiences disaster,
\q2 Yahweh is the one who has caused it [RHQ].
\b
\q1
\v 7 And whatever Yahweh plans to do,
\q2 he tells his prophets about it.
\b
\q1
\v 8 Everyone certainly becomes terrified [RHQ] when they hear a lion roar,
\q2 and if Yahweh the Lord has given messages \add to prophets like me\add*,
\q1 we certainly must [RHQ] proclaim those messages,
\q2 \add even if they cause people to become terrified\add*.
\s1 Yahweh will punish Samaria
\q1
\v 9 \add I said this to the leaders of Samaria\add* (OR, \add Yahweh said this to me\add*):
\q2 Send this message to the leaders [MET] in Ashdod \add city\add* and to Egypt:
\q1 “Come to the hills of Samaria
\q2 and see the way \add that their ◄leaders/wealthy people►\add* are causing people in that city to be terrified,
\q2 and the way that they are causing the people to suffer!”
\b
\q1
\v 10 Yahweh says that the people there do not know how to do things that are right.
\q2 Their homes are filled with valuable things that they have stolen or taken violently from others.
\p
\v 11 So Yahweh our God says that \add soon\add* their enemies will come
\q2 and tear down their ◄defenses/high city walls►
\q2 and take away those valuable things.
\p
\v 12 Yahweh has declared this:
\q1 “When a lion attacks a sheep,
\q2 sometimes a shepherd will be able to snatch from the lion's mouth
\q2 only two legs or an ear of the sheep.
\q1 Similarly, only a few people from Samaria will escape,
\q2 and \add they will be able to rescue\add* only a part of a couch and a part of a bed.”
\b
\p
\v 13 The Almighty Commander of the armies of angels said this:
\q2 “Proclaim this message about the descendants [MTY] of Jacob:
\q1
\v 14 When I, Yahweh, punish \add the people of\add* Israel
\q2 because of the sins that they have committed,
\q1 I will cause the altars at Bethel \add town\add* to be destroyed;
\q2 even the projections at the corners of the altars will be cut off and fall to the ground.
\q1
\v 15 I will cause the houses \add that they live in during\add* the ◄winter/rainy season► and those \add in which they live during\add* the ◄summer/dry season► to be torn down.
\q2 Beautiful big houses and houses that are decorated with ivory and will be destroyed.
\q1 \add That will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!”
\c 4
\s1 The Israelis have not returned to God
\q1
\v 1 You \add wealthy women\add* of Samaria \add have grown fat\add* like [MET] the fat cows of the Bashan \add region\add*.
\q2 You oppress poor people
\q2 and you cause needy people to suffer.
\q1 And you say to your husbands,
\q2 “Bring us \add more wine\add* to drink!”
\q1
\v 2 But Yahweh our God has said this:
\q2 “Because I am holy, I solemnly promise this:
\q1 It will \add soon\add* be the time when you all will be taken \add to another country\add*;
\q2 \add your enemies will take you away as though they are using\add* sharp hooks [DOU] \add to grab you\add*.
\q1
\v 3 \add Your enemies\add* will drag you out through breaks/holes \add in your city walls\add*,
\q2 and they will throw you outside the city.
\q1 \add That will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!
\b
\q1
\v 4 Go to Bethel and Gilgal \add towns where many people worship me\add*
\q2 and sin more and more [SAR]!
\q1 \add I say that not because I want you to do it\add*,
\q2 \add but because it is what you have always been doing\add*
\q1 Offer sacrifices on the morning \add after you arrive\add*,
\q2 and bring me ◄a tithe/one tenth► of your crops the next day.
\q1
\v 5 Bring offerings of bread to thank me,
\q2 and other offerings that are not required/commanded,
\q1 and boast about these offerings that you bring,
\q2 because that is what you like to do,
\q1 \add but you do it to impress others, not to please me\add*.
\q1 \add That is certainly true, because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it.
\b
\q1
\v 6 I am the one who caused there to be no food in any of your cities and towns [DOU],
\q2 but you rejected me in spite of that.
\b
\q1
\v 7 When it was still three months before \add the time of\add* harvesting crops,
\q2 \add at the time when your crops needed rain the most\add*,
\q2 I prevented rain from falling.
\q1 \add Sometimes\add* I allowed rain to fall on some towns
\q2 and prevented it from falling on other towns.
\q1 Rain fell on some fields,
\q2 but it did not fall on other fields,
\q2 with the result that the soil in those fields \add where it did not rain\add* dried up.
\q1
\v 8 People would stagger from one town to another town to find water,
\q2 but they could not even get enough water to drink,
\q2 but in spite of that, you have not returned to me.
\q1 \add That is certainly true because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!
\b
\q1
\v 9 I caused your grain fields to dry up;
\q2 I caused your gardens and vineyards to be struck/destroyed by ◄blight/hot winds► and mildew.
\q1 I sent locusts to eat \add the leaves on\add* your fig trees and olive trees,
\q2 but in spite of that, you rejected me.
\q1 \add That is certainly true because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!
\b
\q1
\v 10 I caused you to experience ◄plagues/severe sicknesses►
\q2 like the plagues that I sent to \add the people of\add* Egypt.
\q1 I caused many of your young men to die in battles.
\q2 I allowed \add your enemies\add* to capture your horses.
\q1 \add Many of your soldiers were killed\add*,
\q2 and I caused your camps to be filled with the smell/stink of their \add decaying\add* corpses.
\q2 But in spite of that, you rejected me.
\q1 \add That is certainly true, because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!
\b
\q1
\v 11 I got rid of many of you,
\q2 like I got rid of the people in Sodom and Gomorrah.
\q1 Those of you who \add did not die\add* were like [SIM] a burning stick that was snatched from a fire \add so that it would not burn completely\add*.
\q2 But in spite of that, you rejected me.
\q1 \add That is certainly true, because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!
\b
\q1
\v 12 So now, you people of Israel, I am going to punish you.
\q2 Prepare to stand in front of me, your God, \add when I judge you!\add*
\b
\q1
\v 13 I created the mountains,
\q2 and I created the winds.
\q1 I reveal to humans what I am thinking.
\q2 I \add sometimes\add* cause the daylight to become dark like the night.
\q1 I \add rule over everything\add*;
\q2 I even walk on the highest mountains on the earth!
\q2 I am the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels!”
\c 5
\s1 The people of Israel must repent
\p
\v 1 You people [MTY] of Israel, listen to this funeral song that I will sing about you:
\q1
\v 2 “You are like [MET] a young woman,
\q2 but in spite of that, you will certainly be struck down
\q2 and you will never get up again!
\q1 You will lie on the ground, abandoned,
\q2 and there will be no one to help you stand up.”
\b
\p
\v 3 This is what Yahweh the Lord says to the people [MTY] of Israel:
\q1 \add “When your enemies attack you\add*,
\q1 and when a thousand \add of your soldiers\add* will go \add to a battle\add*,
\q2 there will be only a hundred who will survive.
\q1 When a hundred soldiers march out \add from a city to fight\add*,
\q2 there will be only ten who will remain alive.”
\b
\p
\v 4 Yahweh continues to say to the people [MTY] of Israel:
\q1 “You Israeli people, return to me!
\q2 If you do that, you will continue to remain alive.
\q1
\v 5 Do not go to Bethel to seek \add my help\add*;
\q2 do not go to Gilgal \add to worship\add*;
\q1 do not even go to Beersheba,
\q2 because \add your enemies\add* will drag away \add the people of\add* Gilgal to other countries,
\q2 and Bethel will be completely destroyed.”
\q1
\v 6 So, come to Yahweh;
\q2 if you do that, you will remain alive.
\q1 If you do not do that,
\q2 Yahweh will descend on you descendants [MTY] of Joseph like [SIM] a fire;
\q1 that fire will burn everything in Bethel,
\q2 and ◄nothing/no one► will be able to save that town.
\q1
\v 7 You people distort what is fair/right and cause \add people to think that\add* it is something that is very bitter;
\q2 you treat good things as though they are evil.
\b
\q1
\v 8 \add Do you know who\add* created all the groups of stars
\q2 and put them in their places?
\q1 \add Each morning\add* he causes the darkness to become the dawn,
\q2 and \add each evening\add* he causes the daylight to become darkness.
\q1 He scoops up water from the oceans \add to become clouds\add*,
\q2 and then he dumps the water \add from the clouds\add* onto the earth.
\q1 The one who does those things is named Yahweh.
\q1

\v 9 He causes strong \add soldiers\add* to be killed, 
\q2 and causes the ◄high walls around/fortresses of► cities to be torn down. 
\q1 \v 10 \add He is the one who will punish you\add*
\q1 because you hate those who challenge anyone who tries to make unjust decisions,
\q2 and you hate those who tell the truth in your courts.
\b
\q1
\v 11 You oppress poor people and force them to pay big taxes.
\q1 You have built big stone mansions \add for yourselves\add*,
\q2 but you will not be able to live in them.
\q1 You have planted vineyards,
\q2 but there will not be any \add grapes for you to harvest to make\add* wine.
\q1
\v 12 I know all of your sins
\q2 and the terrible crimes that you have committed.
\q1 You oppress righteous/honest people,
\q2 and you accept bribes.
\q1 You do not allow judges to treat poor people justly.
\q1
\v 13 This is a time when \add many people do\add* evil things,
\q2 so people who have good sense say nothing \add when they hear about such things being done\add*.
\b
\q1
\v 14 In order to remain alive,
\q2 you must stop doing what is wrong, and start doing what is right.
\q1 If you do that, the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels, will be with you
\q2 like you claim \add that he always is\add*.
\q1
\v 15 Love what is good, and hate what is evil!
\q2 Try to cause \add judges\add* in your courts to make decisions that are right/fair!
\q1 If you do those things, perhaps the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels,
\q2 will act mercifully toward \add you descendants of\add* Joseph who are still alive.
\p
\v 16 “Because I, Yahweh, \add will punish you for your sins\add*, this is what I have solemnly declared:
\q1 People will be wailing loudly in every street,
\q2 and people will be very sorrowful in every plaza.
\q1 Farmers will be summoned to \add come and\add* weep,
\q2 along with the other official mourners who will wail \add for those who have died\add*.
\q1
\v 17 People will be wailing in your vineyards,
\q2 because I will punish you [IDI] severely.
\q1 \add That will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!”
\s1 The day of punishment
\q1
\v 18 Terrible things will happen to you who desire that it will soon be the day when Yahweh \add will punish your enemies\add*,
\q2 because that will be a day of darkness, not of light.
\q1
\v 19 \add At that time\add*, when you try to run from a lion,
\q2 you will face a bear.
\q1 When you run into your house \add to be safe\add*,
\q2 and you put your hand on the wall,
\q2 it will be bitten by a snake.
\q1
\v 20 That day, \add when he punishes people\add*, will certainly be [RHQ] a very dark day [MET],
\q2 without even a little bit of light.
\b
\q1
\v 21 \add Yahweh says\add*, “I hate your religious celebrations
\q2 and the times when you gather to worship me;
\q2 I detest them [DOU].
\q1
\v 22 Even if you bring me offerings that will be completely burned \add on the altar\add* and offerings of grain,
\q2 I will no longer accept them.
\q1 Even if you bring me offerings to renew/maintain fellowship with me,
\q2 I will not pay any attention to them.
\q1
\v 23 So, stop singing noisy/loud songs!
\q2 I will not listen when you play harps.
\q1
\v 24 Instead, your continually acting justly/fairly and righteously should be \add abundant\add* and never stop,
\q2 like [SIM] \add the water in\add* a river that never stops flowing.
\b
\q1
\v 25 You Israeli people [MTY], your \add ancestors\add* wandered through the desert for forty years;
\q2 and during that time, they never brought any sacrifices and offerings to me!
\q1
\v 26 But they carried the two idols that they had made—
\q2 Succoth, the god \add that they considered to be\add* their king,
\q2 and Kaiwan, \add the image of the\add* star \add that they worshiped\add*.
\q1
\v 27 Therefore, now I will force you to go to \add a country that is\add* far beyond Damascus!
\q1 \add That will surely happen because\add* I, the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels, have said it!”
\c 6
\s1 Israel will be punished
\q1
\v 1 Terrible things will happen to you people in Jerusalem who are not worried about anything,
\q2 but also to you leaders who live on Samaria hill who think that you are safe.
\q1 \add You think that\add* [IRO] you are the most important people \add in the world\add*,
\q2 people to whom Israeli people [MTY] go \add to get help\add*.
\q1
\v 2 But go to Calneh \add city\add* and see \add what happened there\add*.
\q2 Then go to \add see\add* the great \add city\add* Hamath \add and see what happened there\add*.
\q2 Then go down to Gath \add city\add* in Philistia \add and see what happened to their city walls\add*.
\q1 Your land/country is certainly not [RHQ] larger or more powerful than their countries were,
\q2 \add but they were all destroyed\add*.
\q1
\v 3 You are trying to not think about a day when you will experience disasters,
\q2 when \add your enemies will come and\add* violently attack you.
\q1
\v 4 You lie on beds \add decorated with expensive\add* ivory,
\q2 and on \add soft\add* couches.
\q1 You eat \add the tender meat of\add* lambs
\q2 and fat calves.
\q1
\v 5 You create/compose new songs
\q2 and play them on your harps like \add King\add* David did.
\q1
\v 6 You drink entire bowlfuls of wine
\q2 and you put expensive oils/perfumes on your bodies,
\q2 but you do not grieve about \add our country of\add* Israel [MTY], which is about to be destroyed.
\q1
\v 7 Your feasting and lounging \add on soft couches\add* will soon end,
\q2 and you will be among the first ones to be forced \add by your enemies\add* to go ◄into exile/to another country►.
\s1 Yahweh detests the Israelis for being very proud
\p
\v 8 Yahweh the Lord has solemnly declared this:
\q1 “I hate the people of Israel because they are very proud;
\q2 I detest their fortresses.
\q1 I will enable \add their enemies\add* to capture their \add capital\add* city
\q2 and everything in it.”
\p
\v 9 \add When that happens\add*, if there are ten people in one house, they will all die.
\v 10 If a relative who ◄has the task of/is responsible for► burning their corpses comes to the house and inquires of anyone who is still hiding there, “Is there anyone here with you?”, and that person replies “No,” \add the one who inquired\add* will say, “Be quiet! We must not mention the name of Yahweh, \add lest he cause us also to be killed\add*!”
\b
\q1
\v 11 \add Terrible things like that will happen\add* because Yahweh has commanded that large houses \add in Israel\add* must be smashed into pieces,
\q2 and small houses must be smashed into tiny bits.
\b
\q1
\v 12 Horses certainly do not [RHQ] run on big rocks,
\q2 and certainly people do not [RHQ] plow the sea with oxen.
\q1 But you have \add done things that no one should do\add*:
\q1 You have distorted what is fair/right and caused it to be considered like poison [MET];
\q2 you have changed what is right and consider it to be like things that are bitter.
\q1
\v 13 You are proud because you have captured Lo-Debar \add town\add*,
\q2 and you have said, “We captured Karnaim by our own power!”
\b
\q1
\v 14 But the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels declares,
\q2 “I will cause another nation to attack you people [MTY] of Israel;
\q1 they will ◄oppress you/cause you to suffer► all the way from Hamath Pass \add in the northwest\add*
\q2 to the Dead Sea \add in the southeast\add*.”
\c 7
\s1 Visions that Yahweh gave to Joel
\p
\v 1 Yahweh our God showed me \add in a vision\add* that he was going to send locusts \add to destroy our crops\add*. It was going to happen right after the king's share of the hay had been harvested/cut and before the rest of the hay was ready to be harvested.
\v 2 \add And in the vision I saw\add* those locusts come, and they ate everything that was green. Then I cried out, “Yahweh our Lord, please forgive us! We Israeli people are very helpless; how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?”
\p
\v 3 So Yahweh changed his mind and said, “That will not happen.”
\p
\v 4 Then this is what Yahweh our Lord showed me \add in another vision\add*: He was calling to a fire to \add come and\add* punish \add his people\add*. \add In the vision I saw that\add* the fire dried up the ocean and also burned \add everything on\add* the land.
\v 5 Then I cried out again, “Yahweh our Lord, I plead with you, please stop this! We Israeli people are very helpless; how will we be able to survive [RHQ]?”
\p
\v 6 So Yahweh changed his mind again, and said, “That also will not happen.”
\b
\p
\v 7 Then Yahweh showed me \add another vision\add*. I saw him standing beside a wall. \add It was very straight because\add* it had been built using a ◄plumb line/cord with a weight on one end to determine if walls are vertically straight►. Yahweh had the plumb line in his hand.
\v 8 Yahweh asked me, “Amos, what do you see?”
\p I replied, “A plumb line.”
\p Then Yahweh said, “Look, I am going to use a plumb line among my Israeli people, \add to show that they are like a wall that is not straight\add*. I will not change my mind again about punishing them.
\q1
\v 9 The places on hills where \add the descendants of\add* [MTY] Isaac worship \add idols\add* will be destroyed.
\q2 And the other important shrines in Israel will also be destroyed.
\q1 And I will enable \add your enemies\add* to attack your people with swords
\q2 and they will get rid of \add King\add* Jeroboam and all his descendants.”
\s1 Amaziah criticized Amos
\p
\v 10 Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent \add a message\add* to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. In the message he said, “Amos is plotting against you among the Israeli people [MTY]. \add I am worried that\add* the people of this country will not be able to refute his words.
\v 11 This is what he is saying:
\q1 ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed by \add someone using\add* a sword,
\q2 and the people of Israel will be ◄exiled/forced to leave their land and go to another country►.’”
\b
\p
\v 12 Then Amaziah \add came to me and\add* said, “You prophet, get out of here! Go back to the country of Judah! Earn money to \add buy food to be able\add* to live there, and do your prophesying there!
\v 13 Do not prophesy anymore here at Bethel, because this is where the national temple, the king's temple, is!”
\p
\v 14 I replied to Amaziah, “I was \add previously\add* not a prophet and my father was not a prophet; I was a shepherd. I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
\v 15 But Yahweh took me away from taking care of my sheep, and he said to me, ‘Go to Israel and prophesy to my people there!’
\q1
\v 16 You said to me, ‘Do not prophecy saying terrible things will happen to \add the people of\add* Israel;
\q2 stop saying those things!’
\p
\v 17 Therefore listen to what Yahweh says about you:
\q1 ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city,
\q2 and your sons and daughters will be killed by \add your enemies'\add* swords.
\q1 Others will measure your land
\q2 and divide it up \add among themselves\add*;
\q1 and you yourself will die in a foreign country.
\q1 And the people of Israel will certainly be forced to leave their country and go ◄into exile/to live in another country►.’”
\c 8
\s1 A vision of ripe fruit
\p
\v 1 Yahweh showed me \add in a vision\add* a basket full of ripe fruit.
\v 2 He asked me, “Amos, what do you see?”
\p I replied, “A basket of \add very\add* ripe fruit.”
\p He said, “That indicates that it almost the end for my Israeli people. I will not change my mind again about punishing them.
\p
\v 3 \add Soon\add*, instead of singing in the temple, they will be wailing. There will be corpses everywhere [HYP]. So, remain silent (OR, Everyone will be silent). \add These things will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it!”
\s1 Israel will be destroyed
\q1
\v 4 \add It is as though\add* you people trample on needy people,
\q2 and you destroy the poor people.
\p
\v 5 You habitually say,
\q1 “We wish that [RHQ] the new moon \add festival\add* would end soon,
\q2 in order that \add restrictions on doing business during the festival will be ended\add*
\q2 and we can sell grain.
\q1 We wish that the Sabbath would end soon,
\q2 in order that we will again be permitted to sell our wheat”—
\q1 and \add when you sell it\add*,
\q2 you charge a big price for it,
\q1 and you cheat people by using scales that do not weigh correctly.
\q1
\v 6 You sell wheat that you have swept up from the floor, and as a result it is mixed with dirt.
\q2 Those who are needy and poor [DOU] and who do not have money \add to buy things\add*,
\q1 you cause them to become your slaves
\q2 by buying them with the \add little amount of\add* silver \add with which you could buy\add* a pair of sandals!
\b
\p
\v 7 Yahweh has declared, “Although you are very proud of \add being descendants\add* [MTY] of Jacob, I solemnly declare that I will not forget the \add evil things\add* that you have done.
\q1
\v 8 \add Because of those evil things\add*, your country will certainly [RHQ] soon tremble,
\q2 and all of you will mourn.
\q1 \add It will be as though\add* it will repeatedly rise and fall
\q2 like [SIM] the Nile \add River\add* that gets full of water \add and overflows it banks\add*
\q2 and then settles back into its riverbed.
\p
\v 9 On the day \add when I punish my people\add*,
\q1 I will cause the sun to set at noontime,
\q2 and the \add entire\add* earth will be dark in the daytime.
\q1
\v 10 I will cause your \add religious\add* celebrations to become times when you mourn;
\q2 instead of singing, everyone will be weeping.
\q1 Because of what I \add will do\add*, all of you will wear rough sackcloth and shave your heads
\q2 \add to show that you are sorrowing\add*.
\q1 I will cause that time to be like when people mourn after an only son \add has died\add*.
\q2 All of you will be extremely sad all of that day.”
\b
\q1
\v 11 And Yahweh our God says this:
\q2 “It will \add soon\add* be the time when I will cause something to be very scarce [MET] throughout the country.
\q1 But it will not be a time when there is no food or water;
\q2 it will instead be a time when there will be no messages from me for anyone to hear.
\q1
\v 12 People will stagger from the \add Dead\add* Sea to the \add Mediterranean\add* Sea,
\q2 and wander from the north to the east,
\q1 searching for a message from me,
\q2 but there will not be any.
\p
\v 13 At that time,
\q1 even beautiful young women and strong young men will faint
\q2 because of being very thirsty.
\q1
\v 14 Those who ◄make oaths/solemnly promise to do something► using the names of their shameful gods of Samaria,
\q2 and those who solemnly promise to do something \add using the name of\add* the god of Dan,
\q2 and those who solemnly promise to do something \add using the name of\add* the god of Beersheba,
\q1 will all die;
\q2 and they will never get up again.”
\c 9
\s1 Israel will be punished
\p
\v 1 Yahweh \add showed me another vision. In the vision\add*, I saw him standing next to the altar. He said,
\q1 “Strike/Shake the tops of the pillars \add of the temple\add*,
\q2 until they become loose and fall down,
\q2 so that even the foundation will shake.
\q1 Then cause the \add pieces of the temple\add* to fall down on the people \add who are inside\add*.
\q1 I will kill with a sword anyone who \add tries to\add* flee;
\q2 no one will escape.
\q1
\v 2 If they dig deep pits in the ground,
\q2 or if they try to climb up to the sky
\q1 \add in order to escape\add*,
\q2 I will reach out and grab them.
\q1
\v 3 If they go to the top of Carmel Mountain \add to escape\add*,
\q2 I will search for them and seize them.
\q1 If they \add try to\add* hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
\q2 I will command the huge sea monster to bite them.
\q1
\v 4 If their enemies \add capture them and\add* force them to go to other countries,
\q2 I will command that they be killed there with swords.
\q1 I am determined [IDI] to get rid of them, not to help them.”
\b
\q1
\v 5 When the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels touches the earth, it melts,
\q2 and all over the earth \add many people die, and the others\add* mourn for them.
\q1 \add It is as though\add* Yahweh causes the earth repeatedly to rise and fall
\q2 like [SIM] the Nile \add River\add* rises and falls.
\q1
\v 6 He builds his \add beautiful\add* palace in heaven,
\q2 and sets/causes the sky to be like a dome over the earth.
\q1 He scoops up the water from the ocean and \add puts it into clouds\add*,
\q2 and then empties \add the clouds\add* onto the earth.
\q2 His name is Yahweh.
\b
\q1
\v 7 And Yahweh says, “You people of Israel,
\q2 you are certainly [RHQ] \add now no more important to me\add* than the people of Ethiopia.
\q1 I brought your \add ancestors\add* here from Egypt,
\q2 but I also brought the people of Philistia from Crete \add Island\add*,
\q2 and I brought the people of Syria from the Kir \add region\add*.
\b
\q1
\v 8 I [SYN], Yahweh the Lord, have seen that you people in the kingdom \add of Israel\add* are very sinful,
\q2 so I will ◄destroy you/wipe you off the earth►.
\q1 But I will not get rid of all you descendants [MTY] of Jacob.
\q2 \add That is what will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it.
\b
\q1
\v 9 When I command it, \add it will be as though\add* I will shake you Israeli people \add who are living\add* in various nations,
\q2 like [MET] \add a farmer\add* shakes a sieve \add to separate\add* the stone pebbles \add from the grain\add*,
\q2 in order that they do not fall on the ground \add with the grain\add*.
\q1
\v 10 From among my people,
\q2 all you sinful people who say, ‘We will not experience disasters; nothing evil will happen to us,’
\q1 will be killed by \add your enemies'\add* swords.”
\s1 Yahweh promised to restore Israel
\q1
\v 11 “The kingdom \add over which King\add* David \add ruled has been destroyed, like\add* [MET] a house that collapsed and then became ruins.
\q2 But some day I will cause it to be a kingdom again.
\q1 I will cause it to prosper again
\q2 just like it did previously.
\q1
\v 12 When that happens, your \add armies\add* will seize/capture the remaining part of Edom \add region\add* again,
\q2 and they will also seize the other nations that previously belonged to me [MTY].
\q1 I, Yahweh, have said \add that I will do these things\add*,
\q2 and I will certainly cause them to happen.
\b
\p
\v 13 There will be a time \add when your crops will grow very well\add*:
\q1 Very soon after the crops are harvested,
\q2 farmers will plow the ground \add to plant more crops in it again\add*,
\q1 and soon after the vineyards are planted,
\q2 \add farmers will harvest\add* grapes and tread on them \add to make wine\add*.
\q1 \add And because there will be very much\add* wine,
\q2 \add it will seem as though\add* wine is flowing down from the hills [DOU].
\q1
\v 14 I will cause you, my Israeli people, to prosper again.
\q2 You will rebuild your towns and live in them.
\q1 You will plant vineyards and then drink the wine \add made from the grapes that grows in them\add*.
\q1
\v 15 I will enable you to live [MET] in your land again,
\q2 the land that I gave to \add your ancestors\add*,
\q1 and never again will you be forced to leave it.
\q2 \add That is what will surely happen because\add* I, Yahweh, have said it.”