1. This is what the Lord God showed me: He was forming a swarm of locusts. This was after the king had taken his share of the first crop. The second crop had just begun growing.
2. The locusts ate all the crops in the country. After that I said, “Lord God, forgive us, I beg you! No one in Israel could live through this. Israel is too small already!”
3. So the Lord felt sorry about this. “This will not happen,” said the Lord.
4. This is what the Lord God showed me: The Lord God was calling for fire to come to punish. The fire dried up the deep water and destroyed the land.
5. Then I cried out, “Lord God, stop, I beg you! No one in Israel could live through this. Israel is too small already.”
6. So the Lord felt sorry about this. “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.
7. This is what the Lord showed me: The Lord stood by a straight wall. He had a plumb line in his hand.
8. The Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”I said, “A plumb line.”Then the Lord said, “See, I will put a plumb line among my people Israel to show how crooked they are. I will not feel sorry for them any longer.
9. “The places where Isaac’s descendants worship will be destroyed.Israel’s holy places will be turned into ruins.And I will attack King Jeroboam’s family with the sword.”
10. So Amaziah, a priest at Bethel, sent this message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is making evil plans against you with the people of Israel. He has been speaking so much that this land can’t hold all his words.
11. Amos has said this:‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,and the people of Israel will be taken as captivesout of their own country.’”
12. Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Seer, go, run away to Judah. Do your prophesying and earn your living there.
13. But don’t prophesy anymore here at Bethel. This is King Jeroboam’s holy place. This is Israel’s temple.”
14. Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I do not make my living as a prophet. And I am not a member of a group of prophets. I make my living as a shepherd. And I take care of sycamore trees.
15. But the Lord took me away from tending the sheep. He said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people, the Israelites.’
16. So listen to the Lord’s message. You tell me,‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.And stop prophesying against the descendants of Isaac.’
17. “Because you have said this, the Lord says:‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city.Your sons and daughters will be killed with swords.Other people will take your land and divide it among themselves.And you will die in a foreign country.The people of Israel will definitely be takenfrom their own land as captives.’”