4. This is what the Lord God showed me: The Lord God was calling for fire to come down like rain. It burned up the deep water and was going to burn up the land.
5. Then I cried out, “Lord God, stop! How could Israel live through this? It is too small already.”
6. So the Lord changed his mind about this too. “It will not happen,” said the Lord God.
7. This is what he showed me: The Lord stood by a straight wall, with 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 look the other way 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. 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. This is what Amos has said:‘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 back right now to Judah. Do your prophesying and earn your living there,
13. but don’t prophesy anymore here at Bethel. This is the king’s holy place, and it is the nation’s temple.”
14. Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I do not make my living as a prophet, nor am I 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 flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’