 chapters one through nine of Amos, American Standard Version. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Sam Stinson. Chapter one. The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And he said, Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the pastors of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. Thus saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of Damascus, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad, and I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the valley of Avon, and him that holdeth the scepter from the house of Eden, and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kyr, saith Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of Gaza, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they carried away captive the whole people to deliver them up to Edom. But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, and I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashtad, and him that holdeth the scepter from Ashkelon, and I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of Tyre, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they delivered up the whole people to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant, but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. Thus saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of Edom, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever. But I will send a fire upon Timon, and it shall devour the palaces of Basra. Thus saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of the children of Amon, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Reba, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind, and their king shall go into captivity. He and his princes together saith Jehovah. End of chapter one. Chapter two. Thus saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of Moab, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into Lime. But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kyrioth, and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet, and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah. The saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of Judah, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. The saith Jehovah, for three transgressions of Israel, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes. They that pant after the dust of the earth, on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek, and the man and his father go unto the same maiden to profane my holy name. And they lay themselves down beside every altar, upon clothes taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined. Yet destroyed I the amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness to possess the land of the amorite. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel, saith Jehovah? But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. And flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force. Neither shall the mighty deliver himself. Neither shall he stand that handleeth the bow, and he that is swift afoot shall not deliver himself. Neither shall he that right at the horse deliver himself. And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked. In that day saith Jehovah. End of chapter two. Chapter three. Hear this word that Jehovah hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities. Shall two walk together except they have agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he hath taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where no gin is set for him? Shall a snare spring up from the ground and have taken nothing at all? Shall the trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall evil befall a city, and Jehovah hath not done it? Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing except he reveal his secret unto his servants, the prophets. The lion hath roared. Who will not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken. Who can but prophesy? Publish ye in the palaces at Ashgood, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold what great tummels are therein? And what oppressions in the midst thereof? For they know not to do right, saith Jehovah, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, an adversary there shall be, even round about the land, and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be plundered. Thus saith Jehovah, as the shepherd rescueeth out of the mouth of the lion, two legs, or a piece of an ear. So shall the children of Israel be rescued that sit in Samaria, in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed. Hear ye and testify against the house of Jacob, saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts. For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. And I will smite the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith Jehovah. End of chapter three. Chapter four. Hear this word, ye kind of basin, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that saith unto their lords, bring and let us drink. The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his holiness that lo, the days shall come upon you, that they shall take you away with hooks, and your residue with fish hooks. And ye shall go out at the breeches, every one straight before her, and ye shall cast yourselves into harm, saith Jehovah. Come to Bethel, and transgress, to Gilgal, and multiply transgression, and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes every three days, and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim free will offerings, and publish them for this pleaseth you, oh ye children of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah. And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. And I also have withholding the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest, and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city. One piece was rained upon, and the piece where upon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied. Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew, the multitude of your gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees, hath the Palmer worm devoured. Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. The virgin of Israel is fallen. She shall no more rise. She is cast down upon her land. There is none to raise her up. I have overthrown cities among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning. Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. Therefore, thus will I do unto thee, O Israel, and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For lo, he that formeth the mountains, and created the wind, and declareeth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth. Jehovah, the God of hosts, is his name. End of chapter four. Chapter five. Here ye this word, which I take up for lamentation over you, O house of Israel. The virgin of Israel is fallen. She shall no more rise. She is cast down upon her land. There is none to raise her up. For thus sayeth the Lord Jehovah, the city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel. For thus sayeth Jehovah unto the house of Israel, seek ye me, and ye shall live. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba. For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to not. Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it. In Bethel, ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth, seek him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night, that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth. Jehovah is his name, that bringeth sudden destruction upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress. They hate him that reproveeth in the gate, and they appore him that speaketh uprightly. For as much therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat, ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them. Ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof. For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins. Ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate from their right. Therefore he that is prudent shall keep silence in such a time, for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that ye may live, and so Jehovah the God of Hosts will be with you, as ye say. Hate the evil and love the good, and establish justice in the gate. It may be that Jehovah the God of Hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of Hosts, the Lord, whaling shall be in all the broad ways, and they shall say in all the streets, alas, alas, and they shall call the husbandmen to mourning, and such as are skillful in lamentation to wailing. And in all vineyards shall be wailing, for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. Woe unto you, that desire the day of Jehovah. Wherefore would ye have the day of Jehovah? It is darkness and not light, as if a man did flee from a lion and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it. I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Yea, though ye offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the melody of thy vials. But let justice roll down his waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Did ye bring unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, a house of Israel? Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of your king, and the shrine of your images, the star of your god which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity, beyond Damascus, saith Jehovah, whose name is the god of hosts. Chapter 6 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come. Pass ye unto Calna, and see, and from thence go ye to Hamath the great, then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? Or is their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near, that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall, that sing idle songs to the sound of the vial, that invent for themselves instruments of music, like David, that drink wine and bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils. But they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore shall they now go captive, with the first that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretch to themselves shall pass away. The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the god of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces. Therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein, and it shall come to pass if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. And when a man's uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house. Is there yet any with thee? And he shall say, no. Then shall he say, hold thy peace, for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah. For behold, Jehovah commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten with breeches, and the little house with clefts. Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? That ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood? Ye that rejoice in a thing of not, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? For behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the god of hosts, and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of the Ereba. Jehovah repented concerning this, it shall not be, saith Jehovah. Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me, and behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land. Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee, how shall Jacob stand? For he is small. Jehovah repented concerning this, this also shall not be, saith the Lord Jehovah. Thus he showed me, and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plum line, with a plum line in his hand. And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seeest thou? And I said, uh, plum line. Then said the Lord, behold, I will set a plum line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more, and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. And I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. Then Amosiah, the priest of Bethel, sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos, saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land. Also Amosiah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go flee thou away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophecy there, but prophecy not again any more at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house. Then answered Amos and said to Amosiah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees. And Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, go, prophecy unto my people Israel. Now therefore hear thou the word of Jehovah, thou sayest, prophecy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac. Therefore thus saith Jehovah, thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line, and thou thyself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land. And I said, a basket of summer fruit? Then said Jehovah unto me, the end is come upon my people Israel, I will not again pass by them any more, and the songs of the temple shall be wailings in that day, sayeth the Lord Jehovah. The dead bodies shall be many, and every place shall they cast them forth with silence. Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath that we may set forth wheat, making the Eiffel small, and the Shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the wheat. Jehovah hath sworn by the Excellency of Jacob, surely I will never forget any of their works, shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein. Yea, it shall rise up holy like the river, and it shall be troubled and sink again like the river of Egypt, and it shall come to pass in that day, sayeth the Lord Jehovah, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day, and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation, and I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head, and I will make it as the mourning for an only sun, and the end thereof as a bitter day. Behold, the days come, sayeth the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah, and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst, they that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, as thy God, O Dan Levith, and as the way of Beer Sheba Levith, they shall fall and never rise up again. End of Chapter 8 Chapter 9 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, smite the capitals that the thresholds may shake, and break them in pieces on the head of all of them, and I will slay the last of them with the sword, there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape. Though they dig into sheol, thence shall my hand take them, and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out, thence. And though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them. And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them, and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. For the Lord Jehovah of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it melted, and all that dwell therein shall mourn, and it shall rise up holy like the river, and shall sink again like the river of Egypt. It is he that buildeth his chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth, he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth. Jehovah is his name. Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel, sayeth Jehovah? Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt in the Philistines from Qaftor, in the Syrians from Kerr? Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth. Save, that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, sayeth Jehovah. For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say the evil shall not overtake nor meet us. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breeches thereof, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, sayeth Jehovah, that doeth this. Behold, the days come, sayeth Jehovah, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed, and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof. They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them, and I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land, which I have given them, sayeth Jehovah, thy God.