| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. | 1This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king's share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. |
| 2And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. | 2When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!" |
| 3The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD. | 3So the LORD relented. "This will not happen," the LORD said. |
| 4Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. | 4This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. |
| 5Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. | 5Then I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!" |
| 6The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD. | 6So the LORD relented. "This will not happen either," the Sovereign LORD said. |
| 7Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. | 7This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. |
| 8And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: | 8And the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" "A plumb line," I replied. Then the Lord said, "Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. |
| 9And 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. | 9"The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam." |
| 10Then Amaziah 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. | 10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. |
| 11For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. | 11For this is what Amos is saying: "'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.'" |
| 12Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: | 12Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. |
| 13But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. | 13Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom." |
| 14Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: | 14Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. |
| 15And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. | 15But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' |
| 16Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac. | 16Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, "'Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.' |
| 17Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an 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 shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land. | 17"Therefore this is what the LORD says: "'Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.'" |
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