You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.


They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven rules.


Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.”


Now all of this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.


After twelve months, he happened to be walking around on the battlements of the royal palace of Babylon.


The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence by my own mighty strength and for my majestic honor?”


While these words were still on the king’s lips, a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!


You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”


Now in that very moment this pronouncement about Nebuchadnezzar came true. He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws.


But at the end of the appointed time I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me. I extolled the Most High, and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever. For his authority is an everlasting authority, and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.


All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps his hand and says to him, ‘What have you done?’


At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me. My ministers and my nobles were seeking me out, and I was reinstated over my kingdom. I became even greater than before.


Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all his deeds are right and his ways are just. He is able to bring down those who live in pride.


King Belshazzar prepared a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of them all.


While under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father had confiscated from the temple in Jerusalem – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them.


So they brought the gold and silver vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them.


As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.


At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. The king was watching the back of the hand that was writing.


Then all the color drained from the king’s face and he became alarmed. The joints of his hips gave way, and his knees began knocking together.


The king called out loudly to summon the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple and have a golden collar placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.


So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its interpretation to the king.


Then King Belshazzar was very terrified, and he was visibly shaken. His nobles were completely dumbfounded.


Due to the noise caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother then entered the banquet room. She said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!


There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have insight, discernment, and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners.


Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. Now summon Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”


So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?


I have heard about you, how there is a spirit of the gods in you, and how you have insight, discernment, and extraordinary wisdom.


Now the wise men and astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message.


However, I have heard that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.”


But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its interpretation.


As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty.


Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished.


And when his mind became arrogant and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him.


He was driven from human society, his mind was changed to that of an animal, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.


“But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, although you knew all this.


Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control your very breath and all your ways!


Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.


“This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEQEL, and PHARSIN.


This is the interpretation of the words: As for mene – God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end.


As for teqel – you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking.


As for peres – your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”


Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.


And in that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.


So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.


It seemed like a good idea to Darius to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.


Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage.


Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom.


Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption.


So these men concluded, “We won’t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is in connection with the law of his God.”


So these supervisors and satraps came by collusion to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!


To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions.


Now let the king issue a written interdict so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.


So King Darius issued the written interdict.


When Daniel realized that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times daily he was kneeling and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.


Then those officials who had gone to the king came by collusion and found Daniel praying and asking for help before his God.


So they approached the king and said to him, “Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions?” The king replied, “That is correct, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”


Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.”


When the king heard this, he was very upset and began thinking about how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon he was struggling to find a way to rescue him.


Then those men came by collusion to the king and said to him, “Recall, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”


So the king gave the order, and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den of lions. The king consoled Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”


Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening to the den. The king sealed it with his signet ring and with those of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.


Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions were brought to him. He was unable to sleep.


In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions’ den.


As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”


Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!


My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”


Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.


The king gave another order, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den – they, their children, and their wives. They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.


Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and language groups who were living in all the land: “Peace and prosperity!


I have issued an edict that throughout all the dominion of my kingdom people are to revere and fear the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God; he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed; his authority is forever.


He rescues and delivers and performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions!”


So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.


In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream filled with visions while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion.


Daniel explained: “I was watching in my vision during the night as the four winds of the sky were stirring up the great sea.


Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another.


“The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind was given to it.


“Then a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’


“After these things, as I was watching, another beast like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. This beast had four heads, and ruling authority was given to it.


“After these things, as I was watching in the night visions a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. It had two large rows of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.


“As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things.


“While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb’s wool. His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame.


A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence. Many thousands were ministering to him; Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. The court convened and the books were opened.


“Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into the flaming fire.


As for the rest of the beasts, their ruling authority had already been removed, though they were permitted to go on living for a time and a season.


I was watching in the night visions, “And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.


To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.


“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed, and the visions of my mind were alarming me.


I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed to me the interpretation of the vision:


‘These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth.


The holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom forever and ever.’


“Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.


I also wanted to know the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others.


While I was watching, that horn began to wage war against the holy ones and was defeating them,


until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.


“This is what he told me: ‘The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth that will differ from all the other kingdoms. It will devour all the earth and will trample and crush it.


The ten horns mean that ten kings will arise from that kingdom. Another king will arise after them, but he will be different from the earlier ones. He will humiliate three kings.


He will speak words against the Most High. He will harass the holy ones of the Most High continually. His intention will be to change times established by law. They will be delivered into his hand For a time, times, and half a time.


But the court will convene, and his ruling authority will be removed – destroyed and abolished forever!


Then the kingdom, authority, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be delivered to the people of the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; all authorities will serve him and obey him.’


“This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. But I kept the matter to myself.”


In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously.


In this vision I saw myself in Susa the citadel, which is located in the province of Elam. In the vision I saw myself at the Ulai Canal.


I looked up and saw a ram with two horns standing at the canal. Its two horns were both long, but one was longer than the other. The longer one was coming up after the shorter one.


I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly.


While I was contemplating all this, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of all the land without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes.


It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength.


I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram and struck it and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. The goat hurled the ram to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power.


The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns in its place, extending toward the four winds of the sky.


From one of them came a small horn. But it grew to be very big, toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.


It grew so big it reached the army of heaven, and it brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars to the ground, where it trampled them.


It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, from whom the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary was thrown down.


The army was given over, along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. It hurled truth to the ground and enjoyed success.


Then I heard a holy one speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”


He said to me, “To 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be put right again.”


While I, Daniel, was watching the vision, I sought to understand it. Now one who appeared to be a man was standing before me.


Then I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai. It called out, “Gabriel, enable this person to understand the vision.”


So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. Then he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”


As he spoke with me, I fell into a trance with my face to the ground. But he touched me and stood me upright.


Then he said, “I am going to inform you about what will happen in the latter time of wrath, for the vision pertains to the appointed time of the end.


The ram that you saw with the two horns stands for the kings of Media and Persia.


The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.


The horn that was broken and in whose place there arose four others stands for four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, though they will not have his strength.


Toward the end of their rule, when rebellious acts are complete, a rash and deceitful king will arise.


His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. He will be successful in what he undertakes. He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones.


By his treachery he will succeed through deceit. He will have an arrogant attitude, and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency.


The vision of the evenings and mornings that was told to you is correct. But you should seal up the vision, for it refers to a time many days from now.”


I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.


In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, who was of Median descent and who had been appointed king over the Babylonian empire –


in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books that, according to the word of the LORD disclosed to the prophet Jeremiah, the years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem were seventy in number.


So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.


I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way: “O Lord, great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant with those who love him and keep his commandments,


we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards.


We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, and to all the inhabitants of the land as well.


“You are righteous, O Lord, but we are humiliated this day – the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you.


O LORD, we have been humiliated – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you.


Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.


We have not obeyed the LORD our God by living according to his laws that he set before us through his servants the prophets.


“All Israel has broken your law and turned away by not obeying you. Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you.


He has carried out his threats against us and our rulers who were over us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven!


Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom from your reliable moral standards.


The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just in all he has done, and we have not obeyed him.


“Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly.


O Lord, according to all your justice, please turn your raging anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.


“So now, our God, accept the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to your devastated sanctuary for your own sake.


Listen attentively, my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins and the city called by your name. For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, but because your compassion is abundant.


O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.”


While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the LORD my God concerning his holy mountain –


yes, while I was still praying, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, around the time of the evening offering.


He spoke with me, instructing me as follows: “Daniel, I have now come to impart understanding to you.


At the beginning of your requests a message went out, and I have come to convey it to you, for you are of great value in God’s sight. Therefore consider the message and understand the vision:


“Seventy weeks have been determined concerning your people and your holy city to put an end to rebellion, to bring sin to completion, to atone for iniquity, to bring in perpetual righteousness, to seal up the prophetic vision, and to anoint a most holy place.


So know and understand: From the issuing of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.


Now after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. As for the city and the sanctuary, the people of the coming prince will destroy them. But his end will come speedily like a flood. Until the end of the war that has been decreed there will be destruction.


He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt. On the wing of abominations will come one who destroys, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”


In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.


In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three whole weeks.


I ate no choice food; no meat or wine came to my lips, nor did I anoint myself with oil until the end of those three weeks.


On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was beside the great river, the Tigris.


I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen; around his waist was a belt made of gold from Upaz.


His body resembled yellow jasper, and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches; his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd.


Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. On the contrary, they were overcome with fright and ran away to hide.


I alone was left to see this great vision. My strength drained from me, and my vigor disappeared; I was without energy.


I listened to his voice, and as I did so I fell into a trance-like sleep with my face to the ground.


Then a hand touched me and set me on my hands and knees.


He said to me, “Daniel, you are of great value. Understand the words that I am about to speak to you. So stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up shaking.


Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel, for from the very first day you applied your mind to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your words.


However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was opposing me for twenty-one days. But Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there with the kings of Persia.


Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to future days.”


While he was saying this to me, I was flat on the ground and unable to speak.


Then one who appeared to be a human being was touching my lips. I opened my mouth and started to speak, saying to the one who was standing before me, “Sir, due to the vision, anxiety has gripped me and I have no strength.


How, sir, am I able to speak with you? My strength is gone, and I am breathless.”


Then the one who appeared to be a human being touched me again and strengthened me.


He said to me, “Don’t be afraid, you who are valued. Peace be to you! Be strong! Be really strong!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened. I said, “Sir, you may speak now, for you have given me strength.”


He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.


However, I will first tell you what is written in a dependable book. (There is no one who strengthens me against these princes, except Michael your prince.


And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.)


Now I will tell you the truth. “Three more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth king will be unusually rich, more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.


Then a powerful king will arise, exercising great authority and doing as he pleases.


Shortly after his rise to power, his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.


“Then the king of the south and one of his subordinates will grow strong. His subordinate will resist him and will rule a kingdom greater than his.


After some years have passed, they will form an alliance. Then the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, nor will he continue in his strength. She, together with the one who brought her, her child, and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time.


“There will arise in his place one from her family line who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully.


He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold. Then he will withdraw for some years from the king of the north.


Then the king of the north will advance against the empire of the king of the south, but will withdraw to his own land.


His sons will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s fortress.


“Then the king of the south will be enraged and will march out to fight against the king of the north, who will also muster a large army, but that army will be delivered into his hand.


When the army is taken away, the king of the south will become arrogant. He will be responsible for the death of thousands and thousands of people, but he will not continue to prevail.


For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.


“In those times many will oppose the king of the south. Those who are violent among your own people will rise up in confirmation of the vision, but they will falter.


Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents. They will have no strength to prevail.


The one advancing against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power.


His intention will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. He will give the king of the south a daughter in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage.


Then he will turn his attention to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander will bring his shameful conduct to a halt; in addition, he will make him pay for his shameful conduct.


He will then turn his attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, not to be found again.


There will arise after him one who will send out an exactor of tribute to enhance the splendor of the kingdom, but after a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or battle.


“Then there will arise in his place a despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit.


Armies will be suddenly swept away in defeat before him; both they and a covenant leader will be destroyed.


After entering into an alliance with him, he will behave treacherously; he will ascend to power with only a small force.


In a time of prosperity for the most productive areas of the province he will come and accomplish what neither his fathers nor their fathers accomplished. He will distribute loot, spoils, and property to his followers, and he will devise plans against fortified cities, but not for long.


He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm against the king of the south with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him.


Those who share the king’s fine food will attempt to destroy him, and his army will be swept away; many will be killed in battle.


These two kings, their minds filled with evil intentions, will trade lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time.


Then the king of the north will return to his own land with much property. His mind will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action, and then return to his own land.


At an appointed time he will again invade the south, but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did.


The ships of Kittim will come against him, leaving him disheartened. He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor those who forsake the holy covenant.


His forces will rise up and profane the fortified sanctuary, stopping the daily sacrifice. In its place they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.


Then with smooth words he will defile those who have rejected the covenant. But the people who are loyal to their God will act valiantly.


These who are wise among the people will teach the masses. However, they will fall by the sword and by the flame, and they will be imprisoned and plundered for some time.


When they stumble, they will be granted some help. But many will unite with them deceitfully.


Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.


“Then the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur.


He will not respect the gods of his fathers – not even the god loved by women. He will not respect any god; he will elevate himself above them all.


What he will honor is a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honor with gold, silver, valuable stones, and treasured commodities.


He will attack mighty fortresses, aided by a foreign deity. To those who recognize him he will grant considerable honor. He will place them in authority over many people, and he will parcel out land for a price.


“At the time of the end the king of the south will attack him. Then the king of the north will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and a large armada of ships. He will invade lands, passing through them like an overflowing river.


Then he will enter the beautiful land. Many will fall, but these will escape: Edom, Moab, and the Ammonite leadership.


He will extend his power against other lands; the land of Egypt will not escape.


He will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver, as well as all the treasures of Egypt. Libyans and Ethiopians will submit to him.


But reports will trouble him from the east and north, and he will set out in a tremendous rage to destroy and wipe out many.


He will pitch his royal tents between the seas toward the beautiful holy mountain. But he will come to his end, with no one to help him.


“At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time. But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape.


Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake – some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.


But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse. And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.


“But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, and knowledge will increase.”


I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river.


One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?”


Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”


I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, what will happen after these things?”


He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.


Many will be purified, made clean, and refined, but the wicked will go on being wicked. None of the wicked will understand, though the wise will understand.


From the time that the daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days.


Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days.


But you should go your way until the end. You will rest and then at the end of the days you will arise to receive what you have been allotted.”


This is the word of the Lord which was revealed to Hosea son of Beeri during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah ruled Judah, and during the time when Jeroboam son of Joash ruled Israel.


When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, he said to him, “Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the Lord.”


So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son for him.


Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish the dynasty of Jehu on account of the bloodshed in the valley of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.


At that time, I will destroy the military power of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”


She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel. For I will certainly not forgive their guilt.


But I will have pity on the nation of Judah. I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, by chariot horses, or by chariots.”


When she had weaned ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) she conceived again and gave birth to another son.


Then the Lord said: “Name him ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), because you are not my people and I am not your God.”


However, in the future the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are children of the living God!”


Then the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, and will flourish in the land. Certainly, the day of Jezreel will be great!


Then you will call your brother, “My People” (Ammi)! You will call your sister, “Pity” (Ruhamah)!


Plead earnestly with your mother (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior.


Otherwise, I will strip her naked, and expose her like she was when she was born. I will turn her land into a wilderness and make her country a parched land, so that I might kill her with thirst.


I will have no pity on her children, because they are children conceived in adultery.


For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, “I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.


Therefore, I will soon fence her in with thorns; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.


Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not catch them; she will seek them, but she will not find them. Then she will say, “I will go back to my husband, because I was better off then than I am now.”


Yet until now she has refused to acknowledge that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and that it was I who lavished on her the silver and gold – which they used in worshiping Baal!


Therefore, I will take back my grain during the harvest time and my new wine when it ripens; I will take away my wool and my flax which I had provided in order to clothe her.


Soon I will expose her lewd nakedness in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to rescue her from me!


I will put an end to all her celebration: her annual religious festivals, monthly new moon celebrations, and weekly Sabbath festivities – all her appointed festivals.


I will destroy her vines and fig trees, about which she said, “These are my wages for prostitution that my lovers gave to me!” I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees into an uncultivated thicket, so that wild animals will devour them.


“I will punish her for the festival days when she burned incense to the Baal idols; she adorned herself with earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but she forgot me!” says the Lord.


However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.


From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the “Valley of Trouble” into an “Opportunity for Hope.” There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.


“At that time,” declares the Lord, “you will call, ‘My husband’; you will never again call me, ‘My master.’


For I will remove the names of the Baal idols from your lips, so that you will never again utter their names!”


“At that time I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will abolish the warrior’s bow and sword – that is, every weapon of warfare – from the land, and I will allow them to live securely.”


I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion.


I will commit myself to you in faithfulness; then you will acknowledge the Lord.”


“At that time, I will willingly respond,” declares the Lord. “I will respond to the sky, and the sky will respond to the ground;


then the ground will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and they will respond to ‘God Plants’ (Jezreel)!


Then I will plant her as my own in the land. I will have pity on ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah). I will say to ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), ‘You are my people!’ And he will say, ‘You are my God!’”


The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery. Likewise, the Lord loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.”


So I paid fifteen shekels of silver and about seven bushels of barley to purchase her.


Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with another man, and I also will wait for you.”


For the Israelites must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols.


Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings in the future.


Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites! For the Lord has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God.


There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed.


Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.


Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: for my case is against you priests!


You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; You have destroyed your own people!


You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants.


The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled against me. They have turned their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace!


They feed on the sin offerings of my people; their appetites long for their iniquity!


I will deal with the people and priests together: I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds.


They will eat, but not be satisfied; they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers; because they have abandoned the Lord by pursuing other gods.


Old and new wine take away the understanding of my people.


They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.


They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!


I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men consort with harlots, they sacrifice with temple prostitutes. It is true: “A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”


Although you, O Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty! Do not journey to Gilgal! Do not go up to Beth Aven! Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”


Israel has rebelled like a stubborn heifer! Soon the Lord will put them out to pasture like a lamb in a broad field!


Ephraim has attached himself to idols; Do not go near him!


They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior.


A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings; they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship.


Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen closely, O king! For judgment is about to overtake you! For you were like a trap to Mizpah, like a net spread out to catch Tabor.


Those who revolt are knee-deep in slaughter, but I will discipline them all.


I know Ephraim all too well; the evil of Israel is not hidden from me. For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim; Israel has defiled itself.


Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God; because a spirit of idolatry controls their heart, and they do not acknowledge the Lord.


The arrogance of Israel testifies against it; Israel and Ephraim will be overthrown because of their iniquity. Even Judah will be brought down with them.


Although they bring their flocks and herds to seek the favor of the Lord, They will not find him – he has withdrawn himself from them!


They have committed treason against the Lord, because they bore illegitimate children. Soon the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.


Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah! Sound the trumpet in Ramah! Sound the alarm in Beth Aven! Tremble in fear, O Benjamin!


Ephraim will be ruined in the day of judgment! What I am declaring to the tribes of Israel will certainly take place!


The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers. I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood!


Ephraim will be oppressed, crushed under judgment, because he was determined to pursue worthless idols.


I will be like a moth to Ephraim, like wood rot to the house of Judah.


When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and begged its great king for help. But he will not be able to heal you! He cannot cure your wound!


I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear them to pieces, then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!


Then I will return again to my lair until they have suffered their punishment. Then they will seek me; in their distress they will earnestly seek me.


“Come on! Let’s return to the Lord! He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us! He has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds!


He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence.


So let us acknowledge him! Let us seek to acknowledge the Lord! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.”


What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, O Judah? For your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew!


Therefore, I will certainly cut you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; I will certainly kill you in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; for my judgment will come forth like the light of the dawn.


For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice; I delight in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings.


At Adam they broke the covenant; Oh how they were unfaithful to me!


Gilead is a city full of evildoers; its streets are stained with bloody footprints!


The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes!


I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel: there Ephraim practices temple prostitution and Judah defiles itself.


I have appointed a time to reap judgment for you also, O Judah! Whenever I want to restore the fortunes of my people,


whenever I want to heal Israel, the sin of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed. For they do what is wrong; thieves break into houses, and gangs rob people out in the streets.


They do not realize that I remember all of their wicked deeds. Their evil deeds have now surrounded them; their sinful deeds are always before me.


The royal advisers delight the king with their evil schemes, the princes make him glad with their lies.


They are all like bakers, they are like a smoldering oven; they are like a baker who does not stoke the fire until the kneaded dough is ready for baking.


At the celebration of their king, his princes become inflamed with wine; they conspire with evildoers.


They approach him, all the while plotting against him. Their hearts are like an oven; their anger smolders all night long, but in the morning it bursts into a flaming fire.


All of them are blazing like an oven; they devour their rulers. All of their kings fall – and none of them call on me!


Ephraim has mixed itself like flour among the nations; Ephraim is like a ruined cake of bread that is scorched on one side.


Foreigners are consuming what his strenuous labor produced, but he does not recognize it! His head is filled with gray hair, but he does not realize it!


The arrogance of Israel testifies against him, yet they refuse to return to the Lord their God! In spite of all this they refuse to seek him!


Ephraim has been like a dove, easily deceived and lacking discernment. They called to Egypt for help; they turned to Assyria for protection.


I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying, I will bring them down like birds in the sky; I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together.


Woe to them! For they have fled from me! Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me! I want to deliver them, but they have lied to me.


They do not pray to me, but howl in distress on their beds; They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from me.


Although I trained and strengthened them, they plot evil against me!


They turn to Baal; they are like an unreliable bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because their prayers to Baal have made me angry. So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt.


Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple of the Lord! For they have broken their covenant with me, and have rebelled against my law.


Israel cries out to me, “My God, we acknowledge you!”


But Israel has rejected what is morally good; so an enemy will pursue him.


They enthroned kings without my consent! They appointed princes without my approval! They made idols out of their silver and gold, but they will be destroyed!


O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol! My anger burns against them! They will not survive much longer without being punished, even though they are Israelites!


That idol was made by a workman – it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.


They sow the wind, and so they will reap the whirlwind! The stalk does not have any standing grain; it will not produce any flour. Even if it were to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it all up.


Israel will be swallowed up among the nations; they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.


They have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey that wanders off. Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers.


Even though they have hired lovers among the nations, I will soon gather them together for judgment. Then they will begin to waste away under the oppression of a mighty king.


Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning!


I spelled out my law for him in great detail, but they regard it as something totally unknown to them!


They offer up sacrificial gifts to me, and eat the meat, but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices. Soon he will remember their wrongdoing, he will punish their sins, and they will return to Egypt.


Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces, and Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will send fire on their cities; it will consume their royal citadels.


O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly like the nations, for you are unfaithful to your God. You love to receive a prostitute's wages on all the floors where you thresh your grain.


Threshing floors and wine vats will not feed the people, and new wine only deceives them.


They will not remain in the Lord’s land. Ephraim will return to Egypt; they will eat ritually unclean food in Assyria.


They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord; they will not please him with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning; all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean. For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite; it will not come into the temple of the Lord.


So what will you do on the festival day, on the festival days of the Lord?


Look! Even if they flee from the destruction, Egypt will take hold of them, and Memphis will bury them. The weeds will inherit the silver they treasure – thorn bushes will occupy their homes.


The time of judgment is about to arrive! The time of retribution is imminent! Let Israel know! The prophet is considered a fool – the inspired man is viewed as a madman – because of the multitude of your sins and your intense animosity.


The prophet is a watchman over Ephraim on behalf of God, yet traps are laid for him along all of his paths; animosity rages against him in the land of his God.


They have sunk deep into corruption as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their wrongdoing. He will repay them for their sins.


When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the wilderness. I viewed your ancestors like an early fig on a fig tree in its first season. Then they came to Baal-Peor and they dedicated themselves to shame – they became as detestable as what they loved.


Ephraim will be like a bird; what they value will fly away. They will not bear children – they will not enjoy pregnancy – they will not even conceive!


Even if they raise their children, I will take away every last one of them. Woe to them! For I will turn away from them.


Just as lion cubs are born predators, so Ephraim will bear his sons for slaughter.


Give them, O Lord – what will you give them? Give them wombs that miscarry, and breasts that cannot nurse!


Because of all their evil in Gilgal, I hate them there. On account of their evil deeds, I will drive them out of my land. I will no longer love them; all their rulers are rebels.


Ephraim will be struck down – their root will be dried up; they will not yield any fruit. Even if they do bear children, I will kill their precious offspring.


My God will reject them, for they have not obeyed him; so they will be fugitives among the nations.


Israel was a fertile vine that yielded fruit. As his fruit multiplied, he multiplied altars to Baal. As his land prospered, they adorned the fertility pillars.


Their heart is slipping; soon they will be punished for their guilt. The Lord will break their altars; he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.


Very soon they will say, “We have no king since we did not fear the Lord. But what can a king do for us anyway?”


They utter empty words, taking false oaths and making empty agreements. Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a plowed field.


The inhabitants of Samaria will lament over the calf idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it; its idolatrous priests will wail over it, because its splendor will be taken from them into exile.


Even the calf idol will be carried to Assyria, as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be put to shame because of its wooden idol.


Samaria and its king will be carried off like a twig on the surface of the waters.


The high places of the “House of Wickedness” will be destroyed; it is the place where Israel sins. Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”


O Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?


When I please, I will discipline them; I will gather nations together to attack them, to bind them in chains for their two sins.


Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain; I myself put a fine yoke on her neck. I will harness Ephraim. Let Judah plow! Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground for himself!


Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers deliverance on you.


But you have plowed wickedness; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your chariots; you have relied on your many warriors.


The roar of battle will rise against your people; all your fortresses will be devastated, just as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.


So will it happen to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness! When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be destroyed.


When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt.


But the more I summoned them, the farther they departed from me. They sacrificed to the Baal idols and burned incense to images.


Yet it was I who led Ephraim, I took them by the arm; but they did not acknowledge that I had healed them.


I led them with leather cords, with leather ropes; I lifted the yoke from their neck, and gently fed them.


They will return to Egypt! Assyria will rule over them because they refuse to repent!


A sword will flash in their cities, it will destroy the bars of their city gates, and will devour them in their fortresses.


My people are obsessed with turning away from me; they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them!


How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart! All my tender compassions are aroused!


I cannot carry out my fierce anger! I cannot totally destroy Ephraim! Because I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you – I will not come in wrath!


He will roar like a lion, and they will follow the Lord; when he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.


They will return in fear and trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.


Ephraim has surrounded me with lies; the house of Israel has surrounded me with deceit. But Judah still roams about with God; he remains faithful to the Holy One.


Ephraim continually feeds on the wind; he chases the east wind all day; he multiplies lies and violence. They make treaties with Assyria, and send olive oil as tribute to Egypt.


The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.


In the womb he attacked his brother; in his manly vigor he struggled with God.


He struggled with an angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found God at Bethel, and there he spoke with him!


As for the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is the name by which he is remembered!


But you must return to your God, by maintaining love and justice, and by waiting for your God to return to you.


The businessmen love to cheat; they use dishonest scales.


Ephraim boasts, “I am very rich! I have become wealthy! In all that I have done to gain my wealth, no one can accuse me of any offense that is actually sinful.”


“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old.


I spoke to the prophets; I myself revealed many visions; I spoke in parables through the prophets.”


Is there idolatry in Gilead? Certainly its inhabitants will come to nothing! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!


Jacob fled to the country of Aram, then Israel worked to acquire a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her.


The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet, and due to a prophet Israel was preserved alive.


But Ephraim bitterly provoked him to anger; so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, his Lord will repay him for the contempt he has shown.


When Ephraim spoke, there was terror; he was exalted in Israel, but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died.


Even now they persist in sin! They make metal images for themselves, idols that they skillfully fashion from their own silver; all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen! There is a saying about them: “Those who sacrifice to the calf idol are calf kissers!”


Therefore they will disappear like the morning mist, like early morning dew that evaporates, like chaff that is blown away from a threshing floor, like smoke that disappears through an open window.


But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior.


I cared for you in the wilderness, in the dry desert where no water was.


When they were fed, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; as a result, they forgot me!


So I will pounce on them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk by the path.


I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs – I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion – like a wild animal would tear them apart.


I will destroy you, O Israel! Who is there to help you?


Where then is your king, that he may save you in all your cities? Where are your rulers for whom you asked, saying, “Give me a king and princes”?


I granted you a king in my anger, and I will take him away in my wrath!


The punishment of Ephraim has been decreed; his punishment is being stored up for the future.


The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb!


Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!


Even though he flourishes like a reed plant, a scorching east wind will come, a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert. As a result, his spring will dry up; his well will become dry. That wind will spoil all his delightful foods in the containers in his storehouse.


Samaria will be held guilty, because she rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their infants will be dashed to the ground – their pregnant women will be ripped open.


Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sin has been your downfall!


Return to the Lord and repent! Say to him: “Completely forgive our iniquity; accept our penitential prayer, that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls.


Assyria cannot save us; we will not ride warhorses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made. For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!”


“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger will turn away from them.


I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily, he will send down his roots like a cedar of Lebanon.


His young shoots will grow; his splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.


People will reside again in his shade; they will plant and harvest grain in abundance. They will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.


O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do with idols anymore! I will answer him and care for him. I am like a luxuriant cypress tree; your fruitfulness comes from me!


Who is wise? Let him discern these things! Who is discerning? Let him understand them! For the ways of the Lord are right; the godly walk in them, but in them the rebellious stumble.


This is the Lord’s message that was given to Joel the son of Pethuel:


Listen to this, you elders; pay attention, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life or in the lifetime of your ancestors?


Tell your children about it, have your children tell their children, and their children the following generation.


What the gazam-locust left the ‘arbeh-locust consumed, what the ‘arbeh-locust left the yeleq-locust consumed, and what the yeleq-locust left the hasil-locust consumed!


Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine drinkers, because the sweet wine has been taken away from you.


For a nation has invaded our land. There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. Their teeth are like those of a lion; they tear apart their prey like a lioness.


They have destroyed our vines; they have turned our fig trees into mere splinters. They have completely stripped off the bark and thrown them aside; the twigs are stripped bare.


Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth, lamenting the death of her husband-to-be.


No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of the Lord anymore. So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.


The crops of the fields have been destroyed. The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished. The fresh wine has dried up; the olive oil languishes.


Be distressed, farmers; wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley. For the harvest of the field has perished.


The vine has dried up; the fig tree languishes – the pomegranate, date, and apple as well. In fact, all the trees of the field have dried up. Indeed, the joy of the people has dried up!


Get dressed and lament, you priests! Wail, you who minister at the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God, because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of your God anymore.


Announce a holy fast; proclaim a sacred assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.


How awful that day will be! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer.


Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God!


The grains of seed have shriveled beneath their shovels. Storehouses have been decimated and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.


Listen to the cattle groan! The herds of livestock wander around in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.


To you, O Lord, I call out for help, for fire has burned up the grassy pastures, flames have razed all the trees in the fields.


Even the wild animals cry out to you; for the river beds have dried up; fire has destroyed the grassy pastures.


Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear, for the day of the Lord is about to come. Indeed, it is near!


It will be a day of dreadful darkness, a day of foreboding storm clouds, like blackness spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army – there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!


Like fire they devour everything in their path; a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness – for nothing escapes them!


They look like horses; they charge ahead like war horses.


They sound like chariots rumbling over mountain tops, like the crackling of blazing fire consuming stubble, like the noise of a mighty army being drawn up for battle.


People writhe in fear when they see them. All of their faces turn pale with fright.


They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. Each one proceeds on his course; they do not alter their path.


They do not jostle one another; each of them marches straight ahead. They burst through the city defenses and do not break ranks.


They rush into the city; they scale its walls. They climb up into the houses; they go in through the windows like a thief.


The earth quakes before them; the sky reverberates. The sun and the moon grow dark; the stars refuse to shine.


The voice of the Lord thunders as he leads his army. Indeed, his warriors are innumerable; Surely his command is carried out! Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome and very terrifying – who can survive it?


“Yet even now,” the Lord says, “return to me with all your heart – with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your garments!”


Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love – often relenting from calamitous punishment.


Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, and leave blessing in his wake – a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God!


Blow the trumpet in Zion. Announce a holy fast; proclaim a sacred assembly!


Gather the people; sanctify an assembly! Gather the elders; gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom and the bride from her private quarters.


Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep from the vestibule all the way back to the altar. Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people; please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked, to become a proverb among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, “Where is their God?”


Then the Lord became zealous for his land; he had compassion on his people.


The Lord responded to his people, “Look! I am about to restore your grain as well as fresh wine and olive oil. You will be fully satisfied. I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.


I will remove the one from the north far from you. I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place. Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea, and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise up as a foul smell.” Indeed, the Lord has accomplished great things.


Do not fear, my land! Rejoice and be glad, because the Lord has accomplished great things!


Do not fear, wild animals! For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass. Indeed, the trees bear their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest.


Citizens of Zion, rejoice! Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! For he has given to you the early rains as vindication. He has sent to you the rains – both the early and the late rains as formerly.


The threshing floors are full of grain; the vats overflow with fresh wine and olive oil.


I will make up for the years that the ‘arbeh-locust consumed your crops – the yeleq-locust, the hasil-locust, and the gazam-locust – my great army that I sent against you.


You will have plenty to eat, and your hunger will be fully satisfied; you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has acted wondrously in your behalf. My people will never again be put to shame.


You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God; there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.


After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions.


Even on male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days.


I will produce portents both in the sky and on the earth – blood, fire, and columns of smoke.


The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes – that great and terrible day!


It will so happen that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who survive, just as the Lord has promised; the remnant will be those whom the Lord will call.


For look! In those days and at that time I will return the exiles to Judah and Jerusalem.


Then I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment against them there concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, whom they scattered among the nations. They partitioned my land,


and they cast lots for my people. They traded a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink.


Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? I will very quickly repay you for what you have done!


For you took my silver and my gold and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces.


You sold Judeans and Jerusalemites to the Greeks, removing them far from their own country.


Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them. I will repay you for what you have done!


I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. They will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away. Indeed, the Lord has spoken!


Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for a holy war! Call out the warriors! Let all these fighting men approach and attack!


Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears! Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’


Lend your aid and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves to that place.” Bring down, O Lord, your warriors!


Let the nations be roused and let them go up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.


Rush forth with the sickle, for the harvest is ripe! Come, stomp the grapes, for the winepress is full! The vats overflow. Indeed, their evil is great!


Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision!


The sun and moon are darkened; the stars withhold their brightness.


The Lord roars from Zion; from Jerusalem his voice bellows out. The heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge for his people; he is a stronghold for the citizens of Israel.


You will be convinced that I the Lord am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy – conquering armies will no longer pass through it.


On that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the dry stream beds of Judah will flow with water. A spring will flow out from the temple of the Lord, watering the Valley of Acacia Trees.


Egypt will be desolate and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.


But Judah will reside securely forever, and Jerusalem will be secure from one generation to the next.


I will avenge their blood which I had not previously acquitted. It is the Lord who dwells in Zion!


The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.


Amos said: “The Lord comes roaring out of Zion; from Jerusalem he comes bellowing! The shepherds’ pastures wilt; the summit of Carmel withers.”


This is what the Lord says: “Because Damascus has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.


So I will set Hazael’s house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad’s fortresses.


I will break the bar on the gate of Damascus. I will remove the ruler from Wicked Valley, the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” The Lord has spoken!


This is what the Lord says: “Because Gaza has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They deported a whole community and sold them to Edom.


So I will set Gaza’s city wall on fire; fire will consume her fortresses.


I will remove the ruler from Ashdod, the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. I will strike Ekron with my hand; the rest of the Philistines will also die.” The sovereign Lord has spoken!


This is what the Lord says: “Because Tyre has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold a whole community to Edom; they failed to observe a treaty of brotherhood.


So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses.”


This is what the Lord says: “Because Edom has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them.


So I will set Teman on fire; fire will consume Bozrah’s fortresses.”


This is what the Lord says: “Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women so they could expand their territory.


So I will set fire to Rabbah’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses. War cries will be heard on the day of battle; a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm.


Ammon’s king will be deported; he and his officials will be carried off together.” The Lord has spoken!


This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime.


So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn.


I will remove Moab’s leader; I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.” The Lord has spoken!


This is what the Lord says: “Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord’s law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.


So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”


This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.


They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.


They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral; they do so right beside every altar! They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God!


For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.


I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for forty years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.


I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. Is this not true, you Israelites?” The Lord is speaking!


“But you made the Nazirites drink wine; you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’


Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.


Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives.


Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses.


Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.” The Lord is speaking!


Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt:


“I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”


Do two walk together without having met?


Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?


Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?


If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?


Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.


A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy?


Make this announcement in the fortresses of Ashdod and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say this: “Gather on the hills around Samaria! Observe the many acts of violence taking place within the city, the oppressive deeds occurring in it.”


“They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.) “They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses.


Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. He will take away your power; your fortresses will be looted.”


This is what the Lord says: “Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch.”


Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking!


“Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.


I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. The houses filled with ivory will be ruined, the great houses will be swept away.” The Lord is speaking!


Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria! You oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink!”


The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: “Certainly the time is approaching when you will be carried away in baskets, every last one of you in fishermen’s pots.


Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; you will be thrown out toward Harmon.” The Lord is speaking!


“Go to Bethel and rebel! At Gilgal rebel some more! Bring your sacrifices in the morning, your tithes on the third day!


Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! For you love to do this, you Israelites.” The sovereign Lord is speaking!


“But surely I gave you no food to eat in any of your cities; you lacked food everywhere you live. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!


“I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.


People from two or three cities staggered into one city to get water, but remained thirsty. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!


“I destroyed your crops with blight and disease. Locusts kept devouring your orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!


“I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. I killed your young men with the sword, along with the horses you had captured. I made the stench from the corpses rise up into your nostrils. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!


“I overthrew some of you the way God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the flames. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!


“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel!


For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men. He turns the dawn into darkness and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is his name!”


Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, family of Israel:


“The virgin Israel has fallen down and will not get up again. She is abandoned on her own land with no one to help her get up.”


The sovereign Lord says this: “The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers will have only a hundred left; the town that marches out with a hundred soldiers will have only ten left for the family of Israel.”


The Lord says this to the family of Israel: “Seek me so you can live!


Do not seek Bethel! Do not visit Gilgal! Do not journey down to Beer Sheba! For the people of Gilgal will certainly be carried into exile; and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.”


Seek the Lord so you can live! Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph’s family; the fire will consume and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.


The Israelites turn justice into bitterness; they throw what is fair and right to the ground.


(But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion; he can turn the darkness into morning and daylight into night. He summons the water of the seas and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name!


He flashes destruction down upon the strong so that destruction overwhelms the fortified places.)


The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.


Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted.


Certainly I am aware of your many rebellious acts and your numerous sins. You torment the innocent, you take bribes, and you deny justice to the needy at the city gate.


For this reason whoever is smart keeps quiet in such a time, for it is an evil time.


Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you, as you claim he is.


Hate what is wrong, love what is right! Promote justice at the city gate! Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph.


Because of Israel’s sins this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says: “In all the squares there will be wailing, in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail.


In all the vineyards there will be wailing, for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord.


Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come? It will bring darkness, not light.


Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.


Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light – gloomy blackness, not bright light?


“I absolutely despise your festivals! I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!


Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.


Take away from me your noisy songs; I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.


Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up.


You did not bring me sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family of Israel.


You will pick up your images of Sikkuth, your king, and Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves,


and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord. He is called the God who commands armies!


Woe to those who live in ease in Zion, to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation. The family of Israel looks to them for leadership.


They say to the people: “Journey over to Calneh and look at it! Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! Then go down to Gath of the Philistines! Are they superior to our two kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?”


You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.


They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.


They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments.


They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.


Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, and the religious banquets where they sprawl on couches will end.


The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: “I despise Jacob’s arrogance; I hate their fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it.”


If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.


When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses, pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” He will respond, “Be quiet! Don’t invoke the Lord’s name!”


Indeed, look! The Lord is giving the command. He will smash the large house to bits, and the small house into little pieces.


Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.


You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim by our own power?”


“Look! I am about to bring a nation against you, family of Israel.” The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking. “They will oppress you all the way from Lebo-Hamath to the Stream of the Arabah.”


The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw him making locusts just as the crops planted late were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest. )


When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said, “Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!”


The Lord decided not to do this. “It will not happen,” the Lord said.


The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw the sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields.


I said, “Sovereign Lord, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is too weak!”


The Lord decided not to do this. The sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”


He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand.


The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The sovereign One then said, “Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sin.


Isaac’s centers of worship will become desolate; Israel’s holy places will be in ruins. I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.”


Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! The land cannot endure all his prophecies.


As a matter of fact, Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”


Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living and prophesy there!


Don’t prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!”


Amos replied to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. No, I was a herdsman who also took care of sycamore fig trees.


Then the Lord took me from tending flocks and gave me this commission, ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’


So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach against the family of Isaac!’


“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets and your sons and daughters will die violently. Your land will be given to others and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”


The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw a basket of summer fruit.


He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins.


The women singing in the temple will wail in that day.” The sovereign Lord is speaking. “There will be many corpses littered everywhere! Be quiet!”


Listen to this, you who trample the needy, and do away with the destitute in the land.


You say, “When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We’re eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales!


We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!”


The Lord confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob: “I swear I will never forget all you have done!


Because of this the earth will quake, and all who live in it will mourn. The whole earth will rise like the River Nile, it will surge upward and then grow calm, like the Nile in Egypt.


In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon, and make the earth dark in the middle of the day.


I will turn your festivals into funerals, and all your songs into funeral dirges. I will make everyone wear funeral clothes and cause every head to be shaved bald. I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day.


Be certain of this, the time is coming,” says the sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!


People will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for a revelation from the Lord, but they will not find any.


In that day your beautiful young women and your young men will faint from thirst.


These are the ones who now take oaths in the name of the sinful idol goddess of Samaria. They vow, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one lives, O Beer Sheba!’ But they will fall down and not get up again.”


I saw the sovereign One standing by the altar and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the survivors with the sword. No one will be able to run away; no one will be able to escape.