A Call to Fasting and Prayer. for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. 2 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and none hath escaped them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as 2 horsemen, so do they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 At their presence the peoples are in anguish ; all faces are waxed pale. 7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they break not their ranks. 8 Neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path; and they burst through the weapons, and break not off their course. 9 They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 11 And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? 12 Yet even now, saith Jehovah, &c. 3 3 Or, when they fall around the weapons, they 4 Or, are not wounded Jehovah shows Pity and Favor turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto Jehovah your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people, sanctify the assembly, assemble the old men, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, and give not thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should "rule over them: wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God? 18 Then was Jehovah jealous for his land, and had pity on his people. 19 And Jehovah answered and said unto his people, Behold, I will send you grain, and new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations; 20 but I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, its forepart into the eastern sea, and its hinder part into the western sea; and its stench shall come up, and its ill savor shall come up, because it hath done great things. 21 Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; for Jehovah hath done great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; from 5 Or, elders 6 Or, use a byword az 7 Or, with its forepart 8 Or, Outpouring of God's Spirit promised. The Nations to be judged he giveth you the former rain in |itage Israel, whom they have scatjust measure, and he causeth to tered among the nations: and they come down for you the rain, the have parted my land, 3 and have former rain and the latter rain, 2 in cast lots for my people, and have the first month. 24 And the floors given a boy for a harlot, and sold a shall be full of wheat, and the vats girl for wine, that they may drink. shall overflow with new wine and 4 Yea, and what are ye to me, O oil. 25 And I will restore to you Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions the years that the locust hath eaten, of Philistia? 5 will ye render me a the canker-worm, and the caterpil- recompense? and if ye recompense lar, and the palmer-worm, my great me, swiftly and speedily will I rearmy which I sent among you. 26 turn your recompense upon your And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be put to shame. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame. *23 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. 30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call. +3 For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall 4 bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment upon them there for my people and for my her 6 head. 5 Forasmuch as ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly precious things, 6 and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye may remove them far from their border; 7 behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your 6 recompense upon your own head; 8 and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for Jehovah hath spoken it. 10 9 Proclaim ye this among the nations; 7 prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 8 Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. 12 Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of 9 Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle; for the 10 harvest is ripe: come, 11 tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon 5 Or, will ye repay a deed of mine, or will ye do aught unto me? swiftly &c. 6 Or, deed 7 Heb. sanctify. 8 Or, Assemble yourselves 9 That is, Jehovah judgeth. 10 Or, vintage 11 Or, get you down The Nations to be judged, and Judah to be delivered are darkened, and the stars with- Judah shall abide for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 And I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion. 1 That is, the valley of acacias. 2 Or, be inhabited 3 Or, hold as innocent THE BOOK OF AMOS 1 God's Judgments on Neighboring Nations The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 1 2 And he said, Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the 1 pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. 3 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four, I will not turn away 3 the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron. 4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. 5 And I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of 5 Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith Jehovah. 6 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Gaza, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive 7 the whole people, to deliver them up to Edom. 7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. 8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; 1 Or, habitations 2 Or, revoke my word 3 Heb. it (and so in ver. 6, 9, &c.). 4 Or, him that sitteth on the throne (and so in ver. 8) 5 That is, Vanity. 6 Or, Beth-eden 7 Heb. an entire captivity. and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord Jehovah. 9 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Tyre, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole people to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant. 10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. 11 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever. 12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. 13 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border. 14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; 15 and their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith Jehovah. 2 Thus saith Jehovah : For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into 8 Heb. the covenant of brethren. 9 Heb. corrupted his compassions. Judgments on Judah and Israel. Necessity of prophesying Evil against Israel lime. 2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet; 3 and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah. 4 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk. 5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. 6 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes-7 they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name: 8 and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined. 9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. 10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. il And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah. 12 But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13 Behold, I will press you in 1 Or, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. 14 And 2flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; 15 neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself; 16 and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah. 3 3 Hear this word that Jehovah hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities. Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? 4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? 5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is set for him? shall a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all? 6 Shall the trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? shall evil befall a city, and Jehovah hath not done it? 7 Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except he reveal his secret unto his servants the prophets. 8 The lion hath roared; who will not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken; who can but prophesy? 9 Publish ye in the palaces at Ashdod, and 5 in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold what great tumults are therein, and what oppressions in the midst thereof. For they know not to do right, saith Jehovah, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. 11 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah : An adversary there shall be, even 2 Or, refuge shall fail the swift 10 |