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Amos

Speaks against injustice and predicts Israel's punishment but ends with hope for restoration.

Chapter 8

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1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

*So, the Lord God has shown me this: and look, there's a basket filled with summer fruits.

2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

*He asked, "Amos, what do you see?" I replied, "A basket with summer fruits." The Lord then said, "The time has come for judgment on the people of Israel. I won't ignore them anymore."

3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

*In that day, the temple's songs will become terrible wails, says the Lord God. There will be many dead bodies everywhere, and they will be thrown out without any noise.

4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

*Listen carefully, those who take advantage of the helpless, causing the poor to lose their footing on the land.

5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

*"When will the new moon end so we can sell grain?" they asked. "And when can we start selling wheat on the Sabbath? We'll use a smaller ephah measure and a larger shekel weight, tricking people with dishonest scales."

6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

*So that we can purchase the poor people with silver and the needy ones with just a pair of shoes; yes, even selling the worthless parts of the wheat.

7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

*The Lord promises by Jacob's greatness that He will never forget any of their deeds.

8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

*Will the land not shake because of this, and will everyone living there not be sad? It will suddenly rise like a flood and be thrown out, just like the flood in Egypt.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

*In that day, says the Lord, I will make the sun set at midday and make the Earth dark during a bright day.

10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

*I will change your happy celebrations to sadness, and your songs to sad cries. I will make everyone wear rough cloth around their waists and have bald heads. It will be like the sadness of a single child losing their parent, and the end will be very hard.

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

*Look, the time will come, says the Lord God, when I will cause a great shortage in the land. It won't be a lack of food or water, but people not hearing the words of the Lord.

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

*They will travel far and wide, from the ocean to the mountains, looking for God's messages, but they won't find them.

13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

*On that day, both young women and young men will become weak from thirst.

14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

*Those who promise by the wickedness of Samaria and say, "Your God, O Dan, is alive," and, "The way of Beersheba is alive" will fall and not get up again.

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* work in progress, there will be mistakes

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