Amos, 9

1. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

1. I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said, "Strike the top of the columns, so that the beams shake and the roof falls down on the heads of them all. Those who are left I will slay with the sword; not one shall flee, not one shall escape.

2. Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

2. Though they dig down to the netherworld, my hand will take them from there; though they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down from there;

3. And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

3. Though they hide on the top of Carmel, I will search them out there and take them; though they hide from me in the depths of the sea, I will bid the sea serpent bite them.

4. And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

4. When they are led into captivity by their enemies, there I will command the sword to slay them. For I have set my eye upon them, not for help but for harm."

5. And the Lord GOD of hosts [is] he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt.

5. When Yahweh of hosts touches the earth, it melts and all who dwell on it mourn. The earth rises up and heaves like the Nile and settles back again like the river of Egypt.

6. [It is] he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name.

6. He has built heaven, his upper room, and established the dome of the sky over the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them upon the face of the earth: Yahweh is his name.

7. [Are] ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

7. And now Yahweh says, "Are you Israelites more to me than the Ethiopians? Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt as I brought the Philistines from Caphtor and Aram from Kir?

8. Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD [are] upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

8. My eyes are upon your sinful kingdom. I wanted to destroy it from the face of the earth, but I cannot do away completely with the nation of Jacob," says Yahweh.

9. For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

9. "This is what I have ordered: I will sift the nation of Israel among the nations as one sifts with a sieve, letting no pebble pass through.

10. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

10. All sinners among my people shall die, those who say, 'Evil will not reach or overtake us.'

11. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

11. On that day I shall restore the fallen hut of David and wall up its breaches and raise its ruined walls and so build it as in days of old.

12. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

12. They shall conquer the remnant of Edom and the neighboring nations upon which my name has been called." Thus says Yahweh, the one who will do this.

13. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

13. Yahweh says also, "The days are coming when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes overtake the sower. The mountains shall drip sweet wine and all the hills shall melt.

14. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

14. I shall bring back the exiles of my people Israel; they will rebuild the desolate cities and dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will have orchards and eat their fruit.

15. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

15. I shall plant them in their own country and they shall never again be rooted up from the land which I have given them," says Yahweh your God.