Amos 9

1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people, and those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one of them will get away; not one will escape.

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

3Though they hide on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; though they hide from my sight on the floor of the sea, from there I will command the serpent to bite them.

4Though they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword to kill them. I will fix my eyes on them for harm and not for good.

5The Lord, Yahweh of Armies—he touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn. The whole land rises like the Nile and sinks again like the river of Egypt.

6He builds his upper rooms in the heavens and sets its vault on the earth; he summons the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth—Yahweh is his name.

7Are you not like the Cushites to me, people of Israel? declares Yahweh. Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?

8The eyes of Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not completely destroy the house of Jacob, declares Yahweh.

9For I am going to give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground.

10All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all who say, “Disaster will not come near us or overtake us.”

11On that day I will raise up the fallen shelter of David. I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins, and I will rebuild it as it was in days long ago,

12so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that are called by my name, declares Yahweh, who will do this.

13The days are coming, declares Yahweh, when the one who plows will overtake the one who reaps, and the one who treads grapes the one who sows the seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, and all the hills will flow with it.

14I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; they will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

15I will plant them on their own land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land that I have given them, says Yahweh your God.