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Amos 4
International Standard Version
Amos 4
International Standard Version
Judgment on the Women of Israel
4 “Listen to this message, you fat cows from Bashan,
who live on the Samaritan mountains,
who oppress the poor,
who rob the needy,
and who constantly ask your husbands for one more drink!”
2 The Lord God has taken a sacred oath:[a]
“The day is coming when they[b] will take you away on fishhooks,
every last one of you on fishhooks.
3 Each of you will go out through the breaches of the walls[c]
straight to Mt. Hermon,”[d]
declares the Lord.
The Lord’s Rebuke to Israel
4 “Come to Bethel and sin,
to Gilgal and sin even more!
Bring along your morning sacrifices,
and pay your tithes every other day.[e]
5 While you’re at it,[f] present a thank offering with leaven,
and publicize your freewill offerings,
letting everyone hear about it,
because this is what you really love to do, you Israelis,”
declares the Lord God.
Israel’s Refusal to Return to God
6 “I also have scheduled[g] food shortages[h] for you in all of your cities,
and lack of bread in all of your settlements,
but you haven’t returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
7 “I therefore have withheld the rain from you
three months before the harvest,
causing rain to come upon one city,
but not upon another,
and upon one field
but not upon another,
so that it would wither.
8 So the people of[i] two or three cities staggered away to another[j] city
in order to obtain drinking water,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
9 “I afflicted you with blight and fungus;
and the locust swarm devoured the harvest
of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues among you as I did with Egypt.
I killed your choicest young men with the sword.
I took your horses away from you.
I filled your noses with the stench of your encampments,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew your cities,[k]
as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
You’ve become like a burning ember, snatched from the fire,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel.
Because I am about to do this,
prepare to be summoned to your God, Israel!”
13 Look! The one who crafts mountains,
who creates the wind,
who reveals what he is thinking to mankind,
who darkens the morning light,
who tramples down the high places of the land—
the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
Footnotes
- Amos 4:2 Lit. oath on his holiness
- Amos 4:2 Lit. coming upon you, and he; i.e. the invading forces personified as an individual
- Amos 4:3 The Heb. lacks of the walls
- Amos 4:3 Heb. Harmonah
- Amos 4:4 Lit. tithes for the three days
- Amos 4:5 Lit. And
- Amos 4:6 Lit. appointed
- Amos 4:6 Lit. appointed clean teeth
- Amos 4:8 The Heb. lacks the people of
- Amos 4:8 Lit. to a single
- Amos 4:11 The Heb. lacks cities
Amos 4
New International Version
Amos 4
New International Version
Israel Has Not Returned to God
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(A) on Mount Samaria,(B)
you women who oppress the poor(C) and crush the needy(D)
and say to your husbands,(E) “Bring us some drinks!(F)”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
“The time(G) will surely come
when you will be taken away(H) with hooks,(I)
the last of you with fishhooks.[a]
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,(J)
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,[b]”
declares the Lord.
4 “Go to Bethel(K) and sin;
go to Gilgal(L) and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(M)
your tithes(N) every three years.[c](O)
5 Burn leavened bread(P) as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings(Q)—
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.
6 “I gave you empty stomachs in every city
and lack of bread in every town,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(R)
7 “I also withheld(S) rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.(T)
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water(U)
but did not get enough(V) to drink,
yet you have not returned(W) to me,”
declares the Lord.(X)
9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew.(Y)
Locusts(Z) devoured your fig and olive trees,(AA)
yet you have not returned(AB) to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues(AC) among you
as I did to Egypt.(AD)
I killed your young men(AE) with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench(AF) of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,”(AG)
declares the Lord.(AH)
11 “I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.(AI)
You were like a burning stick(AJ) snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(AK)
12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
and because I will do this to you, Israel,
prepare to meet your God.”
International Standard Version (ISV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.