Amos 7:1-9
Amos 7:1-9 The Message (MSG)
GOD, my Master, showed me this vision: He was preparing a locust swarm. The first cutting, which went to the king, was complete, and the second crop was just sprouting. The locusts ate everything green. Not even a blade of grass was left. I called out, “GOD, my Master! Excuse me, but what’s going to come of Jacob? He’s so small.” GOD gave in. “It won’t happen,” he said. * * * GOD showed me this vision: Oh! GOD, my Master GOD was calling up a firestorm. It burned up the ocean. Then it burned up the Promised Land. I said, “GOD, my Master! Hold it—please! What’s going to come of Jacob? He’s so small.” GOD gave in. “All right, this won’t happen either,” GOD, my Master, said. * * * GOD showed me this vision: My Master was standing beside a wall. In his hand he held a plumb line. GOD said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “A plumb line.” Then my Master said, “Look what I’ve done. I’ve hung a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I’ve spared them for the last time. This is it!
Amos 7:1-9 King James Version (KJV)
Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD. Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD. Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amos 7:1-9 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, “Lord GOD, please pardon! How can Jacob stand, For he is small?” The LORD changed His mind about this. “It shall not be,” said the LORD. Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord GOD was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How can Jacob stand, for he is small?” The LORD changed His mind about this. “This too shall not be,” said the Lord GOD. Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. The LORD said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold I am about to put a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel. I will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be desolated And the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos 7:1-9 New Century Version (NCV)
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was forming a swarm of locusts, after the king had taken his share of the first crop and the second crop had just begun growing. When the locusts ate all the crops in the country, I said, “Lord GOD, forgive us. How could Israel live through this? It is too small already!” So the LORD changed his mind about this. “It will not happen,” said the LORD. This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for fire to come down like rain. It burned up the deep water and was going to burn up the land. Then I cried out, “Lord GOD, stop! How could Israel live through this? It is too small already.” So the LORD changed his mind about this too. “It will not happen,” said the Lord GOD. This is what he showed me: The Lord stood by a straight wall, with a plumb line in his hand. The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I will put a plumb line among my people Israel to show how crooked they are. I will not look the other way any longer. “The places where Isaac’s descendants worship will be destroyed, Israel’s holy places will be turned into ruins, and I will attack King Jeroboam’s family with the sword.”
Amos 7:1-9 American Standard Version (ASV)
Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. And it came to pass that, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small. Jehovah repented concerning this: It shall not be, saith Jehovah. Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land. Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small. Jehovah repented concerning this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord Jehovah. Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more; and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amos 7:1-9 New International Version (NIV)
This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” So the LORD relented. “This will not happen,” the LORD said. This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” So the LORD relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign LORD said. This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”
Amos 7:1-9 New King James Version (NKJV)
Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: “O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!” So the LORD relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the LORD. Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, the Lord GOD called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory.Then I said: “O Lord GOD, cease, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!” So the LORD relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD. Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”
Amos 7:1-9 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Thus the Lord GOD showed me [a vision], and behold, He was forming a swarm of locusts when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. And when the locusts had finished eating the plants of the land, then I said, “O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand, For he is so small [that he cannot endure this]?” The LORD revoked this sentence. “It shall not take place,” said the LORD. Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord GOD called for punishment with fire, and it devoured the great deep [underground sources of water] and began to consume the land. Then I said, “O Lord GOD, please stop! How can Jacob stand, For he is so small [that he cannot endure this]?” The LORD revoked this sentence. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD. Thus He showed me [a vision], and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand [to determine if the wall was straight or if it needed to be destroyed]. The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line [as a standard] Among My people Israel [showing the defectiveness of the nation, requiring judgment]. I shall not spare them any longer. [The door of mercy is shut.] And the [idolatrous] high places of Isaac (Israel) will be devastated and deserted, And the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins. Then I shall rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword [and destroy the monarchy].”
Amos 7:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)
The Sovereign LORD showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up. In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.” So the LORD relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said. Then the Sovereign LORD showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.” Then the LORD relented from this plan, too. “I will not do that either,” said the Sovereign LORD. Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I answered, “A plumb line.” And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. The pagan shrines of your ancestors will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.”
Amos 7:1-9 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The LORD relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the LORD. This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said, “O Lord GOD, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The LORD relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD. This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”