Amos 7:7-17

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.” Amaziah, a priest at Bethel, sent this message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is making evil plans against you with the people of Israel. He has been speaking so much that this land can’t hold all his words. This is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and the people of Israel will be taken as captives out of their own country.’ ” Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Seer, go back right now to Judah. Do your prophesying and earn your living there, but don’t prophesy anymore here at Bethel. This is the king’s holy place, and it is the nation’s temple.” Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I do not make my living as a prophet, nor am I a member of a group of prophets. I make my living as a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore trees. But the LORD took me away from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ So listen to the LORD’s word. You tell me, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel, and stop prophesying against the descendants of Isaac.’ “Because you have said this, the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Other people will measure your land and divide it among themselves, and you will die in a foreign country. The people of Israel will definitely be taken from their own land as captives.’ ”