Amos 8

¹These things the Lord has revealed to me. And behold, a hook to draw down fruit.

²And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A hook to draw down fruit.” And the Lord said to me, “The end has come for my people Israel. I will no longer pass through them.”

³And the hinges of the temple will creak in that day, says the Lord God. Many will die. Silence will be thrown away in all places.

⁴Hear this, you who crush the poor and who make those in need of land to do without.

⁵You say, “When will the first day of the month be over, so we can sell our wares, and the Sabbath, so we can open the grain: in order that we may decrease the measure, and increase the price, and substitute deceitful scales,

⁶in order that we may possess the destitute with money, and the poor for a pair of shoes, and may sell even the refuse of the grain?”

⁷The Lord has sworn by the arrogance of Jacob: I will not forget, even to the end, all their works.

⁸Will not the earth shudder over this, and all its inhabitants mourn, and all rise up like a river, and be cast out, and flow away like the river of Egypt?

⁹And it will be in that day, says the Lord God, that the sun will decline at midday, and I will cause the earth to become dark on the day of light.

¹⁰And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your hymns into lamentation. And I will put sackcloth over every one of your backs, and baldness on every head. And I will begin it like the mourning for an only-begotten son, and complete it like a bitter day.

¹¹Behold, the days pass, says the Lord, and I will send a famine on the earth: not a famine of bread, nor of thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the Lord.

¹²And they will move even from sea to sea, and from the North all the way to the East. They will wander around seeking the word of the Lord, and they will not find it.

¹³In that day, beautiful virgins, and young men, will fail because of thirst.

¹⁴They swear by the offense of Samaria, and they say, “As your God lives, Dan,” and “The way of Beer-sheba lives.” And they will fall, and they will not rise up any more.

Amos 8

¹These things the Lord shewed to me: and behold a hook to draw down the fruit.

²And he said: What seest thou, Amos? And I said: A hook to draw down fruit. And the Lord said to me: The end is come upon my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.

³And the hinges of the temple shall screak in that day, saith the Lord God: many shall die: silence shall be cast in every place.

⁴Hear this, you that crush the poor, and make the needy of the land to fail,

⁵Saying: When will the month be over, and we shall sell our wares: and the sabbath, and we shall open the corn: that we may lessen the measure, and increase the sicle, and may convey in deceitful balances,

⁶That we may possess the needy for money, and the poor for a pair of shoes, and may sell the refuse of the corn?

⁷The Lord hath sworn against the pride of Jacob: surely I will never forget all their works.

⁸Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein: and rise up altogether as a river, and be cast out, and run down as the river of Egypt?

⁹And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that the sun shall go down at midday, and I will make the earth dark in the day of light:

¹⁰And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation: and I will bring up sackcloth upon every back of yours, and baldness upon every head: and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the latter end thereof as a bitter day.

¹¹Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord.

¹²And they shall move from sea to sea, and from the north to the east: they shall go about seeking the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

¹³In that day the fair virgins, and the young men shall faint for thirst.

¹⁴They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say: Thy God, O Dan, liveth: and the way of Bersabee liveth: and they shall fall, and shall rise no more.