AMOS
Amos 8 ©
By the vision of a basket with summer fruits is shown that Israel’s end was drawing on, v. 1, etc. Because of their oppressing the poor, wretched greediness, deceitful dealing, uncleanness and idolatrous swearing, 4, etc. (and 14). God swears to bring the utmost general ruin and sorrow upon Israel, 7. Together with a disconsolate condition, for the want of His Word, 11.
THUS hath the Lord GOD 1shewed unto me: and behold a 2basket of summer fruit.
And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The 3end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again 4pass by them any more.
And the songs of the 5temple shall be howlings 6in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every 7place; 8they shall cast them forth with silence.
¶Hear this, O ye that 9swallow up 10the needy, even to make the 11poor of the land to 12fail,
Saying, When will 13the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth 14wheat, making the 15ephah small, and the 16shekela great, and 17falsifying the balancesb by deceit?
That we may 18buy the poor for silver,c and the needy for a pair of shoes; 19yea, and sell 20the refuse of the wheat?
The LORD hath sworn by the 21excellency of Jacob, 22Surely I will never forget 23any of their works.
24Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and 25it shall rise up wholly as a 26flood; and it shall be 27cast out and drowned, as by the 28flood of Egypt.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to 29go down at 30noon, and I will darken the earth in the 31clear day:
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up 32sackcloth upon all loins, and 33baldness upon every head; and I will make 34it as the mourning of an only son, and the end 35thereof as a bitter day.
¶Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine 36in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the 37words of the LORD:
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the 38east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
In that day shall the fair virgins and young men 39faint for thirst.
They that swear by the 40sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, 41O Dan, liveth; and, The 42manner of Beer-shebad liveth; even they shall fall, and never 43rise up again.