The Lord Puts a Plumbline in the Midst of Israel |
Amos 7:1-17 The Book of Amos [in Smaller Chunks] |
The Lord God has [declared this] to me; & [saw,] He formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the [late crop's sprouting] up. And, [look,] it was the [late crop] after the king's mowings. |
And it [happened,] that when they had [finished] eating the grass of the land, I then said, O Lord God, I [urge] you, [to] forgive. By whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small. |
[Micah 5:2 *But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, [although] you [are small] among the 1,000's of Judah, [still] He, [Who] is to be ruler in Israel, shall come forth to me, out of You. Whose goings out have been from of old, from everlasting.] |
The Lord [withdrew] for this. The Lord says, It shall not be. [Amos 5:15 Hate the evil; love the good; & establish [justice] in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of Hosts will be gracious to the [rest] of Jacob, [a.k.a. Israel.] |
The Lord God [has declared this] to me: & [saw] the Lord God called to [fight with] fire, & it [dried up] the great deep & [ate] up a part, [a.k.a. portion,] [of it.] [Joel 1:19-20 O Lord, I will cry [out] to You. |
For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, & the flame has burned all the trees of the field. The [animals] of the field also cry [out] to You,: for the rivers of waters are dried up, & the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.] |
Then, I said, O Lord God, I [beg] You, [to stop.] By whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small? The Lord [withdrew] for this. The Lord [said,] This also shall not be. He [showed] me [this;] & [look,] the Lord stood [with] a plumbline in His hand, upon a wall [that was] made by a plumbline. |
And the Lord said to me, Amos, what [do] you see? And I said, A plumbline, [a.k.a. a weight suspended on the string to make sure a structure is centered.] Then the Lord said, [Watch,] I will [put] a plumbline in the midst of My people, Israel. I won't pass by them, again, anymore. |
[Micah 7:18 Who to you, is [similar] [to] God, [Who pardons sin] & passes by the transgression of the [rest] of His heritage? He [doesn't hold on to] His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.] |
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, & the sanctuary of Israel, shall be laid [to] waste. And I will rise [up] against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. [1 Kings 12:28-30 [Upon which,] king [Jeroboam] [got advice,] & made 2 calves of gold. |
And said to [the Israelites,] It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem [to sacrifice.] [See,] your gods, O Israel, [that] brought you up, out of the land of Egypt. And he [put] 1 in Beth El, & he put the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the 1, even to Dan.] |
Then, Amaziah, the priest of Beth El, [a.k.a. Beth Aven,] sent to Jeroboam, [Israel's] king, saying, Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For Amos says [this;] Jeroboam shall die by the sword & Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. |
[Amos 5:26-27 But you have [carried] the tabernacle of your: Moloch & Chiun, your images & the star of your god, [that] you made [for] yourselves. Therefore, I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says the Lord, Whose Name Is The God of Hosts.] |
Also, Amaziah said to Amos, O you Seer, go, flee [& get yourself] away into the land of Judah, & eat bread there & prophesy there. [1 Samuel 9:9 (Before [that] time, in Israel, when a man went to [inquire] of God, he [said this,] Come, & let's go to the Seer: for he, is now called a Prophet, [who] was [before this,] called a Seer.)] |
But [don't] prophesy any more [in] Beth El: for it is the king's chapel, & it's the king's court, [a.k.a. royal house.] Then, Amos answered & said to Amaziah, I [wasn't a] prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a [herder,] & I gathered fruit [from] the [sycamore] [tree.] |
And the Lord took me [like] I followed the flock, & the Lord said to me, Go, & prophesy to My people, Israel. Therefore, you, now hear the Word of the Lord. You [say, Don't] prophesy against Israel, & [don't preach] your Word against the house of Isaac. |
[Isaiah 30:8-11 Now go, & write it [in front of] them [on] a [tablet] & note it in a book, [so] that it may be for the time to come forever & ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that won't hear the Law of the Lord. |
Which say to the Seers, [Don't] see; & the prophets, [Don't] prophesy to us [righteous] things. Speak to us, [pleasant] things, & prophesy [what is:] [deceitful.] You, [go astray off] the [road,] & turn aside out of the path & cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.] |
Therefore, the Lord says [this;] Your wife shall be an [unfaithful] harlot in the city, & your sons & daughters shall fall by the sword. And your land shall be divided by [a] line; & you shall die in a [defiled] land. And Israel shall surely go into captivity [from] his land. |
[2 Kings 17:16-18 And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, & made [themselves molded] images, even 2 calves, & made a grove, & worshiped all the host of heaven, [a.k.a. stars or constellations,] & served Baal. |
And they caused their sons & daughters to pass through the fire, & used divination, enchantments, & sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel, & removed them out of His sight. There [were] none left, [except] only the tribe of Judah.] |