Amos 9:1-15

Bible Text

[1] I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape. [2] Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down. [3] Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out there; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them. [4] Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good. [5] For the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt. [6] It is he who builds his chambers in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth; Yahweh is his name. [7] Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?" says Yahweh. "Haven't I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? [8] Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," says Yahweh. [9] "For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth. [10] All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, 'Evil won't overtake nor meet us.' [11] In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen, and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; [12] that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations who are called by my name," says Yahweh who does this. [13] "Behold, the days come," says Yahweh, "That the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the one treading grapes him who sows seed; And sweet wine will drip from the mountains, And flow from the hills. [14] I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens, And eat the fruit of them. [15] I will plant them on their land, And they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them," says Yahweh your God.

Caphtor was the Aegean homeland of the Philistines; Edom lay southeast of Judah; Egypt and Ethiopia represented powerful southern lands; Mount Carmel stood in northern Israel; and the Nile marked Egypt’s life-giving river. Their mention underscores God’s universal rule, inescapable judgment, and promised restoration of David’s house.

Places in this passage

Amos 9:1-15 mentions Caphtor, Edom, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mount Carmel and Nile.

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