Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 26
14
IMMERSE
•
PROPHETS
7:14–8:8
But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never
trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig
trees. But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and
prophesy to my people in Israel.’ Now then, listen to this message from
the Lord:
“You say,
‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.
Stop preaching against my people.’
But this is what the Lord says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city,
and your sons and daughters will be killed.
Your land will be divided up,
and you yourself will die in a foreign land.
And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile,
far from their homeland.’”
Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. In it I saw a basket
filled with ripe fruit. “What do you see, Amos?” he asked.
I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.”
Then the Lord said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will
not delay their punishment again. In that day the singing in the temple
will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will
be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
Listen to this, you who rob the poor
and trample down the needy!
You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over
and the religious festivals to end
so you can get back to cheating the helpless.
You measure out grain with dishonest measures
and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.
And you mix the grain you sell
with chaff swept from the floor.
Then you enslave poor people
for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals.
Now the Lord has sworn this oath
by his own name, the Pride of Israel:
“I will never forget
the wicked things you have done!
The earth will tremble for your deeds,
and everyone will mourn.
