The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line (Joel 2:1–11)
1 ULT Thus the Lord Yahweh made me see, and behold,{ he} was forming a locust swarm at the beginning of the coming up of the latter growth. And behold, the latter growth{ was} after the mowings of the king. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.
2 ULT And it happened, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,“Lord Yahweh, please forgive! How will Jacob stand? For he{ is} small.” BSB BSB: And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
3 ULT Yahweh relented concerning this.“It will not be,” said Yahweh. BSB BSB: So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.
4 ULT Thus the Lord Yahweh made me see, and behold, the Lord Yahweh was calling to contend by fire. And it devoured the great deep and was devouring the portion. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
5 ULT And I said,“Lord Yahweh, please cease! How will Jacob stand? For he{ is} small.” BSB BSB: Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
6 ULT Yahweh relented concerning this.“This also will not be,” said the Lord Yahweh. BSB BSB: So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.
7 ULT Thus he made me see, and behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall of a plumb line, and in his hand{ was} a plumb line. BSB BSB: This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
8 ULT And Yahweh said to me,“What are you seeing, Amos?” And I said,“A plumb line.” And the Lord said,“Behold me placing a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not again repeat to pass over him. BSB BSB: “Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them:
9 ULT And the high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be desolate, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” BSB BSB: The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”
Amaziah Accuses Amos 10 ULT Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying,“Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to contain all of his words. BSB BSB: Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words,
11 ULT For thus Amos says,‘By the sword Jeroboam will die, and Israel, going into exile, will go into exile from upon his ground.’” BSB BSB: for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
12 ULT And Amaziah said to Amos,“Seer, go, flee for yourself to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and there you shall prophesy. BSB BSB: And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
13 ULT But{ at} Bethel you shall not repeat to prophesy again, for it{ is} a sanctuary of the king, and it{ is} a house of a kingdom.” BSB BSB: But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
14 ULT And Amos answered and said to Amaziah,“I{ am} not a prophet, and I{ am} not a son of a prophet, for I{ am} a herdsman, and a tender of sycamore figs. BSB BSB: “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
15 ULT But Yahweh took me from after the flock, and Yahweh said to me,‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ BSB BSB: But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
16 ULT And now, hear the word of Yahweh. You are saying,‘You shall not prophesy against Israel, and you shall not drip against the house of Isaac.’ BSB BSB: Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
17 ULT Therefore, thus says Yahweh,‘Your wife will prostitute herself in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, and your ground will be divided by the measuring line, and you, you will die on unclean ground, and Israel, going into exile, will go into exile from upon his ground.’” BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”