Free Bible VersionBerean Standard Bible

1. The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line

   (Joel 2:1–11)

2. 1FBVThis is what the Lord God showed me. I saw that he was preparing a swarm of locusts just when the spring crops began to grow. (Spring crops begin to grow right after the time when the king's hay is cut.)BSBBSB: 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.
3. 2FBVAnd so when the locusts finished eating every green plant in the fields, I pleaded with the Lord God, “Please forgive your people! How can the descendants of Jacob survive? They are so weak.”BSBBSB: 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?”
4. 3FBVSo the Lord changed his mind. “It won't happen,” said the Lord.BSBBSB: So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.
5. 4FBVThis is what the Lord God showed me. I saw that the Lord God was calling for a judgment of fire. The fire burned up the depths of the sea and destroyed the farmland.BSBBSB: 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.
6. 5FBVI pleaded with the Lord God, “Please stop! How can the descendants of Jacob survive? They are so weak.”BSBBSB: Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
7. 6FBVSo the Lord changed his mind. “This too won't happen,” said the Lord.BSBBSB: So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.
8. 7FBVThis is what he showed me. I saw the Lord was standing beside a wall that had been built with a plumb line. He was holding a plumb line in his hand.BSBBSB: This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
9. 8FBVAnd the Lord asked me, “Amos, what do you see?” I replied, “A plumb line.” And the Lord God said, “I am placing a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I won't ignore their sins anymore.BSBBSB: “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:
10. 9FBVThe high places of the descendants of Isaac will be torn down, and the holy places of Israel will be destroyed. Sword in hand, I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam.”BSBBSB: 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.”

11. Amaziah Accuses Amos

12. 10FBVThen Amaziah, priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, “Amos is plotting against you among the people of Israel. What he's saying is unbearable!BSBBSB: 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,
13. 11FBVFor he's saying Jeroboam will be killed by the sword, and the people will be taken away from their land into exile.”BSBBSB: for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
14. 12FBVAmaziah said to Amos, “Go away prophet! Run away to the land of Judah. Go and prophesy there to earn your bread.BSBBSB: And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
15. 13FBVBut don't ever prophesy again at Bethel, for this is where the king worships, the national Temple.”BSBBSB: But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
16. 14FBVBut Amos replied, “I'm not a trained prophet, or the son of a prophet. I was just a shepherd, and also took care of fig trees.BSBBSB: “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.
17. 15FBVThe Lord took me from following my flock, and the Lord told me, ‘Go, and give my message to my people of Israel.’”BSBBSB: But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
18. 16FBVSo now hear what the Lord is telling you: You say, “Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach against the descendants of Isaac.”BSBBSB: Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
19. 17FBVBut this is what the Lord says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city; your sons and daughters will be killed by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a foreign land. The people of Israel will definitely be taken from the land and go into exile.BSBBSB: 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.’”