The Locusts, Fire, and Plumb Line (Joel 2:1–11)
1 WBS Thus hath the Lord GOD shown to me; and behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 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 WBS And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? 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 WBS The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD. BSB BSB: So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.
4 WBS Thus hath the Lord GOD shown to me: and behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. 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 WBS Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. BSB BSB: Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”
6 WBS The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD. BSB BSB: So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.
7 WBS Thus he showed me: and behold, the LORD stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. 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 WBS And the LORD said to me, Amos, what seest thou? and I said, A plumb-line. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: 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 WBS And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; 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 WBS Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all 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 WBS For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. 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 WBS Also Amaziah said to Amos, O thou seer, go flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 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 WBS But prophesy not again any more at Beth-el: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. BSB BSB: But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
14 WBS Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit: 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 WBS And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD 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 WBS Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word 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 WBS Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go from his land into captivity. 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.’”