6“But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities

And lack of bread in all your places,

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

7“Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you

While there were still three months until harvest.

Then I would send rain on one city

And on another city I would not send rain;

One part would be rained on,

While the part not rained on would dry up.

8So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water,

But would not be satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

9“I smote you with scorching wind and mildew;

And the caterpillar was devouring

Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

10“I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt;

I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses,

And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

The Impartiality of God

1Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 9There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11For there is no partiality with God.

1) How does Amos show יהוה’s purpose in judgment?

2) Where do you see both kindness and severity in יהוה’s dealings?

3) What warnings do you hear about ignoring יהוה’s mercy?

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

1That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2To Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3“Line up the shield and buckler,

And draw near for the battle!

4Harness the horses,

And mount the steeds,

And take your stand with helmets on!

Polish the spears,

Put on the scale-armor!

5Why have I seen it?

They are terrified,

They are drawing back,

And their mighty men are defeated

And have taken refuge in flight,

Without facing back;

Terror is on every side!”

Declares the Lord.

6Let not the swift man flee,

Nor the mighty man escape;

In the north beside the river Euphrates

They have stumbled and fallen.

7Who is this that rises like the Nile,

Like the rivers whose waters surge about?

8Egypt rises like the Nile,

Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;

And He has said, “I will rise and cover that land;

I will surely destroy the city and its inhabitants.”

9Go up, you horses, and drive madly, you chariots,

That the mighty men may march forward:

Ethiopia and Put, that handle the shield,

And the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.

10For that day belongs to the Lord God of hosts,

A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;

And the sword will devour and be satiated

And drink its fill of their blood;

For there will be a slaughter for the Lord God of hosts,

In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

11Go up to Gilead and obtain balm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain have you multiplied remedies;

There is no healing for you.

12The nations have heard of your shame,

And the earth is full of your cry of distress;

For one warrior has stumbled over another,

And both of them have fallen down together.

13This is the message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt:

14“Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol,

Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes;

Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,

For the sword has devoured those around you.’

15Why have your mighty ones become prostrate?

They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them down.

16They have repeatedly stumbled;

Indeed, they have fallen one against another.

Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go back

To our own people and our native land

Away from the sword of the oppressor.’

17They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise;

He has let the appointed time pass by!’

18As I live,” declares the King

Whose name is the Lord of hosts,

“Surely one shall come who looms up like Tabor among the mountains,

Or like Carmel by the sea.

19Make your baggage ready for exile,

O daughter dwelling in Egypt,

For Memphis will become a desolation;

It will even be burned down and bereft of inhabitants.

20Egypt is a pretty heifer,

But a horsefly is coming from the north—it is coming!

21Also her mercenaries in her midst

Are like fattened calves,

For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;

They did not stand their ground.

For the day of their calamity has come upon them,

The time of their punishment.

22Its sound moves along like a serpent;

For they move on like an army

And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

23They have cut down her forest,” declares the Lord;

“Surely it will no more be found,

Even though they are now more numerous than locusts

And are without number.

24The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,

Given over to the power of the people of the north.”

25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26I shall give them over to the power of those who are seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his officers. Afterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.

27“But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear,

Nor be dismayed, O Israel!

For, see, I am going to save you from afar,

And your descendants from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob will return and be undisturbed

And secure, with no one making him tremble.

28O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,

“For I am with you.

For I will make a full end of all the nations

Where I have driven you,

Yet I will not make a full end of you;

But I will correct you properly

And by no means leave you unpunished.”

Vision of the Four Beasts

1In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it. 2Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. 4The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. 5And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ 6After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

9“I kept looking

Until thrones were set up,

And the Ancient of Days took His seat;

His vesture was like white snow

And the hair of His head like pure wool.

His throne was ablaze with flames,

Its wheels were a burning fire.

10A river of fire was flowing

And coming out from before Him;

Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,

And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;

The court sat,

And the books were opened.

11Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. 12As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.

The Son of Man Presented

13“I kept looking in the night visions,

And behold, with the clouds of heaven

One like a Son of Man was coming,

And He came up to the Ancient of Days

And was presented before Him.

14And to Him was given dominion,

Glory and a kingdom,

That all the peoples, nations and men of every language

Might serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

Which will not pass away;

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed.

The Vision Interpreted

15“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. 16I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: 17‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. 18But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’

19“Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. 21I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them 22until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

23“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. 24As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. 25He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. 27Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’

28“At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

11“I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

12“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

13For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind

And declares to man what are His thoughts,

He who makes dawn into darkness

And treads on the high places of the earth,

The Lord God of hosts is His name.