כֹּה הִרְאַנִי ה' אֱלוֹהִים וְהִנֵּה יוֹצֵר גֹּבַי בִּתְחִלַּת עֲלוֹת הַלָּקֶשׁ וְהִנֵּה־לֶקֶשׁ אַחַר גִּזֵּי הַמֶּלֶךְ

So the Lord God has shown me; behold, He forms locusts, which He brought at the initial sprouting of spring growth [lekesh], which is associated with malkosh, the final rains of the winter, and behold, spring growth is after the king’s shearings of the sheep.

וְהָיָה אִם כִּלָּה לֶאֱכוֹל אֶת־עֵשֶׂב הָאָרֶץ וָאֹמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים סְלַח־נָא מִי יָקוּם יַעֲקֹב כִּי קָטֹן הוּא

It was when it, the plague of locusts, completed devouring the vegetation of the land, that I said: Lord God, please forgive. How will Jacob arise, as he is small? Will Jacob be capable of recovering from this disaster? He is weak and cannot withstand such a heavy blow.

נִחַם ה' עַל־זֹאת לֹא תִהְיֶה אָמַר ה'

The Lord reconsidered concerning this, and declared: It, the plague, shall not be, said the Lord.

כֹּה הִרְאַנִי ה' אֱלוֹהִים וְהִנֵּה קֹרֵא לָרִב בָּאֵשׁ ה' אֱלוֹהִים וַתֹּאכַל אֶת־תְּהוֹם רַבָּה וְאָכְלָה אֶת־הַחֵלֶק

So again, the Lord God has shown me a vision: Behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire; and it, the fire that He brought, consumed with tremendous intensity the Great Deep and consumed the section, tracts of land.

וָאֹמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים חֲדַל־נָא מִי יָקוּם יַעֲקֹב כִּי קָטֹן הוּא

I said again: Lord God, please cease this calamity. How will Jacob arise, as he is small?

נִחַם ה' עַל־זֹאת גַּם־הִיא לֹא תִהְיֶה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים

Once more, the Lord reconsidered concerning this: This too shall not be, said the Lord God.

כֹּה הִרְאַנִי וְהִנֵּה אֲדֹנָי נִצָּב עַל־חוֹמַת אֲנָךְ וּבְיָדוֹ אֲנָךְ

So He showed me another prophetic vision, and behold: The Lord stood beside a level wall that was tall and straight, with a plumb line, a tool consisting of a weight suspended from a long string, which is used to determine verticality, in His hand, to ensure that the wall was perfectly straight.

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלַי מָה־אַתָּה רֹאֶה עָמוֹס וָאֹמַר אֲנָךְ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲדֹנָי הִנְנִי שָׂם אֲנָךְ בְּקֶרֶב עַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא־אוֹסִיף עוֹד עֲבוֹר לוֹ

The Lord said to me: What do you see, Amos? I said: A plumb line. The Lord said: Behold, I am placing a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel, and I will evaluate their actions with precision. I will not continue to tolerate them any longer.

וְנָשַׁמּוּ בָּמוֹת יִשְׂחָק וּמִקְדְּשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל יֶחֱרָבוּ וְקַמְתִּי עַל־בֵּית יָרָבְעָם בֶּחָרֶב

The shrines of the descendants of Isaac will become desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be destroyed; I will rise against the house of Yorovam with the sword. Although the house of Yehu, which included Yorovam, the subject of this verse, had survived for longer than any other dynasty in the Kingdom of Israel, it too will ultimately be destroyed, and Yorovam’s son King Zekharyahu will die by the sword.

וַיִּשְׁלַח אֲמַצְיָה כֹּהֵן בֵּית־אֵל אֶל־יָרָבְעָם מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר קָשַׁר עָלֶיךָ עָמוֹס בְּקֶרֶב בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא־תוּכַל הָאָרֶץ לְהָכִיל אֶת־כָּל־דְּבָרָיו

Amatzya, priest of the idol in Beit El, sent a message to Yorovam king of Israel, saying: Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel, as he is publicly inciting rebellion; the land, the kingdom, cannot contain all his words.

כִּי־כֹה אָמַר עָמוֹס בַּחֶרֶב יָמוּת יָרָבְעָם וְיִשְׂרָאֵל גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה מֵעַל אַדְמָתוֹ

For so said Amos: Yorovam will die by the sword, and Israel will be exiled from its land. In truth, Amos had referred only to the house of Yorovam, not to the king himself, but Amatzya exaggerated so that the king would take measures against the prophet.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֲמַצְיָה אֶל־עָמוֹס חֹזֶה לֵךְ בְּרַח־לְךָ אֶל־אֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה וֶאֱכָל־שָׁם לֶחֶם וְשָׁם תִּנָּבֵא

Amatzya said to Amos himself: Seer, go, flee to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, as they will sustain you there, and you may prophesy there as you wish. Indeed, Amos originally came from Judah, even though he addressed his prophecies primarily to the Kingdom of Israel.

ובֵית־אֵל לֹא־תוֹסִיף עוֹד לְהִנָּבֵא כִּי מִקְדַּשׁ־מֶלֶךְ הוּא וּבֵית מַמְלָכָה הוּא

But do not continue to prophesy in Beit El any longer, as it is the sanctuary of the king, and it is the seat of a kingdom. In comparison to the large Kingdom of Israel, Judah was small and destitute. Amatzya considers Amos a simpleton and a nuisance. The prophet had come from a small village to Beit El, which was not only the center of idolatrous worship but also the residence of the king and the center of his power.

וַיַּעַן עָמוֹס וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־אֲמַצְיָה לֹא־נָבִיא אָנֹכִי וְלֹא בֶן־נָבִיא אָנֹכִי כִּי בוֹקֵר אָנֹכִי וּבוֹלֵס שִׁקְמִים

Amos answered and said to Amatzya: I am not a prophet of my own free will, and I am not the son of a prophet, one for whom prophecy is a livelihood, for I am a cattle herder and a tender of sycamores.

וַיִּקָּחֵנִי ה' מֵאַחֲרֵי הַצֹּאן וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי ה' לֵךְ הִנָּבֵא אֶל־עַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל

The Lord took me from looking after the flock, and the Lord said to me: Go prophesy to My people Israel. I had not intended to receive prophecy, nor undergone any preparations, and yet God took me from my agrarian pursuits and charged me with this task.

וְעַתָּה שְׁמַע דְּבַר־ה' אַתָּה אֹמֵר לֹא תִנָּבֵא עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא תַטִּיף עַל־בֵּית יִשְׂחָק

Now hear the word of the Lord: You, Amatzya, say to me: Do not prophesy concerning Israel, and do not preach concerning the house of Isaac, as this is not your local region.

לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אִשְׁתְּךָ בָּעִיר תִּזְנֶה וּבָנֶיךָ וּבְנֹתֶיךָ בַּחֶרֶב יִפֹּלוּ וְאַדְמָתְךָ בַּחֶבֶל תְּחֻלָּק וְאַתָּה עַל־אֲדָמָה טְמֵאָה תָּמוּת וְיִשְׂרָאֵל גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה מֵעַל אַדְמָתוֹ

Therefore, so said the Lord: Your wife will engage in licentiousness in the city of her own volition, due to her base character; alternatively, this means that she will be raped by enemies. Your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, and your land will be plundered and divided with a measuring line. Enemies will measure the land with rope in order to split it equally among them. You will not remain in the Land of Israel, but will die on impure land, in exile, as all countries outside Israel are termed impure. And Israel will be exiled from its soil, as I prophesied. The prophecy will come to pass, and you yourself will suffer from the catastrophic events.