כֹּה הִרְאַנִי ה' אֱלוֹהִים וְהִנֵּה כְּלוּב קָיִץ

So the Lord God has shown me: Behold, there was a large basket of figs.

וַיֹּאמֶר מָה־אַתָּה רֹאֶה עָמוֹס וָאֹמַר כְּלוּב קָיִץ וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלַי בָּא הַקֵּץ אֶל־עַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא־אוֹסִיף עוֹד עֲבוֹר לוֹ

He said: What do you see, Amos? I said: A basket of figs [kayitz]. The Lord said to me: This vision signifies that the end [ketz] has come upon My people Israel; I will not continue to tolerate them any longer.

וְהֵילִילוּ שִׁירוֹת הֵיכָל בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים רַב הַפֶּגֶר בְּכָל־מָקוֹם הִשְׁלִיךְ הָס

The royal hymns and songs of the palace will be transformed into wails on that day – the utterance of the Lord God – many are the corpses, in every place a deathly silence is cast.

שִׁמְעוּ־זֹאת הַשֹּׁאֲפִים אֶבְיוֹן וְלַשְׁבִּית עֲנִיֵּי אָרֶץ

Hear this, those who tread on or swallow up the indigent and destroy the poor of the land,

לֵאמֹר מָתַי יַעֲבֹר הַחֹדֶשׁ וְנַשְׁבִּירָה שֶּׁבֶר והַשַּׁבָּת וְנִפְתְּחָה־בָּר לְהַקְטִין אֵיפָה וּלְהַגְדִּיל שֶׁקֶל וּלְעַוֵּת מֹאזְנֵי מִרְמָה

saying: When will the New Moon pass and we will sell grain and engage in business dealings? It was customary not to engage in commerce on the New Moon. When will the Sabbath pass, and we will open the storehouses of grain? They were keen to exploit the poor through corrupt business tactics. Examples of such deceitful practices were to reduce the ephah, the measure used to weigh the produce they sold, to increase the weight of the shekel, by which they were paid, and to distort the deceitful scales;

לִקְנוֹת בַּכֶּסֶף דַּלִּים וְאֶבְיוֹן בַּעֲבוּר נַעֲלָיִם ומַפַּל בַּר נַשְׁבִּיר

to buy the poor for silver, as slaves, and the impoverished for shoes, a measly sum, and sell off the refuse of the grain.

נִשְׁבַּע ה' בִּגְאוֹן יַעֲקֹב אִם־אֶשְׁכַּח לָנֶצַח כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם

The Lord took an oath by the pride [ge’on] of Jacob: I will never forget all their actions. The word ge’on can mean the greatness of Jacob, or it might be referring to the Temple. Although the people apparently observed the commandments and refrained from commercial dealings on the holy days, all the while their minds were occupied with schemes for exploiting the poor.

הַעַל זֹאת לֹא־תִרְגַּז הָאָרֶץ וְאָבַל כָּל־יוֹשֵׁב בָּהּ וְעָלְתָה כָאֹר כֻּלָּהּ וְנִגְרְשָׁה וְנִשְׁקְעָה כִּיאוֹר מִצְרָיִם!

Will the land not quake for this conduct, and all who dwell in it mourn; and all of the water in it rise like the Nile so that it be flooded, and be displaced and submerged in water, like the Nile of Egypt? The land will be entirely destroyed, although this verse does not necessarily mean that it will be destroyed by water.

וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים וְהֵבֵאתִי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בַּצָּהֳרָיִם וְהַחֲשַׁכְתִּי לָאָרֶץ בְּיוֹם אוֹר

It shall be on that day – the utterance of the Lord God – that I will cause the sun to set early at noon, and I will darken the earth on a day of light.

וְהָפַכְתִּי חַגֵּיכֶם לְאֵבֶל וְכָל־שִׁירֵיכֶם לְקִינָה וְהַעֲלֵיתִי עַל־כָּל־מָתְנַיִם שָׂק וְעַל־כָּל־רֹאשׁ קָרְחָה וְשַׂמְתִּיהָ כְּאֵבֶל יָחִיד וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ כְּיוֹם מָר

I will transform your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into lament; I will put sackcloth, the customary garb for those in mourning, on all waists, and baldness on every head, as detaching hairs from one’s head was also an act of mourning; I will make it, the experience of the people of Israel, like that of mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day, the day of death itself.

הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים וְהִשְׁלַחְתִּי רָעָב בָּאָרֶץ לֹא־רָעָב לַלֶּחֶם וְלֹא־צָמָא לַמַּיִם כִּי אִם־לִשְׁמֹעַ אֵת דִּבְרֵי ה'

After the previous harsh prophecy, the prophet offers some words of consolation: Behold, days are coming – the utterance of the Lord God – and I will send famine in the land; but it will not be a famine for bread, and not a thirst for water, but a thirst to hear the words of the Lord. A time will yet arrive when people will yearn to hear the word of God.

וְנָעוּ מִיָּם עַד־יָם וּמִצָּפוֹן וְעַד־מִזְרָח יְשׁוֹטְטוּ לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־דְּבַר־ה' וְלֹא יִמְצָאוּ

They will wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they will roam to seek the word of the Lord, and they will not find it.

בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא תִּתְעַלַּפְנָה הַבְּתוּלֹת הַיָּפוֹת וְהַבַּחוּרִים בַּצָּמָא

On that day, the fair virgins and the young men will faint from thirst. In a period of water shortage, delicate young women are generally given to drink first, but the prophet is speaking of a time when there will be no water available at all. Moreover, although young men can sometimes endure without much water, on that day they will lose consciousness. There will be an intense yearning for the word of God, but not all will be able to withstand the extreme drought.

הַנִּשְׁבָּעִים בְּאַשְׁמַת שֹׁמְרוֹן וְאָמְרוּ חֵי אֱלֹהֶיךָ דָּן וְחֵי דֶּרֶךְ בְּאֵר־שָׁבַע וְנָפְלוּ וְלֹא־יָקוּמוּ עוֹד

Those who take an oath by the sin of Samaria, its idols, and say: As your god lives, Dan, and: As the way of Beersheba lives; they, these sinners, will fall, and they will not rise again. Dan and Beersheba are singled out for the idolatry worshipped in those places, such as the golden calf in Samaria, dating back to the days of Yorovam son of Nevat.