The Destruction of Israel

Amos 9

1 I saw the Lord standing beside 1 the altar, and he said:
e "Strike the capitals until e the thresholds f shake,
g and shatter them on the heads of all the people; 2
and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
h not one of them shall flee away;
not one of them shall escape.

2 i "If they dig into Sheol,
from there shall my hand take them;
i if they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.
 3 If they hide themselves on j the top of Carmel,
from there I will search them out and take them;
k and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
 4 l And if they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
m and I will fix my eyes upon them
for evil and not for good."

5 The Lord God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and n it melts,
and all who dwell in it mourn,
o and all of it rises like the Nile,
o and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
 6 p who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
and founds his vault upon the earth;
q who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth -
r the Lord is his name.

7 "Are you not like s the Cushites to me,
O people of Israel?" declares the Lord.
t "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
and u the Philistines from v Caphtor and the Syrians from w Kir?
 8 Behold, x the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,
y except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,"
declares the Lord.

9 "For behold, I will command,
z and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, a 'Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.'

  1. Cross References
    Zephaniah 2:14
    Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts; even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.
  2. Cross References
    Zephaniah 2:14
    Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts; even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 6:4
    And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
  4. Cross References
    Judges 16:26 - 30
    And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, "Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.
  5. Cross References
    Amos 2:14
    Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life.
  6. Cross References
    Psalms 139:8 - 10
    If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 139:8 - 10
    If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
  8. Cross References
    Amos 1:2
    And he said: "The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.
  9. Cross References
    Job 26:5
    The dead tremble under the waters and their inhabitants.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:65
    And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:10
    For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord : it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
  12. Cross References
    Psalms 46:6
    The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
  13. Cross References
    Amos 8:8
    Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
  14. Cross References
    Amos 8:8
    Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
  15. Cross References
    Psalms 104:3
    He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind.
    Psalms 104:5
    He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.
  16. Cross References
    Amos 5:8
    He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name.
  17. Cross References
    Amos 4:13
    For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
  18. Cross References
    Zephaniah 3:10
    From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.
  19. Cross References
    Exodus 20:2
    I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 47:4
    Because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remains. For the Lord is destroying the Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 10:14
    Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.
  22. Cross References
    Amos 1:5
    I will break the gate-bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir," says the Lord.
  23. Cross References
    Amos 9:4
    And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:11
    For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord ; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
    Obadiah 1:17
    But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:7
    I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land; I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people; they did not turn from their ways.
    Matthew 3:12
    His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
    Luke 3:17
    His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
  26. Cross References
    Amos 6:3
    O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence?
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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