Amos 8:1

The LORD Gives Amos Another Vision

1 The LORD and King gave me a vision. He showed me a basket of ripe fruit.

Amos 8:1 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 8:1

Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me
Another vision, which is the fourth, and after the following manner: and, behold, a basket of summer fruit;
not of the first ripe fruit, but of such as were gathered at the close of the summer, when autumn began. So the Targum,

``the last of the summer fruit;''

such as were fully ripe, and would not keep till winter; or, if kept, would rot; but must be eaten directly, as some sort of apples, grapes, &c. denoting the people of Israel being ripe for destruction, and would be quickly devoured by their enemies; and that, as they had had a summer of prosperity, they would now have a sharp winter of adversity.

Amos 8:1 In-Context

1 The LORD and King gave me a vision. He showed me a basket of ripe fruit.

2 "What do you see, Amos?" he asked. "A basket of ripe fruit," I replied. Then the LORD said to me, "The time is ripe for my people Israel. I will no longer spare them.

3 "The time is coming when the songs in the temple will turn to crying," announces the LORD and King. "Many, many bodies will be thrown everywhere! So be quiet!"

4 Listen to me, you who walk all over needy people. You crush those who are poor in the land.

5 You say, "When will the New Moon Feast be over? Then we can sell our grain. When will the Sabbath day come to an end? Then people can buy our wheat." But you don't measure out the right amount. You raise your prices. You cheat others by using dishonest scales.