Amos 7:7-17

7 Thus the Lord shewed me; and behold, he stood upon a wall of adamant, and in his hand an adamant.
8 And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, An adamant. And the Lord said to me, Behold, I appoint an adamant in the midst of my people Israel: I will not pass by them any more.
9 And the joyful altars shall be abolished, and the sacrifices of Israel shall be set aside; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
10 Then Amasias the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos is forming conspiracies against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land will be utterly unable to bear all his words.
11 For thus says Amos, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be led away captive from his land.
12 And Amasias said to Amos, Go, seer, remove thou into the land of Juda, and live there, and thou shalt prophesy there:
13 but thou shalt no longer prophesy at Bethel: for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the royal house.
14 And Amos answered, and said to Amasias, I was not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet; but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruits.
15 And the Lord took me from the sheep, and the Lord said to me, Go, and prophesy to my people Israel.
16 And now hear the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not to Israel, and raise not a tumult against the house of Jacob.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be measured with the line; and thou shalt die in an unclean land; and Israel shall be led captive out of his land. Thus has the Lord God shewed me.

Amos 7:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 7

In this and the two following chapters are the visions of Amos, in number five; three of which are contained in this chapter, and with which it begins. The first is of the grasshoppers or locusts eating up the later grass of the land, which are stopped at the intercession of the prophet, Am 7:1-3; the second is of fire the Lord called for to contend by, whose devouring flames are made to cease by the same interposition, Am 7:4-6; and the other is of the plumbline, signifying the utter destruction of the people of Israel, according to the righteous judgment of God, Am 7:7-9; upon the delivery of which prophecies and visions, the priest of Bethel forms a charge against the prophet to the king; and advises Amos to flee into Judea, and prophesy there, and not at Bethel, being willing to be rid of him at any rate, Am 7:10-13; next follows the prophet's vindication of himself showing his divine call to the prophetic office, and his mission and express order he had from the Lord to prophesy unto Israel, Am 7:14,15; and concludes with a denunciation of divine judgments on the priest's family, and upon the whole land of Israel, Am 7:16,17.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.