Amos

A farmer from Judah preaches to wealthy northern Israel. He condemns empty worship alongside the oppression of the poor, and calls for justice to roll down like waters.

Author

The prophet Amos, a shepherd

Written

About 760 BC

Chapters

1. 1Amos 1Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa, announces God’s judgment on Israel’s neighbours for their cruelty.
2. 2Amos 2Judgment on Judah for rejecting God’s law, and on Israel for selling the needy and trampling the poor.
3. 3Amos 3God chose Israel, so he will hold them responsible. The lion has roared, so who will not fear?
4. 4Amos 4Israel has not returned to God despite many warnings. “Prepare to meet your God.”
5. 5Amos 5“Seek the Lord and live.” God hates empty festivals: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
6. 6Amos 6Woe to those at ease in Zion, lounging on ivory beds while the nation is ruined.
7. 7Amos 7Visions of locusts, fire and a plumb line. The priest Amaziah tells Amos to go home.
8. 8Amos 8A basket of summer fruit: the end has come. A famine of hearing the word of the Lord is coming.
9. 9Amos 9No one will escape judgment. But God will restore David’s fallen tent, and Israel will be planted in the land forever.