Amos 7:1-9

1The Lord God showed a vision to me. I saw a crowd of locusts. The Lord was ready to send them to destroy the crops in the fields. They would come after we had taken the early crops to give to the king. Then the later crops were beginning to make grain.

2I saw that the locusts came and they ate everything. I asked the Lord, ‘Lord God, please forgive your people. We cannot continue to live if those locusts destroy our food. We are too weak!’

3Then the Lord decided not to do it. He said to me, ‘That will not happen.’

4After that, the Lord God showed to me a vision of a fire. He was ready to send it to punish us. I saw that it caused the deep sea to become dry. It also burnt all the land.

5I said, ‘Lord God, please do not do that! Your people cannot continue to live. We are too weak!’

6Then the Lord decided not to do it. He said to me, ‘That too will not happen.’

7Then the Lord showed this vision to me. The Lord God was standing next to a wall. In his hand was a string with a heavy weight on its end. The Lord was hanging the string down the wall. He was looking to see whether the wall was straight.

8He asked me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ I said, ‘You are measuring the wall to see if it is straight.’ The Lord said, ‘Understand this. I am ready to measure my people with this string. I will test them and I will punish them for their sins. I will not forgive them any more.

9I will send enemies to destroy the holy places of Isaac's descendants. All Israel's holy places will fall down. Enemies will use swords to kill King Jeroboam and his family.’