Amos
A shepherd and dresser of sycamore figs from Tekoa in Judah, sent north to prophesy against Israel in the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II. He opened by pronouncing judgement on the surrounding nations — and then turned it on Israel itself. His theme is justice: they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, they trample the poor and lie on beds of ivory. Told by the priest Amaziah to go back to Judah and earn his bread there, he answered that he was no prophet nor a prophet's son, but the Lord took him from following the flock.
What we know — and how we know it
Where in scripture
AmosThe words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Amos 1:1 — A shepherd among the prophets
But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Amos 5:24 — 'Let justice roll down like waters'
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
In their own words — 8 recorded sayings
“And he said, The Lord will give a lion's cry from Zion, his voice will be sounding from Jerusalem; and the fields of the keepers of sheep will become dry, and the top of Carmel will be wasted away. These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Damascus, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have been crushing Gilead with iron grain-crushing instruments.” — Amos 1:2-3
“The virgin of Israel has been made low, never again to be lifted up: she is stretched out by herself on her land; there is no one to put her on her feet again.” — Amos 5:2
“And it came about that after they had taken all the grass of the land, I said, O Lord God, have mercy: how will Jacob be able to keep his place? for he is small.” — Amos 7:2
“And the Lord said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A weighted line. Then the Lord said, See, I will let down a weighted line among my people Israel; never again will my eyes be shut to their sin:” — Amos 7:8
“Then Amos in answer said to Amaziah, I am no prophet, or one of the sons of the prophets; I am a herdman and one who takes care of sycamore-trees: And the Lord took me from the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, be a prophet to my people Israel.” — Amos 7:14-15
“Now then, give ear to the word of the Lord: You say, Be no prophet to Israel, and say not a word against the people of Isaac.” — Amos 7:16
“So this is what the Lord has said: Your wife will be a loose woman in the town, and your sons and your daughters will be put to the sword, and your land will be cut up into parts by a line; and you yourself will come to your end in an unclean land, and Israel will certainly be taken away a prisoner out of his land.” — Amos 7:17
“And he said, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then the Lord said to me, The end has come to my people Israel; never again will my eyes be shut to their sin.” — Amos 8:2
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
In art
