Amos 7:17

¹⁵ But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

¹⁶ Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
KJV: Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
WEB: Therefore the LORD says: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”
ASV: therefore thus saith Jehovah: 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 divided by line; and thou thyself shalt die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.
DARBY: Therefore thus saith Jehovah: 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 divided with the line; and thou shalt die in a land that is unclean; and Israel shall certainly go into captivity, out of his land.
BLB: Therefore, thus says YHWH: ‘Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. And your land will be divided by a line and You will die in an unclean land, and Israel will surely go into exile away from his land!’”

ÅB: Derfor sier Herren så: Din hustru skal drive hor i byen, og dine sønner og døtre skal falle for sverdet, og din jord skal deles med målesnor, og du selv skal dø i et urent land, og Israel skal bli bortført fra sitt land.
OTB: Derfor er dette hva Herren sier:
‘Din kone skal bli en prostituert i byen,
dine sønner og døtre skal falle for sverdet,
ditt land skal deles opp med en målesnor,
og du selv skal dø på uren jord.
Og Israel skal sikkert gå i eksil, bort fra sitt land.’”
B1930: Derfor sier Herren så: Din hustru skal drive hor i byen, og dine sønner og døtre skal falle for sverdet, og din jord skal deles med målesnor, og du selv skal dø i et urent land, og Israel skal bli bortført fra sitt land.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Hosea 9:3
They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
Read in context
2 Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
Read in context
Ezekiel 4:13
Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
Read in context
Jeremiah 28:16
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
Read in context
Hosea 4:13–14
They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
Read in context
Amos 7:11
for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
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Jeremiah 29:31–32
“Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
Read in context
Isaiah 13:16
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
Read in context