Septuagint · Amos §7.1-7.17

Three Visions of Amos and Conflict with Amaziah

Passage 7 of 9 · Greek

Summary

Amos is shown three visions—locusts, fire, and adamant—interceding successfully to avert the first two, but receiving a decree of inevitable judgment with the third. Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, attempts to banish Amos for treason, but Amos declares his divine calling and prophesies Amaziah's personal ruin.

§7.1Οὕτως ἔδειξέν μοι Κύριος ὁ θεός, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπιγονὴ ἀκρίδων ἐρχομένη ἑωθινή, καὶ ἰδοὺ βροῦχος εἷς Γὼγ ὁ βασιλεύς.

Thus the Lord God showed me: and behold, a swarm of locusts coming in the morning; and behold, one caterpillar, Gog the king.

§7.2καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν συντελέσῃ τοῦ καταφαγεῖν τὸν χόρτον τῆς γῆς, καὶ εἶπα Κύριε Κύριε, ἵλεως γενοῦ· τίς ἀναστήσει τὸν Ἰακώβ;

And it shall come to pass, when it has finished eating the grass of the land, that I said, "O Lord, Lord, be merciful; who shall raise up Jacob?

ὅτι ὀλιγοστός ἐστιν· §7.3μετανόησον, Κύριε, ἐπὶ τούτῳ. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔσται, λέγει Κύριος.

For he is small." "Relent, O Lord, concerning this." "And this shall not be," says the Lord.

§7.4Οὕτως ἔδειξέν μοι Κύριος, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐκάλεσεν τὴν δίκην ἐν πυρὶ Κύριος, καὶ κατέφαγε τὴν ἄβυσσον τὴν πολλήν, καὶ κατέφαγεν τὴν μερίδα Κυρίου.

Thus the Lord showed me: and behold, the Lord called for judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and it devoured the portion of the Lord.

§7.5καὶ εἶπα Κύριε, κόπασον δή· τίς ἀναστήσει τὸν Ἰακώβ;

And I said, "O Lord, cease, pray; who shall raise up Jacob?

ὅτι ὀλιγοστός ἐστιν· §7.6μετανόησον, Κύριε, ἐπὶ τούτῳ. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐ μὴ γένηται, λέγει Κύριος.

For he is small." "Relent, O Lord, concerning this." "And this shall by no means be," says the Lord.

§7.7Οὕτως ἔδειξέν μοι Κύριος, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἑστηκὼς ἐπὶ τείχους ἀδαμαντίνου, καὶ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ ἀδάμας.

Thus the Lord showed me: and behold, he was standing upon a wall of adamant, and in his hand was adamant.

§7.8καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρὸς μέ Τί σὺ ὁρᾷς. Ἀμώς καὶ εἶπα Ἀδάμαντα. καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρὸς μέ Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐντάσσω ἀδάμαντα ἐν μέσῳ λαοῦ μου Ἰσραήλ, οὐκ ἔτι μὴ προσθῶ τοῦ παρελθεῖν αὐτόν· §7.9καὶ ἀφανισθήσονται βωμοὶ τοῦ γέλωτος, καὶ αἱ τελεταὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐρημωθήσονται, καὶ ἀναστήσομαι ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰεροβοὰμ ἐν όομφαίᾳ. §7.10Καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν Ἀμασίας ὁ ἱερεὺς Βαιθὴλ πρὸς Ἰεροβοὰμ βασιλέα Ἰσραὴλ λέγων Συστροφὰς ποιεῖται κατὰ σοῦ Ἀμὼς ἐν μέσῳ οἵκου Ἰσραήλ·

And the Lord said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" and I said, "Adamant." And the Lord said to me, "Behold, I am setting adamant in the midst of my people Israel; I will no longer pass him by again." And the altars of laughter shall be demolished, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." And Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos has made conspiracies against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.

οὐ μὴ δύνηται ἡ γῆ ὑπενεγκεῖν πάντας τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ. §7.11διότι τάδε λέγει Ἀμώς Ἐν όομφαίᾳ τελευτήσει Ἰεροβοάμ, ὁ δὲ Ἰσραὴλ αἰχμάλωτος ἀχθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ. §7.12καὶ εἶπεν Ἀμασίας πρὸς Ἀμώς Ὁ ὁρῶν, βάδιζε, ἐκχώρησον σὺ εἰς γῆν Ἰούδα, καὶ ἐκεῖ καταβίου, καὶ ἐκεῖ προφητεύσεις· §7.13εἰς δὲ Βαιθὴλ οὐκέτι προσθήσεις τοῦ προφητεῦσαι, ὅτι ἁγίασμα βασιλέως ἐστίν, καὶ οἶκος βασιλείας ἐστίν. §7.14καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Ἀμὼς καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Ἀμασίαν Οὐκ ἤμην προφήτης ἐγὼ οὐδὲ υἱὸς προφήτου, ἀλλʼ ἢ αἰπόλος ἤμην καὶ κνίζων συκάμινα.

For thus Amos says: 'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be led away captive from his land.'" And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, depart into the land of Judah, and there live, and there prophesy; but in Bethel you shall no longer prophesy again, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom." And Amos answered and said to Amaziah, "I was not a prophet, nor a son of a prophet, but I was a goat herd and one who nipped sycamore fruit.

§7.15καὶ ἀνέλαβέν με Κύριος ἐκ τῶν προβάτων, καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρὸς μέ Βάδιζε, προφήτευσον ἐπὶ τὸν λαόν μου Ἰσραήλ. §7.16καὶ νῦν ἄκουε λόγον Κυρίου Σὺ λέγεις Μὴ προφήτευε ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ὀχλαγωγήσεις ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακώβ· §7.17διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει Κύριος Ἡ γυνή σου ἐν τῇ πόλει πορνεύσει, καὶ οἱ υἱοί σου καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες σου ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ πεσοῦνται, καὶ ἡ γῆ σου ἐν σχοινίῳ καταμετρηθήσεται, καὶ σὺ ἐν γῇ ἀκαθάρτῳ τελευτήσεις, ὁ δὲ Ἰσραὴλ αἰχμάλωτος ἀχθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ.

And the Lord took me from the sheep, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy against my people Israel.' And now hear the word of the Lord: You say, 'Prophesy not against Israel, and make no tumult against the house of Jacob.' Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be measured with a line, and you shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall be led away captive from his land.'"

Notes

7.2καὶ ἔσται ... καὶ εἶπα — The καί introducing the main clause after the conditional clause (ἐὰν...) is an "apodotic καί," reflecting a literal translation of the Hebrew coordinating conjunction w-. While redundant in classical Greek syntax, it strongly preserves the Semitic style of the original Hebrew.
7.8οὐκ ἔτι μὴ προσθῶ τοῦ παρελθεῖν αὐτόν — The verb προστίθημι followed by the genitive infinitive (τοῦ παρελθεῖν) is a literal translation of the Hebrew auxiliary idiom (yāsap + infinitive, meaning "to do something again"). Combined with the emphatic double negation οὐ μή and οὐκέτι, it signifies "I will never pass him by again."
7.14ἀλλʼ ἢ — The phrase ἀλλʼ ἤ after a negation functions to express limitation or exception, meaning "except," "but only," or "nothing but" (distinct from the simple adversative ἀλλά). Here it emphasizes Amos's self-identification: he was not a prophet, but nothing other than a goat herd.
7.16οὐ μὴ ὀχλαγωγήσεις — The construction of οὐ μή with the future indicative expresses a strong prohibition. The verb ὀχλαγωγέω ("to lead a mob" or "excite a crowd") is used here by the LXX translators to render the Hebrew verb for "drip/prophesy" (nāṭap), interpreting it as causing a public disturbance.

Cite this passage

Septuagint, Amos §7.1-7.17. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0527.tlg037.humanitext-grc1:7.1-7.17

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