“ O my people, listen to the words of the Lord! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say,‘ At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’

这世代的人哪，你们要看明耶和华的话。我岂向以色列作旷野呢？或作幽暗之地呢？我的百姓为何说：‘我们脱离约束，再不归向你了’？

这世代的人哪，你们要留意耶和华的话。我向以色列岂是旷野，或幽暗之地呢？我的百姓为何说：‘我们脱离约束，不再归向你了’？

这世代的人哪，你们要留意耶和华的话。我向以色列岂是旷野，或幽暗之地呢？我的百姓为何说：‘我们脱离约束，不再归向你了’？

这世代的人啊，要留心听耶和华的话。对以色列人来说，难道我是旷野，是幽暗之地吗？为什么我的子民竟说，‘我们可以四处游荡，不再追随你’？

这世代的人哪！你们要注意耶和华的话：‘对以色列人来说，难道我是旷野，或是黑暗的地方？我的子民为什么说：我们自由了，不再到你那里去了？

這世代的人哪，你們要看明耶和華的話。我豈向以色列作曠野呢？或作幽暗之地呢？我的百姓為何說：我們脫離約束，再不歸向你了？

這世代的人哪，你們要留意耶和華的話。我向以色列豈是曠野，或幽暗之地呢？我的百姓為何說：『我們脫離約束，不再歸向你了』？

這世代的人哪，你們要留意耶和華的話。我向以色列豈是曠野，或幽暗之地呢？我的百姓為何說：『我們脫離約束，不再歸向你了』？

這世代的人啊，要留心聽耶和華的話。對以色列人來說，難道我是曠野，是幽暗之地嗎？為什麼我的子民竟說，『我們可以四處遊蕩，不再追隨你』？

這世代的人哪！你們要注意耶和華的話：‘對以色列人來說，難道我是曠野，或是黑暗的地方？我的子民為甚麼說：我們自由了，不再到你那裡去了？

但你們呢，這世代的人哪，你們要看明白永恆主的話。難道我對以色列竟成了曠野？或是極幽暗之地？我的人民為甚麼說：「我們漫遊無拘了；我們再也不來歸你了」？

斯世之人歟、當明耶和華之言、我於以色列族、豈為幽曠之野、杳冥之域乎、我民奚曰、我已放縱、不復詣爾、

斯世之人、宜聽我言、我眷佑以色列族、詎若幽曠之野、杳冥之域哉。何以我民放縱、不肯詣予。

爾曹斯代之人、當聽我言、我於以色列人、豈曾如曠野、豈曾如幽暗之地乎、我民何故言曰、我欲離約束自由、我欲離約束自由或作我欲飄流不復歸爾、

“ You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:“ Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say,‘ We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’?

“ You who are now living, consider my message. I am saying,“ Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been like a land of deep darkness? Why do my people say,‘ We are free to wander. We won’t come to you anymore’?

And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why then do my people say,‘ We are free, we will come no more to you’?

Evil generation, pay attention to the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do my people claim,“ We will go where we want; we will no longer come to you”?

You generation, look to the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of thick darkness? Why do My people say,‘ We are free to roam; We will no longer come to You’?

“ O generation, see the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of darkness? Why do My people say,‘ We are lords; We will come no more to You’?

O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?

Evil generation, pay attention to the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people claim,“ We will go where we want; we will no longer come to You”?

O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?

You people of this generation, listen to what the LORD says.“ Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say,‘ We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more?’

Generation, consider Yahweh’s word. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say,‘ We have broken loose. We will come to you no more?’

“ But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.

This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, was king of Israel.

For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say,“ Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me.

You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you.

For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors— a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.

For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in,and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.

“ I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!You say,‘ I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

This is what the Lord says:“ What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves.They did not ask,‘ Where is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness— a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’

Then Nathan said to David,“ You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.

And Azariah the high priest, from the family of Zadok, replied,“ Since the people began bringing their gifts to the Lord’s Temple, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare. The Lord has blessed his people, and all this is left over.”

Fear the Lord if you are wise! His voice calls to everyone in Jerusalem:“ The armies of destruction are coming; the Lord is sending them.

They say,“ We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own— who can stop us?”

You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,“ I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I, the Lord, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.

For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!“ Then you helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land. They took over the land of King Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors.“ They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless! Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased.Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.

When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think,‘ I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has— the grain, the new wine, the olive oil; I even gave her silver and gold. But she gave all my gifts to Baal.