₇I had another vision from the Lord. In it I saw him standing beside a wall that had been built with the help of a plumb line, and there was a plumb line in his hand. ₈He asked me, “Amos, what do you see?”

“A plumb line,” I answered.

Then he said, “I am using it to show that my people are like a wall that is out of line. I will not change my mind again about punishing them. ₉The places where Isaac's descendants worship will be destroyed. The holy places of Israel will be left in ruins. I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to an end.”

₁₀Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, then sent a report to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is plotting against you among the people. His speeches will destroy the country. ₁₁This is what he says: ‘Jeroboam will die in battle, and the people of Israel will be taken away from their land into exile.’ ”

₁₂Amaziah then said to Amos, “That's enough, prophet! Go on back to Judah and do your preaching there. Let them pay you for it. ₁₃Don't prophesy here at Bethel any more. This is the king's place of worship, the national temple.”

₁₄Amos answered, “I am not the kind of prophet who prophesies for pay. I am a herdsman, and I take care of fig trees. ₁₅But the LORD took me from my work as a shepherd and ordered me to come and prophesy to his people Israel. ₁₆So now listen to what the LORD says. You tell me to stop prophesying, to stop raving against the people of Israel. ₁₇And so, Amaziah, the LORD says to you, ‘Your wife will become a prostitute on the streets, and your children will be killed in war. Your land will be divided up and given to others, and you yourself will die in a heathen country. And the people of Israel will certainly be taken away from their own land into exile.’ ”