Amos 8

Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

The Lord God revealed to me, showing a basket filled with the bounty of summer fruit.

And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

He asked, "Amos, what do you see?" I replied, "A basket filled with summer's bounty." Then, the Lord solemnly declared to me, "The end has arrived for my people, Israel. I will no longer spare them."

And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

The Lord God declares that on that day, the songs of the temple will turn into howls of grief. There will be dead bodies everywhere, flung out in silence.

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

Listen well, you who exploit the vulnerable, causing the impoverished to falter.

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

When will the new moon pass so we can trade grain? When will the Sabbath end so we can sell wheat? They cheat with smaller measures, inflate prices, and tip the scales dishonestly.

That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

So we can purchase the impoverished with mere coins, and the desperate for just a pair of shoes; even trading the leftovers of our harvest?

The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

The Lord has sworn an oath by the pride of Jacob: "I will never forget a single thing they have done."

Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

Won't the earth shudder in fear and sorrow, with every living soul grieving? It will surge like a great wave, only to be swept away and submerged, just like Egypt's devastating flood.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

The Lord God promises, on that special day, He will make the sun set at midday, casting a shadow over the earth even in broad daylight.

And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

I will transform your celebrations into sorrow, your songs into cries of grief. I will clothe everyone in mourning attire, and strip away their hair in despair. It will be as painful as losing an only child, ending in a day filled with bitterness.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

The Lord God warns of a time to come, where the land will hunger, not for food or water, but for the comforting sound of His words.

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

They will search everywhere, from ocean to ocean, from north to east, desperately seeking God's word, but they won't find it.

In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

On that day, innocent maidens and youthful lads will be overwhelmed by a desperate longing for water.

They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

Those who pledge allegiance to Samaria's sin, who claim the god of Dan is alive, or that Beersheba's ways are still valid, they will stumble and never stand again.