A Vision of Ripe Fruit

8 Then the Sovereign LORD showed me another vision. In it I saw a basket filled with ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. Then the LORD said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again. 3 In that day the singing in the temple will turn to wailing. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” 4 Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy! 5 You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales. 6 And you mix the grain you sell for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals. 7 Now the LORD has sworn this oath the wicked things you have done! 8 The earth will tremble for your deeds, it will heave up, then sink again. 9 “In that day,” says the Sovereign LORD, and darken the earth while it is still day. 10 I will turn your celebrations into times of mourning How very bitter that day will be! 11 “The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign LORD, but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 People will stagger from sea to sea but they will not find it. 13 Beautiful girls and strong young men thirsting for the LORD’s word. 14 And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria— never to rise again.”