4 Then the Sovereign lord showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land.
5 Then I said, “O Sovereign lord, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.”
6 Then the lord relented from this plan, too. “I will not do that either,” said the Sovereign lord.
7 Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight.
8 And the lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”I answered, “A plumb line.”And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins.
9 The pagan shrines of your ancestors will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.”
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable.