⁴ Their best one `is' as a brier, The upright one -- than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen -- Thy visitation -- hath come. Now is their perplexity.

⁵ For a day of noise, and of treading down, And of perplexity, `is' to the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, In the valley of vision, digging down a wall, And crying unto the mountain.

⁶ `And thou, son of man, thou art not afraid of them, yea, of their words thou art not afraid, for briers and thorns are with thee, and near scorpions thou art dwelling, of their words thou art not afraid, and of their faces thou art not affrighted, for they `are' a rebellious house,

⁶ As to the worthless -- As a thorn driven away `are' all of them, For -- not by hand are they taken;

⁷ And the man who cometh against them Is filled with iron and the staff of a spear, And with fire they are utterly burnt In the cessation.'

³ And what do ye at a day of inspection? And at desolation? -- from afar it cometh. Near whom do ye flee for help? And where do ye leave your honour?

⁸ and that which is bearing thorns and briers `is' disapproved of, and nigh to cursing, whose end `is' for burning;

²⁵ `And there shall be signs in sun, and moon, and stars, and on the land `is' distress of nations with perplexity, sea and billow roaring;

¹⁰ For while princes `are' perplexed, And with their drink are drunken, They have been consumed as stubble fully dried.

² And He saith, `What art thou seeing, Amos?' and I say, `A basket of summer-fruit.' And Jehovah saith unto me: `The end hath come unto My people Israel, I do not add any more to pass over to it.

⁷ Come in have the days of inspection, Come in have the days of recompence, Israel doth know! a fool `is' the prophet, Mad `is' the man of the Spirit, Because of the abundance of thine iniquity, And great `is' the hatred.

⁸ Ephraim is looking `away' from My God, The prophet! a snare of a fowler `is' over all his ways, Hatred `is' in the house of his God.

²³ therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have caused this simile to cease, And they use it not as a simile again in Israel, But speak to them: Drawn near have the days, And spoken hath every vision.

²⁴ For there is no more any vain vision, and flattering divination, In the midst of the house of Israel.

¹⁵ Vanity `are' they, work of erring ones, In the time of their inspection they perish.

¹² They were ashamed when they did abomination! Yea, they are not at all ashamed, And blushing they have not known, Therefore, they do fall among falling ones, In the time of their inspection they stumble, said Jehovah.

¹³ Instead of the thorn come up doth fir, Instead of the brier come up doth myrtle, And it hath been to Jehovah for a name, For a sign age-during -- it is not cut off!