Amos 1:1-2

Contemporary English Version

1 ^(A) I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa^[a] when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam^[b] son of Jehoash^[c] was king of Israel.

Two years before the earthquake,^[d] the Lord gave me several messages^[e] about Israel, ²^(B) and I said:

When the Lord roars
from Jerusalem,
pasturelands and Mount Carmel
dry up and turn brown.

1.1 Tekoa: In the hill country of Judah about eight kilometers south of Bethlehem.
1.1 Uzziah … Jeroboam: Uzziah was king of Judah 781–740 b.c., and Jeroboam II was king of Israel 783–743 b.c.
1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
1.1 Two years … earthquake: Possibly the earthquake of 760 b.c., which seems to have been especially violent.
1.1 messages: Or “visions.”