Thus Hashem showed me. It was already stated above (chapter 4) that Hashem punished them with five kinds of punishments in order that they should repent, yet they did not return to Hashem. The first three punishments were through famine, which He brought upon them, and the final two were through pestilence and the sword. And since through all these they did not repent, the attribute of justice was poised against them to destroy them, as it is written there, "Therefore, thus will I do to you, O Israel," etc., and as I explained there. Here he relates how Hashem showed him the punishments going forth from potential into actuality, depicted in various images in the prophetic vision. First, Hashem showed him the punishments of famine, which he mentioned above: first there was the withholding of rain three months before the harvest, afterward there was blight and mildew, and finally came the cutting locust, which was the plague of locusts and the final blow in the decree of famine. Hashem showed him, and behold, He was forming locusts, at the beginning of the growth of the latter crop. The lekesh is the late rain called the malkosh, and the crop that grows through the malkosh is called lekesh. He saw that when the lekesh began to sprout and grow, Hashem formed the locusts to destroy the growing crop. And he relates that the lekesh came after the king's mowings, after the time when the king's sheep are shorn, which is in the middle of summer. Then the lekesh grew, for the crop had been delayed at that time because of the withholding of rain, and then the locusts came.

And it came to pass, when it had nearly finished. When I saw in the prophetic vision that it was close to finishing the consumption of the vegetation of the land, and that in just a little while it would leave nothing remaining, I said, "O Hashem, please forgive." He then asked Hashem to forgive their iniquity, so that the decree would thereby be annulled, for when a person commits a transgression the first, second, and third time, he is forgiven. And this was the third punishment. He explains the reason: "How shall Jacob arise?" That is, he will have no recovery because of the famine, since he is small. Likewise, it means that he cannot rise and strengthen himself through good deeds, since he is lowly in his spiritual level.

Hashem relented concerning this, and through the prophet's prayer, the decree was annulled.

Thus Hashem showed me. He showed him the final two decrees, which were pestilence and the sword, and depicted the decree as calling for a conflict by fire, for the sword and pestilence were likened to a fire consuming the camp, as it is written there, "And you were like a firebrand rescued from the burning." And it consumed the great deep, for it is explained there that it first consumed those who went down to Egypt for assistance, as it is written, "I sent pestilence among you in the manner of Egypt; I slew your young men with the sword." For Egypt is deep like an abyss in relation to the Land of Israel, and the prophet also describes their going to Egypt with the expression, "And you debased yourself as far as Sheol" (Isaiah 57:9). And afterward, it consumed the portion, for from there the pestilence and the sword came to the Land of Israel, as explained above, since the Land of Israel is their portion and inheritance.

(5–6) And I said, "Please cease." Now he could no longer say, "Please forgive," for on the fourth occasion one is not forgiven. Nevertheless, he asked that Hashem cease from punishing them, because otherwise they would have no recovery. And Hashem relented and annulled this decree as well.

Thus Hashem showed me. Now He showed him in a vision that Hashem was standing upon a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. In this he saw two things. First, a wall built with a plumb line, meaning a wall constructed according to precise measure and balance. This is an image of the entirety of creation that Hashem created, which is the wall encompassing all existence, built according to the attribute of justice and the plumb line of judgment. For the scales and balances of justice are extended over all existence: everything was created according to justice, and everything is ordered by the attribute of justice and general Providence, through which Hashem oversees all existence with justice and judgment. Hashem stands upon this wall, overseeing it through general Providence according to justice. Second, he saw that there was a plumb line in His hand. Although the building had already been completed, He nevertheless holds the plumb line in His hand to measure anew. This means that, beyond the general Providence established from the six days of Creation, He exercises at every moment individual Providence to punish sinners through special Providence, according to the particular judgment appropriate to the time and to those being judged.

And Hashem said to me, "What do you see, Amos?" Since he saw two things—the wall built with a plumb line and the plumb line in Hashem's hand—He asked him, "What do you see?" That is, what in this vision appears novel and remarkable in your eyes? And I said, "A plumb line." That is, the wall built with a plumb line is not remarkable in my eyes, for I know that everything is ordered by measure and weight and according to the attribute of justice. Rather, what I see and find remarkable is the plumb line in Your hand, which You are holding after the building has already been completed. This indicates that You intend to punish a certain nation according to particular judgment and special Providence, which has no connection with the general judgment established over existence as a whole. This is what I see and carefully observe. And Hashem said, "Behold, I am placing a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel." That is, I will not leave them to be judged according to the general rule of justice, which does not look to the individual to judge each person separately, but rather judges the entire world collectively. Likewise, under general justice, sin and punishment may sometimes be passed over when the general circumstances are not suited to calamity, for according to general justice, calamity comes in accordance with the natural order and the fixed arrangement of the general governance of the world, and waits for the time suited to it according to the order of the world and the celestial configuration. But I am placing a new plumb line, a special measure that measures according to individual Providence. This differs from the general plumb line of the wall built with a plumb line in two respects: First, "I am placing a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel," to judge each individual separately through individual Providence and particular judgment. Second, "I will no longer pass over him," meaning that even if the time is not suited to punishment according to the natural order of the world, I will not postpone the punishment until a time more suited to it, but will measure out to them according to their deeds through individual Providence.

And they shall be desolate. Through this, the high places of Isaac shall be desolate; these are the high places that they made for the calves, and he calls them "Isaac" from the language of laughter and mockery. And the sanctuaries of Israel, namely the places they regarded as sacred at Beth-el and Dan, shall be destroyed. And I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. Although Jeroboam himself would die naturally, his house would come to an end by the sword, referring to Zechariah son of Jeroboam, who was killed by Shallum son of Jabesh.

And Amaziah sent. Because Amos had prophesied against the high places and the sanctuaries, the anger of the priest of Beth-el was kindled, and he sent to Jeroboam, saying, "Amos has conspired against you." That is, by prophesying that Jeroboam would die by the sword, he was inciting a conspiracy against the king, for as a result the people might rise against the king to kill him, since the prophet had thus foretold in the name of Hashem, just as Jehu conspired through the prophecy of the prophet and killed his king. And so that Jeroboam would not be afraid to kill Amos out of concern that the people might contend on his behalf, he added, "The land cannot bear all his words," meaning that he speaks such things that even the land cannot endure his prophecies, for he prophesied calamity against the people as well, so that even the people would agree to his being killed. And he explains his words; corresponding to what he said, "Amos has conspired against you," he explains:

For thus Amos has said: "Jeroboam shall die by the sword." That is, he claimed that Amos had said this on his own authority, and that by saying Jeroboam would die by the sword, he was conspiring against the king, as explained above. And corresponding to what he said, "The land cannot bear all his words," he explained that Amos had said, "Israel shall surely go into exile from its land." In truth, all of this was false, for Amos had not said that Jeroboam would die by the sword; he had prophesied against the house of Jeroboam, not against Jeroboam himself, and therefore he had not conspired against the king. Nor had he mentioned at all that Israel would surely go into exile from its land; Amaziah fabricated this from his own heart. Our Sages have already explained that Jeroboam did not accept this evil report and did not believe Amaziah, because he had spoken falsely.

And Amaziah said. When he saw that he could not have Amos killed by means of the king, he sought to frighten him into fleeing the land, and said to him, "O seer, go, flee to the land of Judah," for here you are in danger lest the king kill you. Moreover, you will accomplish nothing here through your prophecy. If you prophesy in order to earn your bread through your prophecy, then "there you may eat bread," for there they support the prophets with food, but not here. And if you prophesy for the sake of prophecy itself, to rebuke the people and bring them back to the right path, you will not achieve that here either; only in the land of Judah, "there you may prophesy," meaning that there they will allow you to prophesy and will listen to your voice, but not here.

And do not prophesy again at Beth-el, not in order that you may earn your bread, for it is the king's sanctuary. At Beth-el is found the king's temple, meaning the house of the calves that the king consecrated as a sanctuary in which to perform his worship, and they will not support prophets who prophesy against the calves. Nor should you prophesy because you wish to set the people straight, for it is the royal residence, and they will not accept rebuke that is displeasing in the ears of the people.

And Amos answered, "I am not a prophet." That is, do not think that I prophesy for the sake of prophecy because I wish to have a name among the prophets, for "I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet," meaning that this is neither my profession nor the profession of my fathers. Likewise, do not think that I prophesy for the sake of earning bread, for I have a livelihood without this, for I am a herdsman, and I have many cattle and livestock, and I tend sycamore trees, and I have a forest in which trees grow, so I have no need to earn my bread through prophecy.

And Hashem took me. Rather, Hashem took me and chose me against my will, and He said to me, "Go, prophesy to My people Israel," for He sent me on a mission specifically to Israel, meaning the Ten Tribes, and not to the tribe of Judah, as you suggest.

And now, hear the word of Hashem. Now, however, a new prophecy was given to him, which he had not prophesied previously, namely, that Israel would surely go into exile from its land. This is the meaning of "Now hear," for this is a prophecy that has been newly revealed to me now and which I did not know previously. You say, "Do not prophesy concerning Israel," meaning that I should not prophesy about what is destined to happen to them in the future; and even if your intention is merely that I should rebuke them and bring them back to the right path, do not preach—not even a small drop of prophecy—because they are the house of Isaac, and they will laugh and mock your rebuke.

Therefore, thus says Hashem: Your wife shall become a harlot in the city. This is measure for measure, for when Israel worships other gods, they are compared to a harlot who is unfaithful to the companion of her youth. I wished to bring them back to Hashem, but you cause them to prostitute themselves after other gods; therefore, your wife too shall become a harlot. And she will not first be taken captive and become a harlot there, but rather she shall become a harlot in the city. For when Zechariah son of Jeroboam was killed and Shallum son of Jabesh arose, he sought to abolish the worship of the calf (as I explained in Hosea, that Shallum, and likewise Hoshea son of Elah, sought to abolish the calves, and as a result rebellion and warfare arose between factions of the people). At that time, the priest fled and died outside the Land, his sons and daughters were killed by the king, and his wife became a harlot and was abandoned to promiscuity. And the ultimate result will be that Israel shall surely go into exile from its land, for at that time the decree was finally issued. It is explained in Isaiah, chapter 7, that Amos was then told that this would occur after sixty-five years, but they did not write it explicitly because of fear, and he alluded to it with the word has ("silence"), as will be explained in the following chapter.