“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the one treading grapes him who sows seed; and sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and flow from the hills.
- KJV Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
- BSB “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, with which all the hills will flow.
- NASB ¶“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper, And the one who treads grapes will overtake him who sows the seed; When the mountains will drip grape juice, And all the hills will come apart.
- NLT “The time will come,” says the Lord, “when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God pictures a coming age of such abundance that harvest overtakes planting and the hills run with new wine. It depicts the overflowing fruitfulness of God's restored people.
Overview
Using vivid agricultural imagery, the verse reverses the curses of famine and drought Amos earlier announced (4:7-9): the crops are so plentiful that the seasons of plowing, reaping, and treading overlap. The dripping mountains and flowing sweet wine portray an almost Edenic, superabundant blessing. This anticipates the lavish provision of the messianic age, when the kingdom of Christ brings life and joy in fullness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Joel 3:18It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters, and a fountain will flow out from Yahweh’s house, and will water the valley of Shittim.
- John 4:35Don’t you say, ‘There are yet four months until the harvest?’ Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already.
- Isa 55:13Instead of the thorn the cypress tree will come up; and instead of the brier the myrtle tree will come up: and it will make a name for Yahweh, for an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.”
- Lev 26:5Your threshing shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage shall reach to the sowing time. You shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
- Isa 35:1–2The wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
- Hos 2:21–23It will happen in that day, I will respond,” says Yahweh, “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth;
- Ezek 36:35They shall say, This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.
- Joel 3:20But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
- Judg 5:5The mountains quaked Yahweh’s presence, even Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- Ps 97:5The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
- Amos 9:5For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt.
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Christ at the center
Amid judgment on injustice, Amos promises the raising up of David's fallen tent — read by James in Acts 15 as the ingathering of the nations into the kingdom of the risen Christ.
How Amos 9:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.