Amos9
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar: and he said, Smite the capitals, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
2Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
3And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
4And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
5For the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, is he that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like the River, and shall sink again, like the River of Egypt;
6it is he that buildeth his chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is his name.
7Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
8Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah.
9For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth.
10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us.
11In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;
12that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, saith Jehovah that doeth this.
13Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, 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.
14And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith Jehovah thy God.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Amos 9.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The ruin of Israel. (1–10). The restoration of the Jews and the gospel blessing. (11–15).
vv1-10
The prophet, in vision, saw the Lord standing upon the idolatrous altar at Bethel. Wherever sinners flee from God's justice, it will overtake them. Those whom God brings to heaven by his grace, shall never be cast down; but those who seek to climb thither by vain confidence in themselves, will be cast down and filled with shame. That which makes escape impossible and ruin sure, is, that God will set his eyes upon them for evil, not for good. Wretched must those be on whom the Lord looks for evil, and not for good. The Lord would scatter the Jews, and visit them with calamities, as the corn is shaken in a sieve; but he would save some from among them. The astonishing preservation of the Jews as a distinct people, seems here foretold. If professors make themselves like the world, God will level them with the world. The sinners who thus flatter themselves, shall find that their profession will not protect them.
vv11-15
Christ died to gather together the children of God that were scattered abroad, here said to be those who were called by his name. The Lord saith this, who doeth this, who can do it, who has determined to do it, the power of whose grace is engaged for doing it. Verses 13–15 may refer to the early times of Christianity, but will receive a more glorious fulfilment in the events which all the prophets more or less foretold, and may be understood of the happy state when the fulness both of the Jews and the Gentiles come into the church. Let us continue earnest in prayer for the fulfilment of these prophecies, in the peace, purity, and the beauty of the church. God marvellously preserves his elect amidst the most fearful confusions and miseries. When all seems desperate, he wonderfully revives his church, and blesses her with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. And great shall be the glory of that period, in which not one good thing promised shall remain unfulfilled.
Key Words
רָאָה: to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)
אֲדֹנָי: the Lord (used as a proper name of God only)
נָצַב: to station, in various applications (literally or figuratively)
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
מִזְבֵּחַ: an altar
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
נָכָה: to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)
כַּפְתֹּר: a chaplet; but used only in an architectonic sense, i.e. the capital of acolumn, or a wreath-like button or disk on the candelabrum
סַף: a vestibule (as a limit); also a dish (for holding blood or wine)
רָעַשׁ: to undulate (as the earth, the sky, etc.; also a field of grain), particularly through fear; specifically, to spring (as a locust)
Cross References
Amos 9James explicitly quotes Amos 9:11-12 at the Jerusalem Council regarding the inclusion of the Gentiles.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Direct New Testament quotation and application of rebuilding the fallen tabernacle of David.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Poole notes David's elegant description of God's omnipresence (heaven, hell, sea) mirrors Amos's escape limits.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The shaking of the temple posts/thresholds strongly echoes Isaiah's vision in the temple.
Supported by JFB
JFB links building chambers in the heavens directly to the language of Psalm 104:3.
Supported by JFB
Confirms the historic origin of the Philistines from Caphtor as part of divine migration providence.
Supported by JFB
Historical fulfillment of the Syrians being carried back captive to Kir, their original home.
Supported by JFB
Direct verbal parallel regarding digging into hell or climbing up to heaven.
Supported by JFB
JFB identifies the sea-serpent commanded to bite them with the leviathan/serpent of Isaiah 27:1.
Supported by JFB
Repeats the judgment of the land rising and drowning like the flood of Egypt.
Supported by JFB
Identifies Caphtor as the place of origin for the Philistines who destroyed the Avims.
Supported by JFB
Connects Kir with Syrian military presence and ethnic origins.
Supported by JFB
Earlier prophecy in Amos that the Syrians would go captive back to Kir.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the impossibility of hiding in secret places from God's all-seeing presence.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The Mosaic curse of being pursued by the sword even among the heathen nations.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explains God's 'troop' or 'host' founded in the earth as all animate creatures.
Supported by JFB
Highlights the Ethiopian comparison, illustrating Israel's stubbornness and loss of special standing.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the promise to correct with judgment but not utterly destroy the seed of Jacob.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Fulfillment of raising up David's throne and kingdom eternally in Christ.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The blessing of agricultural abundance where threshing reaches to the vintage, symbolizing gospel plenty.
Supported by Matthew Henry