Amos5
New King James Version
1Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
2The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up.
3For thus says the Lord God: “The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live;
5But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.
6Seek the Lord and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel—
7You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The Lord is His name.
9He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them.
12For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
13Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time.
14Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken.
15Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this: “There shall be wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing.
17In all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you,” Says the Lord.
18Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light.
19It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him!
20Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
21“I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
22Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
23Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
24But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
25“Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves.
27Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” Says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Amos 5.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Israel is called to seek the Lord. (1–6). Earnest exhortations to repentance. (7–17). Threatenings respecting idolatries. (18–27).
vv1-6
The convincing, awakening word must be heard and heeded, as well as words of comfort and peace; for whether we hear or forbear, the word of God shall take effect. The Lord still proclaims mercy to men, but they often expect deliverance from such self-invented forms as make their condemnation sure. While they refuse to come to Christ and to seek mercy in and by him, that they may live, the fire of Divine wrath breaks forth upon them. Men may make an idol of the world, but will find it cannot protect.
vv7-17
The same almighty power can, for repenting sinners, easily turn affliction and sorrow into prosperity and joy, and as easily turn the prosperity of daring sinners into utter darkness. Evil times will not bear plain dealing; that is, evil men will not. And these men were evil men indeed, when wise and good men thought it in vain even to speak to them. Those who will seek and love that which is good, may help to save the land from ruin. It behoves us to plead God's spiritual promises, to beseech him to create in us a clean heart, and to renew a right spirit within us. The Lord is ever ready to be gracious to the souls that seek him; and then piety and every duty will be attended to. But as for sinful Israel, God's judgments had often passed by them, now they shall pass through them.
vv18-27
Woe unto those that desire the day of the Lord's judgments, that wish for times of war and confusion; as some who long for changes, hoping to rise upon the ruins of their country! but this should be so great a desolation, that nobody could gain by it. The day of the Lord will be a dark, dismal, gloomy day to all impenitent sinners. When God makes a day dark, all the world cannot make it light. Those who are not reformed by the judgments of God, will be pursued by them; if they escape one, another stands ready to seize them. A pretence of piety is double iniquity, and so it will be found. The people of Israel copied the crimes of their forefathers. The law of worshipping the Lord our God, is, Him only we must serve. Professors thrive so little, because they have little or no communion with God in their duties. They were led captive by Satan into idolatry, therefore God caused them to go into captivity among idolaters.
Key Words
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
נָשָׂא: to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relative
קִינָה: a dirge (as accompanied by beating the breasts or on instruments)
בַּיִת: a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
נָפַל: to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
יָסַף: to add or augment (often adverbial, to continue to do a thing)
Cross References
Amos 5Stephen quotes Amos 5:25-27 in his speech to demonstrate Israel's long-standing history of idolatry.
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Amos echoes the exact terminology of Job describing God as the Creator of the Pleiades and Orion.
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Direct thematic and verbal parallel concerning God's sovereign control over the constellations Orion and Pleiades.
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Parallel contemporary prophetic warning against syncretistic worship at Gilgal and Beth-aven (Bethel).
Supported by Poole, JFB
The curse of building houses and planting vineyards without enjoying them fulfills Moses' covenant sanctions.
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Striklingly parallel divine rejection of formalistic feast days and sacrifices devoid of justice and righteousness.
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Internal repetition emphasizing the central exhortation of the chapter: seek the Lord and live.
Supported by Poole
The historical fulfillment of Israel's exile beyond Damascus under Shalmaneser and the Assyrians.
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