Worthy.Bible » STRONG » Amos » Chapter 5 » Verse 1-27

Amos 5:1-27 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Hear H8085 ye this word H1697 which I take up H5375 against you, even a lamentation, H7015 O house H1004 of Israel. H3478

2 The virgin H1330 of Israel H3478 is fallen; H5307 she shall no more H3254 rise: H6965 she is forsaken H5203 upon her land; H127 there is none to raise her up. H6965

3 For thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 The city H5892 that went out H3318 by a thousand H505 shall leave H7604 an hundred, H3967 and that which went forth H3318 by an hundred H3967 shall leave H7604 ten, H6235 to the house H1004 of Israel. H3478

4 For thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 unto the house H1004 of Israel, H3478 Seek H1875 ye me, and ye shall live: H2421

5 But seek H1875 not Bethel, H1008 nor enter H935 into Gilgal, H1537 and pass H5674 not to Beersheba: H884 for Gilgal H1537 shall surely H1540 go into captivity, H1540 and Bethel H1008 shall come to nought. H205

6 Seek H1875 the LORD, H3068 and ye shall live; H2421 lest he break out H6743 like fire H784 in the house H1004 of Joseph, H3130 and devour H398 it, and there be none to quench H3518 it in Bethel. H1008

7 Ye who turn H2015 judgment H4941 to wormwood, H3939 and leave off H3240 righteousness H6666 in the earth, H776

8 Seek him that maketh H6213 the seven stars H3598 and Orion, H3685 and turneth H2015 the shadow of death H6757 into the morning, H1242 and maketh the day H3117 dark H2821 with night: H3915 that calleth H7121 for the waters H4325 of the sea, H3220 and poureth them out H8210 upon the face H6440 of the earth: H776 The LORD H3068 is his name: H8034

9 That strengtheneth H1082 the spoiled H7701 against the strong, H5794 so that the spoiled H7701 shall come H935 against the fortress. H4013

10 They hate H8130 him that rebuketh H3198 in the gate, H8179 and they abhor H8581 him that speaketh H1696 uprightly. H8549

11 Forasmuch H3282 therefore as your treading H1318 is upon the poor, H1800 and ye take H3947 from him burdens H4864 of wheat: H1250 ye have built H1129 houses H1004 of hewn stone, H1496 but ye shall not dwell H3427 in them; ye have planted H5193 pleasant H2531 vineyards, H3754 but ye shall not drink H8354 wine H3196 of them.

12 For I know H3045 your manifold H7227 transgressions H6588 and your mighty H6099 sins: H2403 they afflict H6887 the just, H6662 they take H3947 a bribe, H3724 and they turn aside H5186 the poor H34 in the gate H8179 from their right.

13 Therefore the prudent H7919 shall keep silence H1826 in that time; H6256 for it is an evil H7451 time. H6256

14 Seek H1875 good, H2896 and not evil, H7451 that ye may live: H2421 and so the LORD, H3068 the God H430 of hosts, H6635 shall be with you, as ye have spoken. H559

15 Hate H8130 the evil, H7451 and love H157 the good, H2896 and establish H3322 judgment H4941 in the gate: H8179 it may be that the LORD H3068 God H430 of hosts H6635 will be gracious H2603 unto the remnant H7611 of Joseph. H3130

16 Therefore the LORD, H3068 the God H430 of hosts, H6635 the Lord, H136 saith H559 thus; Wailing H4553 shall be in all streets; H7339 and they shall say H559 in all the highways, H2351 Alas! H1930 alas! H1930 and they shall call H7121 the husbandman H406 to mourning, H60 and such as are skilful H3045 of lamentation H5092 to wailing. H4553

17 And in all vineyards H3754 shall be wailing: H4553 for I will pass H5674 through H7130 thee, saith H559 the LORD. H3068

18 Woe H1945 unto you that desire H183 the day H3117 of the LORD! H3068 to what end H4100 is it for you? the day H3117 of the LORD H3068 is darkness, H2822 and not light. H216

19 As if a man H376 did flee H5127 from H6440 a lion, H738 and a bear H1677 met H6293 him; or went H935 into the house, H1004 and leaned H5564 his hand H3027 on the wall, H7023 and a serpent H5175 bit H5391 him.

20 Shall not the day H3117 of the LORD H3068 be darkness, H2822 and not light? H216 even very dark, H651 and no brightness H5051 in it?

21 I hate, H8130 I despise H3988 your feast days, H2282 and I will not smell H7306 in your solemn assemblies. H6116

22 Though ye offer H5927 me burnt offerings H5930 and your meat offerings, H4503 I will not accept H7521 them: neither will I regard H5027 the peace offerings H8002 of your fat beasts. H4806

23 Take thou away H5493 from me the noise H1995 of thy songs; H7892 for I will not hear H8085 the melody H2172 of thy viols. H5035

24 But let judgment H4941 run down H1556 as waters, H4325 and righteousness H6666 as a mighty H386 stream. H5158

25 Have ye offered H5066 unto me sacrifices H2077 and offerings H4503 in the wilderness H4057 forty H705 years, H8141 O house H1004 of Israel? H3478

26 But ye have borne H5375 the tabernacle H5522 of your Moloch H4428 and Chiun H3594 your images, H6754 the star H3556 of your god, H430 which ye made H6213 to yourselves.

27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity H1540 beyond H1973 Damascus, H1834 saith H559 the LORD, H3068 whose name H8034 is The God H430 of hosts. H6635

Commentary on Amos 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 5

Am 5:1-27. Elegy over the Prostrate Kingdom: Renewed Exhortations to Repentance: God Declares that the Coming Day of Judgment Shall Be Terrible to the Scorners Who Despise It: Ceremonial Services Are Not Acceptable to Him Where True Piety Exists Not: Israel Shall Therefore Be Removed Far Eastward.

1. lamentation—an elegy for the destruction coming on you. Compare Eze 32:2, "take up," namely, as a mournful burden (Eze 19:1; 27:2).

2. virgin of Israel—the Israelite state heretofore unsubdued by foreigners. Compare Isa 23:12; Jer 18:13; 31:4, 21; La 2:13; may be interpreted, Thou who wast once the "virgin daughter of Zion." Rather, "virgin" as applied to a state implies its beauty, and the delights on which it prides itself, its luxuries, power, and wealth [Calvin].

no more rise—in the existing order of things: in the Messianic dispensation it is to rise again, according to many prophecies. Compare 2Ki 6:23; 24:7, for the restricted sense of "no more."

forsaken upon her land—or, "prostrated upon," &c. (compare Eze 29:5; 32:4) [Maurer].

3. went out by a thousand—that is, "the city from which there used to go out a thousand" equipped for war. "City" is put for "the inhabitants of the city," as in Am 4:8.

shall leave … hundred—shall have only a hundred left, the rest being destroyed by sword and pestilence (De 28:62).

4. Seek ye me, and ye shall live—literally, "Seek … Me, and live." The second imperative expresses the certainty of "life" (escape from judgment) resulting from obedience to the precept in the first imperative. If they perish, it is their own fault; God would forgive, if they would repent (Isa 55:3, 6).

5. seek not Beth-el—that is, the calves at Beth-el.

Gilgal—(See on Am 4:4).

Beer-sheba—in Judah on the southern frontier towards Edom. Once "the well of the oath" by Jehovah, ratifying Abraham's covenant with Abimelech, and the scene of his calling on "the Lord, the everlasting God" (Ge 21:31, 33), now a stronghold of idolatry (Am 8:14).

Gilgal shall surely go into captivity—a play on similar sounds in the Hebrew, Gilgal, galoh, yigleh: "Gilgal (the place of rolling) shall rolling be rolled away."

Beth-el shall come to naught—Beth-el (that is, the "house of God"), called because of its vain idols Beth-aven (that is, "the house of vanity," or "naught," Ho 4:15; 10:5, 8), shall indeed "come to naught."

6. break out like fire—bursting through everything in His way. God is "a consuming fire" (De 4:24; Isa 10:17; La 2:3).

the house of Joseph—the kingdom of Israel, of which the tribe of Ephraim, Joseph's son, was the chief tribe (compare Eze 37:16).

none to quench it in Beth-el—that is, none in Beth-el to quench it; none of the Beth-el idols on which Israel so depended, able to remove the divine judgments.

7. turn judgment to wormwood—that is, pervert it to most bitter wrong. As justice is sweet, so injustice is bitter to the injured. "Wormwood" is from a Hebrew root, to "execrate," on account of its noxious and bitter qualities.

leave on righteousness in … earth—Maurer translates, "cast righteousness to the ground," as in Isa 28:2; Da 8:12.

8. the seven stars—literally, the heap or cluster of seven larger stars and others smaller (Job 9:9; 38:31). The former whole passage seems to have been in Amos' mind. He names the stars well known to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged), Orion as the precursor of the tempests which are here threatened, and the Pleiades as ushering in spring.

shadow of death—Hebraism for the densest darkness.

calleth for the waters of the sea—both to send deluges in judgment, and the ordinary rain in mercy (1Ki 18:44).

9. strengtheneth the spoiled—literally, "spoil" or "devastation": hence the "person spoiled." Winer, Maurer, and the best modern critics translate, "maketh devastation (or destruction) suddenly to arise," literally, "maketh it to gleam forth like the dawn." Ancient versions support English Version. The Hebrew is elsewhere used, to make, to shine, to make glad: and as English Version here (Ps 39:13), "recover strength."

the spoiled shall come—"devastation," or "destruction shall come upon" [Maurer]. English Version expresses that, strong as Israel fancies herself after the successes of Jeroboam II (2Ki 14:25), even the weakest can be made by God to prevail against the strong.

10. him that rebuketh in the gate—the judge who condemns their iniquity in the place of judgment (Isa 29:21).

abhor him that speaketh uprightly—the prophet telling them the unwelcome truth: answering in the parallelism to the judge, "that rebuketh in the gate" (compare 1Ki 22:8; Pr 9:8; 12:1; Jer 36:23).

11. burdens of wheat—burdensome taxes levied in kind from the wheat of the needy, to pamper the lusts of the great [Henderson]. Or wheat advanced in time of scarcity, and exacted again at a burdensome interest [Rabbi Salomon].

built houses … but not dwell in them … vineyards, … but not drink wine of them—according to the original prophecy of Moses (De 28:30, 38, 39). The converse shall be true in restored Israel (Am 9:14; Isa 65:21, 22).

12. they afflict … they take—rather, "(ye) who afflict … take."

bribe—literally, a price with which one who has an unjust cause ransoms himself from your sentence (1Sa 12:3, Margin; Pr 6:35).

turn aside the poor in the gate—refuse them their right in the place of justice (Am 2:7; Isa 29:21).

13. the prudent—the spiritually wise.

shall keep silence—not mere silence of tongue, but the prudent shall keep himself quiet from taking part in any public or private affairs which he can avoid: as it is "an evil time," and one in which all law is set at naught. Eph 5:16 refers to this. Instead of impatiently agitating against irremediable evils, the godly wise will not cast pearls before swine, who would trample these, and rend the offerers (Mt 7:6), but will patiently wait for God's time of deliverance in silent submission (Ps 39:9).

14. and so—on condition of your "seeking good."

shall be with you, as ye have spoken—as ye have boasted; namely, that God is with you, and that you are His people (Mic 3:11).

15. Hate … evil … love … good—(Isa 1:16, 17; Ro 12:9).

judgment in the gate—justice in the place where causes are tried.

it may be that the Lord … will be gracious—so, "peradventure" (Ex 32:30). Not that men are to come to God with an uncertainty whether or no He will be gracious: the expression merely implies the difficulty in the way, because of the want of true repentance on man's part, so as to stimulate the zealous earnestness of believers in seeking God (compare Ge 16:2; Joe 2:14; Ac 8:22).

the remnant of Joseph—(see Am 5:6). Israel (represented by "Ephraim," the leading tribe, and descendant of Joseph) was, as compared to what it once was, now but a remnant, Hazael of Syria having smitten all the coasts from Jordan eastward, Gilead and Bashan, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh (2Ki 10:32, 33) [Henderson]. Rather, "the remnant of Israel that shall have been left after the wicked have been destroyed" [Maurer].

16. Therefore—resumed from Am 5:13. God foresees they will not obey the exhortation (Am 5:14, 15), but will persevere in the unrighteousness stigmatized (Am 5:7, 10, 12).

the Lord—Jehovah.

the God of hosts, the Lord—an accumulation of titles, of which His lordship over all things is the climax, to mark that from His judgment there is no appeal.

streets … highways—the broad open spaces and the narrow streets common in the East.

call the husbandman to mourning—The citizens shall call the inexperienced husbandmen to act the part usually performed by professional mourners, as there will not be enough of the latter for the universal mourning which prevails.

such as are skilful of lamentation—professional mourners hired to lead off the lamentations for the deceased; alluded to in Ec 12:5; generally women (Jer 9:17-19).

17. in all vineyards … wailing—where usually songs of joy were heard.

pass through thee—taking vengeance (Ex 12:12, 23; Na 1:12). "Pass over" and "pass by," on the contrary, are used of God's forgiving (Ex 12:23; Mic 7:18; compare Am 7:8).

18. Woe unto you who do not scruple to say in irony, "We desire that the day of the Lord would come," that is, "Woe to you who treat it as if it were a mere dream of the prophets" (Isa 5:19; Jer 17:15; Eze 12:22).

to what end is it for you!—Amos taking their ironical words in earnest: for God often takes the blasphemer at his own word, in righteous retribution making the scoffer's jest a terrible reality against himself. Ye have but little reason to desire the day of the Lord; for it will be to you calamity, and not joy.

19. As if a man did flee … a lion, and a bear met him—Trying to escape one calamity, he falls into another. This perhaps implies that in Am 5:18 their ironical desire for the day of the Lord was as if it would be an escape from existing calamities. The coming of the day of the Lord would be good news to us, if true: for we have served God (that is, the golden calves). So do hypocrites flatter themselves as to death and judgment, as if these would be a relief from existing ills of life. The lion may from generosity spare the prostrate, but the bear spares none (compare Job 20:24; Isa 24:18).

leaned … on the wall—on the side wall of the house, to support himself from falling. Snakes often hid themselves in fissures in a wall. Those not reformed by God's judgments will be pursued by them: if they escape one, another is ready to seize them.

21. I hate, I despise—The two verbs joined without a conjunction express God's strong abhorrence.

your feast days—yours; not Mine; I do not acknowledge them: unlike those in Judah, yours are of human, not divine institution.

I will not smell—that is, I will take no delight in the sacrifices offered (Ge 8:21; Le 26:31).

in your solemn assemblies—literally, "days of restraint." Isa 1:10-15 is parallel. Isaiah is fuller; Amos, more condensed. Amos condemns Israel not only on the ground of their thinking to satisfy God by sacrifices without obedience (the charge brought by Isaiah against the Jews), but also because even their external ritual was a mere corruption, and unsanctioned by God.

22. meat offerings—flour, &c. Unbloody offerings.

peace offerings—offerings for obtaining from God peace and prosperity. Hebrew, "thank offerings."

23. Take … away from me—literally, "Take away, from upon Me"; the idea being that of a burden pressing upon the bearer. So Isa 1:14, "They are a trouble unto Me (literally, 'a burden upon Me'): I am weary to bear them."

the noise of thy songs—The hymns and instrumental music on sacred occasions are to Me nothing but a disagreeable noise.

I will not hear—Isaiah substitutes "prayers" (Isa 1:15) for the "songs" and "melody" here; but, like Amos, closes with "I will not hear."

24. judgment—justice.

run down—literally, "roll," that is, flow abundantly (Isa 48:18). Without the desire to fulfil righteousness in the offerer, the sacrifice is hateful to God (1Sa 15:22; Ps 66:18; Ho 6:6; Mic 6:8).

25, 26. Have ye offered? &c.—Yes: ye have. "But (all the time with strange inconsistency) ye have borne (aloft in solemn pomp) the tabernacle (that is, the portable shrine, or model tabernacle: small enough not to be detected by Moses; compare Ac 19:24) of your Molech" (that idol is "your" god; I am not, though ye go through the form of presenting offerings to Me). The question, "Have ye," is not a denial (for they did offer in the wilderness to Jehovah sacrifices of the cattle which they took with them in their nomad life there, Ex 24:4; Nu 7:1-89; 9:1, &c.), but a strong affirmation (compare 1Sa 2:27, 28; Jer 31:20; Eze 20:4). The sin of Israel in Amos' time is the very sin of their forefathers, mocking God with worship, while at the same time worshipping idols (compare Eze 20:39). It was clandestine in Moses' time, else he would have put it down; he was aware generally of their unfaithfulness, though not knowing the particulars (De 31:21, 27).

Molech … Chiun—"Molech" means "king" answering to Mars [Bengel]; the Sun [Jablonski]; Saturn, the same as "Chiun" [Maurer]. The Septuagint translates "Chiun" into Remphan, as Stephen quotes it (Ac 7:42, 43). The same god often had different names. Molech is the Ammonite name; Chiun, the Arabic and Persian name, written also Chevan. In an Arabic lexicon Chiun means "austere"; so astrologers represented Saturn as a planet baleful in his influence. Hence the Phœnicians offered human sacrifices to him, children especially; so idolatrous Israel also. Rimmon was the Syrian name (2Ki 5:18); pronounced as Remvan, or "Remphan," just as Chiun was also Chevan. Molech had the form of a king; Chevan, or Chiun, of a star [Grotius]. Remphan was the Egyptian name for Saturn: hence the Septuagint translator of Amos gave the Egyptian name for the Hebrew, being an Egyptian. [Hodius II, De Bibliorum Textibus Originalibus. 4.115]. The same as the Nile, of which the Egyptians made the star Saturn the representative [Harenberg]. Bengel considers Remphan or Rephan akin to Teraphim and Remphis, the name of a king of Egypt. The Hebrews became infected with Sabeanism, the oldest form of idolatry, the worship of the Saba or starry hosts, in their stay in the Arabian desert, where Job notices its prevalence (Job 31:26); in opposition, in Am 5:27, Jehovah declares Himself "the God of hosts."

the star of your god—R. Isaac Caro says all the astrologers represented Saturn as the star of Israel. Probably there was a figure of a star on the head of the image of the idol, to represent the planet Saturn; hence "images" correspond to "star" in the parallel clause. A star in hieroglyphics represents God (Nu 24:17). "Images" are either a Hebraism for "image," or refer to the many images made to represent Chiun.

27. beyond Damascus—In Ac 7:43 it is "beyond Babylon," which includes beyond Damascus. In Amos' time, Damascus was the object of Israel's fear because of the Syrian wars. Babylon was not yet named as the place of their captivity. Stephen supplies this name. Their place of exile was in fact, as he states, "beyond Babylon," in Halah and Habor by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes (2Ki 17:6; compare here Am 1:5; 4:3; 6:14). The road to Assyria lay through "Damascus." It is therefore specified, that not merely shall they be carried captives to Damascus, as they had been by Syrian kings (2Ki 10:32, 33; 13:7), but, beyond that, to a region whence a return was not so possible as from Damascus. They were led captive by Satan into idolatry, therefore God caused them to go captive among idolaters. Compare 2Ki 15:29; 16:9; Isa 8:4, whence it appears Tiglath-pileser attacked Israel and Damascus at the same time at Ahaz' request (Am 3:11).