The Lord's Inescapable Judgment on Israel
Amos 9:1-10
Amo.9.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- נצב: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- המזבח: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הך: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- הכפתור: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וירעשו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- הספים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ובצעם: PREP
- בראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- כלם: PRON,3,m,pl
- ואחריתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אהרג: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ינוס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- נס: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- ימלט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- פליט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 9:5-6 (verbal): A divine command to slaughter beginning at the sanctuary; like Amos’ vision of the LORD ordering deadly destruction 'on the heads of all' with no escape.
- 1 Kings 13:2 (structural): A prophet strikes at an altar and pronounces its destruction—paralleling Amos’ image of God standing at the altar and commissioning its overthrow.
- Judges 6:25-26 (structural): Gideon’s tearing down of altars and pillars echoes the motif of destroying cultic supports (pillars/altars) as an act of divine judgment.
- Micah 3:12 (thematic): Announcement of judgment against Zion and the temple (‘the mountain of the house… become heaps’), resonant with Amos’ threat to topple the sanctuary.
- Zephaniah 1:14-18 (thematic): The imminent, inescapable day of the LORD and the inability of wealth to save—echoing Amos’ insistence that fugitives will not escape the coming slaughter.
Alternative generated candidates
- I saw the LORD standing beside the altar, and he said, “Strike the capitals, and the thresholds shall tremble; I will slay the last of them with the sword—none shall flee away, and no refugee shall escape.”
- I saw the LORD standing beside the altar; and he said, 'Strike the capitals, and let the thresholds quake, and cut off their heads—Their end I will slay with the sword. They shall not flee; there shall be no running, nor any escape.'
Amo.9.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- יחתרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בשאול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משם: PREP
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- תקחם: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ואם: CONJ
- יעלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- משם: PREP
- אורידם: VERB,qal,impf,1,common,sg
Parallels
- Jonah 2:6-7 (thematic): Jonah speaks of sinking to the roots and being lifted up from the pit by God — a close theme of divine rescue from the depths (Sheol/pit).
- Psalm 139:8 (thematic): The psalmist contrasts ascent to heaven and descent to Sheol to affirm God’s presence in both realms, echoing Amos’s juxtaposition of heaven and Sheol under God’s authority.
- Isaiah 14:13-15 (verbal): Isaiah depicts a figure who declares, 'I will ascend to heaven' and is then brought down to Sheol/the pit — directly paralleling Amos’s language of climbing to heaven and being brought down.
- Job 11:8 (thematic): Zophar’s rhetorical image that God’s understanding is 'higher than heaven and deeper than Sheol' parallels Amos’s use of heaven and Sheol as the extreme domains over which God rules.
Alternative generated candidates
- If they go down to Sheol, from there my hand will take them; if they ascend to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
- If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them; and if they ascend to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
Amo.9.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- יחבאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- הכרמל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- משם: PREP
- אחפש: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- ולקחתים: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- ואם: CONJ
- יסתרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מנגד: ADV
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- בקרקע: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- משם: PREP
- אצוה: VERB,hiph,impf,1,?,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הנחש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ונשכם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 21:6-9 (verbal): The LORD sends serpents among the people so that they bite them—direct parallel of God using serpents as instruments of punishment.
- Psalm 139:7-12 (thematic): Theme of divine omnipresence and impossibility of hiding from God (whether on high or in the depths), echoing Amos’ images of Carmel and the sea.
- Hebrews 4:13 (allusion): New Testament statement that nothing is hidden from God’s sight—an explicit theological echo of God searching out those who try to hide.
- Psalm 91:13 (thematic): Parallel serpent imagery; while Psalm 91 depicts protection over one who trusts God (treading on the serpent), Amos uses the serpent as an instrument of divine judgment—related motifs of serpent and divine agency.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if they hide on the summit of Carmel, there I will seek and take them; and if they hide before my eyes in the depths of the sea, there I will command the serpent and it shall bite them.
- If they hide on the summit of Carmel, from there I will search and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
Amo.9.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- ילכו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בשבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לפני: PREP
- איביהם: NOUN,m,pl,suff_3mp
- משם: PREP
- אצוה: VERB,hiph,impf,1,?,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- החרב: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והרגתם: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg+OBJ,3,m,pl
- ושמתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- לרעה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- לטובה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Amos 5:27 (structural): Same prophetic corpus: God declares He will send Israel into exile (’into captivity beyond Damascus’), a closely related threat of removal and punishment.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 (verbal): Part of the Deuteronomic curse formula: Israel will be ‘smitten before your enemies’ and driven into dispersion—language and theme parallel to being overtaken and judged despite flight.
- Habakkuk 1:6 (allusion): God announces raising a foreign, violent nation (the Chaldeans) as His instrument of judgment—parallels Amos’s idea that God will ‘command the sword’ against His people.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17–20 (thematic): Historical summary of Judah’s punishment: God brings the king of the Chaldeans who slays and leads into exile—an historical realization of the prophetic threat that judgment will pursue them into captivity.
- Jeremiah 18:11 (verbal): Jeremiah uses similar language of God ‘framing/declaring evil’ against the people (calling them to repent or face devised calamity), echoing the motif ‘for evil and not for good.’
Alternative generated candidates
- And if they go into exile before their enemies, from there I will command the sword and it will slay them; I will set my eyes upon them for harm and not for good.
- If they go into exile before their enemies, from there I will command the sword and I will kill them. I will set my eyes upon them for harm and not for good.
Amo.9.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואדני: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הצבאות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הנוגע: VERB,qal,ptc,act,m,sg,def
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- ותמוג: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ואבלו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- יושבי: PTC,qal,ptc,mp,cons
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ועלתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- כיאר: CONJ
- כלה: ADV
- ושקעה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- כיאר: CONJ
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Nahum 1:5 (verbal): Uses the same motif of divine presence causing mountains to quake and hills to melt—'the hills melt' parallels Amos' 'the earth melts' as effect of the LORD's touch.
- Isaiah 24:19-20 (thematic): Cosmic-judgment imagery of the earth being broken, trembling, and passing away—echoes Amos' picture of the land melting and its inhabitants mourning under God's judgement.
- Joel 2:10 (thematic): The earth quakes and the heavens tremble at the coming judgment—similar language of terrestrial upheaval when God acts against the people.
- Psalm 18:7 (verbal): Describes the earth shaking and the foundations of the heavens moving at the LORD's anger—parallels Amos' emphasis on physical convulsion caused by God's intervention.
- Psalm 46:2-3 (thematic): Speaks of the earth being removed and mountains falling into the sea in the context of God's power and war—resonant imagery of cosmic disturbance in the face of the LORD's actions.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts—he who lays his hand on the land and it melts, and all who dwell therein mourn; the land rises like a flood and is devastated, it sinks like the Nile of Egypt.
- Behold, the LORD God of hosts—he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn; its rising is like the Nile, its subsiding like the Nile of Egypt.
Amo.9.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הבונה: VERB,qal,part,ms,sg,def
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מעלותיו: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,ms
- ואגדתו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,ms
- על: PREP
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יסדה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+PRON,3,f,sg
- הקרא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למי: PREP,interr
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- וישפכם: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,ms+PRON,3,pl
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 38:8-11 (verbal): God's control over the sea—closing it with 'bars' and commanding its limits—parallels Amos' image of God calling and pouring out the waters and establishing cosmic boundaries.
- Psalm 104:2-9 (thematic): Speaks of God stretching out the heavens, founding the earth, and setting boundaries for the seas so they do not cover the earth, echoing Amos' motifs of divine cosmic building and mastery over the waters.
- Isaiah 40:12 (thematic): Portrays God measuring the waters in his hand and marking off the heavens—similar language of divine sovereignty over heavens and seas found in Amos 9:6.
- Psalm 136:6 (allusion): Declares that God 'spread out the earth above the waters' with a refrain of God's enduring name, resonating with Amos' coupling of creation acts (founding the earth, calling the waters) and naming the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- He who builds his lofty chambers in the heavens and establishes his vault upon the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the land—The LORD is his name.
- He who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and lays the foundations of his vault upon the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the land—the LORD is his name.
Amo.9.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הלוא: PART
- כבני: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- כשיים: PREP+NUM,card,pl,m
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הלוא: PART
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העליתי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,m,sg
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ופלשתיים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מכפתור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וארם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מקיר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 6:6 (quotation): God's declaration of bringing Israel out of Egypt echoes Amos' reference to the Exodus as proof of divine action on Israel's behalf.
- Hosea 11:1 (allusion): Both passages invoke God's role in calling or bringing Israel out of Egypt—Hosea as a motif of divine adoption and Amos as a demonstration of God's sovereign dealings with nations.
- Genesis 10:14 (verbal): Genesis identifies Caphtorim as the origin of the Philistines; Amos' mention of 'Philistines from Caphtor' echoes this ethnic/geographical tradition.
- Deuteronomy 32:8 (thematic): Deuteronomy's motif of God allotting the nations parallels Amos' assertion of God's sovereignty over the origins and destinies of other peoples (Philistines, Arameans) as well as Israel.
- Acts 17:26 (thematic): Paul's assertion that God made every nation and determined their boundaries resonates with Amos' claim that God brought various peoples from their lands—underscoring divine control over national origins and movements.
Alternative generated candidates
- Are you not to me like the sons of Cush, O children of Israel? declares the LORD. Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?
- Are you not like the children of Cush to me, O children of Israel? declares the LORD. Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?
Amo.9.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בממלכה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- החטאה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- והשמדתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,_,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- מעל: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אפס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- השמיד: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- אשמיד: VERB,hif,impf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 (verbal): Speaks of the LORD's eyes 'running to and fro throughout the whole earth'—a close verbal/theme parallel to Amos' declaration that the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom, indicating God's searching oversight that brings judgment or help.
- Psalm 33:13-14 (thematic): Affirms that 'the Lord looks down from heaven' and 'sees all the children of man,' echoing Amos' motif of God's attentive gaze on nations which grounds both judgment and preservation.
- Isaiah 10:20-22 (thematic): Predicts that a remnant of Israel (Jacob) will return despite widespread destruction—parallels Amos 9:8's promise not to utterly destroy the house of Jacob and the remnant motif in prophetic judgment.
- Isaiah 1:9 (thematic): 'If the LORD of hosts had not left unto us a very small remnant...' — directly parallels Amos' assurance that Israel will not be wholly destroyed, highlighting the prophetic theme of a preserved remnant amid punishment.
- Romans 11:5 (allusion): Paul's claim that 'there is a remnant chosen by grace' in the present age echoes the prophetic motif (including Amos 9:8) that God preserves a faithful remnant of Israel despite national judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom; I will destroy it from off the face of the ground—only I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, declares the LORD.
- Behold, the eyes of the LORD God are upon the sinful kingdom; I will destroy it from the face of the earth—yet I will not wholly destroy the house of Jacob, declares the LORD.
Amo.9.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- הנה: PART
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מצוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והנעותי: VERB,hiph,impf,1,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- את: PRT,acc
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כאשר: CONJ
- ינוע: VERB,nip,impf,3,m,sg
- בכברה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- ולא: CONJ
- יפול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- צרור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Luke 22:31 (verbal): Jesus tells Simon that Satan has asked to 'sift you as wheat'—the same sifting/winnowing image used in Amos to describe testing and purging of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (thematic): God warns that he will scatter Israel among all nations—Amos echoes this motif of dispersion among the peoples.
- Malachi 3:2-3 (thematic): God is described as a refiner and purifier who will cleanse (purge) Israel—parallels Amos’s image of divine testing that preserves a remnant.
- Zechariah 13:9 (thematic): God speaks of refining and testing so that a remnant is left (one third), echoing Amos’s sifting imagery and the preservation of a surviving group.
- Psalm 1:4-5 (thematic): The wicked are compared to chaff blown away (winnowed) and unable to stand at judgment—related winnowing/sifting imagery used by Amos to describe judgment and separation.
Alternative generated candidates
- For behold, I will command and I will sift among all the nations the house of Israel, as one shakes a sieve; not a single kernel shall fall to the earth.
- For behold, I command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like one sifts with a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.
Amo.9.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- בחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ימותו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- כל: DET
- חטאי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- האמרים: VERB,qal,ptcp,0,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- תגיש: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ותקדים: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- בעדינו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+1pl
- הרעה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Zephaniah 1:12 (verbal): Uses nearly identical sentiment/phrase — people saying in their hearts that the Lord will not do either good or evil, expressing the same false sense of immunity that Amos condemns.
- Isaiah 28:15 (allusion): Speaks of a self‑assured pact (‘we have made a covenant with death’) and confident exemption from disaster — a comparable theological image of presumptuous security that invites judgment.
- Amos 6:1-7 (structural): Within the same book Amos denounces complacent, self‑satisfied Israelites ('at ease in Zion') who presume safety while engaging in injustice — a broader thematic context for the warning in 9:10.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (thematic): New Testament parallel: when people say ‘peace and safety’ sudden destruction comes — the same prophetic motif that presumptuous security precedes unexpected judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword—those who say, “Disaster shall not overtake us, nor shall mischief come near us.”
- All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword—those who say, 'Evil shall not overtake us, and misfortune shall not come upon us.'
I saw the LORD standing beside the altar, and he said, “Smite the capitals, and let the thresholds tremble; shatter them upon the head of all. Their end I will put to the sword; none shall flee to escape, none shall be saved.”
If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them; if they ascend to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
If they hide on the top of Carmel, there I will search and take them; if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will summon the serpent, and it will bite them.
If they go into exile before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and I will kill them; I will set my eyes upon them for harm, not for good.
The LORD God of hosts—he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn; when it rises it is like the Nile, and when it sinks it is like the River of Egypt.
He who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founded his vault over the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the land— the LORD is his name.
Are you not to me like the children of Cush, O house of Israel? declares the LORD. Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?
Behold, the eyes of the LORD God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth—yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the LORD.
For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as one shakes a sieve; not a pebble shall fall to the earth.
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword—those who say, “Calamity shall not overtake us, nor shall disaster come near.”