King James Version
Amos 3
15 verses with commentary
Witnesses Against Israel
Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse introduces a new prophetic oracle targeting "the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt." The phrase "whole family" (kol-ha-mishpachah) encompasses all twelve tribes—both northern Israel (Amos's primary audience) and southern Judah. By invoking the Exodus, Amos roots Israel's identity and obligation in God's redemptive act. The Exodus wasn't merely historical event but t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Children of Israel** rather than “house of Israel” is a phrase not so usual in Amos. Hence in many MSS. the latter phrase is substituted. There is, however, significance in the former, as Amos addresses himself to both kingdoms in the phrase “the whole family.” Yet the kingdom of the Ten Tribes seems to be chiefly in the mind of the prophet.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
48-49. These two verses belong to the forty-first chapter, which treats of the temple itself.
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. punish: Heb. visit upon
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse articulates one of Scripture's most important theological principles regarding election and accountability. "You only have I known of all the families of the earth" (raq etkhem yadati mikol mishpechot ha-adamah) declares Israel's unique covenant relationship with God. The verb "known" (yada) means far more than intellectual awareness—it signifies intimate, covenant relationship characte...
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(2) **Known.—**The knowledge of God is love. There was special knowledge and intimacy between God and Israel. Upon such knowledge followed advantages and privileges innumerable.
**Therefore I will** . . .—This may mean, in proportion to your privileges will be your doom—but more probably that this intimacy of knowledge is the ground of gracious chastisement. For nation or man to be allowed to go o...
Read full commentary →Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
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KJV Study Commentary
Amos asks the rhetorical question: "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" The Hebrew <em>yelkhu shenayim yachdav bilti im-no'adu</em> (יֵלְכוּ שְׁנַיִם יַחְדָּו בִּלְתִּי אִם־נוֹעָדוּ) literally asks whether two people walk together unless they have appointed/agreed to meet. This introduces a series of seven cause-and-effect questions (vv. 3-6) establishing that observable effects prove p...
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(3) **Two.**—Who are the two here represented? Some commentators say, two prophets; Rosenmüller, “God and the prophet.” But Grotius, Lowth, Henderson, and Pusey refer it, with more reason, to God and Israel, the expression denoting, not merely God’s knowledge of a man, but man’s response to God. His practical obedience, his communion of heart and will, are described as “walking with” or “before Go...
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CHAPTER 41 Eze 41:1-26. The Chambers and Ornaments of the Temple.
**1. tabernacle--**As in the measurement of the outer porch he had pointed to Solomon's temple, so here in the edifice itself, he points to the old tabernacle, which being eight boards in breadth (each one and a half cubits broad) would make in all twelve cubits, as here. On the interior it was only ten cubits.
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? cry: Heb. give forth his voice
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey?</strong> (הֲיִשְׁאַג אַרְיֵה בַּיַּעַר וְטֶרֶף אֵין לוֹ)—The Hebrew <em>yish'ag</em> (roar) describes the lion's triumphant cry after seizing prey, not the hunting growl. <strong>Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?</strong> (הֲיִתֵּן כְּפִיר קוֹלוֹ מִמְּעֹנָתוֹ בִּלְתִּי אִם־לָכַד)—The <em>kephir</em> (young ...
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(4) **Lion.—**The questions suggest that the prey is being seized. This is intimated by the lion’s roar, the loud roar of the lion in the forest, the growl of the famished young lions in the den. Aben-Ezra thus interprets; but G. Baur thinks that *Caphir* distinguishes a “hunting lion” from the beast that growls in his lair. (Comp. Amos 1:2.) Amos, by his graphic representation of the terrifying t...
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**2. length thereof--**namely, of the holy place [Fairbairn].
Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him?</strong> (הֲתִפֹּל צִפּוֹר עַל־פַּח הָאָרֶץ וּמוֹקֵשׁ אֵין לָהּ)—The Hebrew <em>pach</em> (snare/trap) was a spring-loaded device that caught birds. <em>Moqesh</em> (gin/bait) refers to the trigger mechanism. No bird falls into a trap unless someone deliberately set it. <strong>Shall one take up a snare from the earth, and...
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(5) **Can a bird.**—Better, *Does the snare rise up from the ground, and take nothing at all?*” E.V. “take up” is due to ambiguity of the Hebrew. The idea is that Israel “like a silly dove” is falling into snares. The snare, even now, may be seen springing from the earth. The armies and politics of the nation that will enclose Israel are already in motion.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. inward--**towards the most holy place.
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? be afraid: or, run together? the LORD: or, shall not the L.doe somewhat?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?</strong> (אִם־יִתָּקַע שׁוֹפָר בְּעִיר וְעָם לֹא יֶחֱרָדוּ)—The <em>shofar</em> (ram's horn trumpet) signaled military invasion, summoning citizens to defensive action. <em>Charad</em> (be afraid/tremble) describes the visceral terror when enemy attack is announced. <strong>Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath ...
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(6, 7) **Surely the Lord** . . .—In this, and the preceding verse, the future tense should be replaced by a present. Render *doeth nothing,* and in Amos 3:6 *is a trumpet sounded* . . . *are not afraid* . . . *is there evil;* for the prophet intends to express a continually-recurring fact. The word translated “evil” is commonly, but not universally, used for moral evil. (See Genesis 19:19; Genesis...
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**4. thereof--**of the holy of holies.
**before the temple--**that is, before, or in front of the most holy place (so "temple" is used in 1Ki 6:3). The angel went in and measured it, while Ezekiel stood in front, in the only part of the temple accessible to him. The dimensions of the two apartments are the same as in Solomon's temple, since being fixed originally by God, they are regarded as fin...
Read full commentary →Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse articulates a crucial biblical principle regarding prophetic revelation: "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." The Hebrew <em>ki lo ya'aseh Adonai YHWH davar ki im-galah sodo el-avadav hanevi'im</em> (כִּי לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה דָּבָר כִּי אִם־גָּלָה סוֹדוֹ אֶל־עֲבָדָיו הַנְּבִיאִים) means "For the Lord Yahweh does nothi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. side chamber--**the singular used collectively for the plural. These chambers were appendages attached to the outside of the temple, on the west, north, and south; for on the east side, the principal entrance, there were no chambers. The narrowness of the chambers was in order that the beams could be supported without needing pillars. The plan is similar to that of the hall at Koyunjik, a lar...
Read full commentary →The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The lion hath roared, who will not fear?</strong> (אַרְיֵה שָׁאָג מִי לֹא יִירָא, <em>aryeh sha'ag mi lo yira</em>)—Amos uses rhetorical questions to establish cause and effect. The lion's roar (שָׁאָג, <em>sha'ag</em>) triggers instinctive fear; similarly, <strong>the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?</strong> (אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה דִּבֶּר מִי לֹא יִנָּבֵא, <em>Adonai YHWH diber mi lo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Roared.—**Comp. the imagery of Amos 1:2, and that of Amos 3:4. The voice of the Lord is so audible, so clearly portending the coming judgment, that universal terror inevitably follows. (Comp. “If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. might ... hold, but ... not hold in ... wall of the house--**1Ki 6:6 tells us there were rests made in the walls of the temple for supports to the side chambers; but the temple walls did not thereby become part of this side building; they stood separate from it. "They entered," namely, the beams of the chambers, which were three-storied and thirty in consecutive order, entered into the wall, ...
Read full commentary →Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. oppressed: or, oppressions
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt</strong>—God summons pagan nations as witnesses against Israel's sin. The Hebrew הַשְׁמִיעוּ (<em>hashmi'u</em>, 'proclaim, announce publicly') demands widespread proclamation. Ashdod (Philistine city) and Egypt (Israel's former oppressor) represent notorious wickedness, yet even they will be shocked by <strong>the g...
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(9) **In the palaces.—**Rather, *on the palaces, i.e.,* on their roofs in such conspicuous places that the population, high and low, would hear the summons.
**Mountains of Samaria**.—In the high ground around the city, from which can be observed all that is passing in the metropolis. Foreign people, even Philistines and Egyptians, are gathered to witness the evils of the doomed realm. The marginal...
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**7. the breadth ... so increased from the lowest ... to the highest--**that is, the breadth of the interior space above was greater than that below.
For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. robbery: or, spoil
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They know not to do right</strong> (וְלֹא־יָדְעוּ עֲשׂוֹת־נְכֹחָה, <em>v'lo yad'u asot n'chochah</em>)—The Hebrew יָדְעוּ (<em>yad'u</em>, 'to know') implies not mere intellectual ignorance but moral corruption; they've lost the capacity to recognize righteousness. The word נְכֹחָה (<em>n'chochah</em>, 'right, straight, honest') contrasts with their crooked dealings. <strong>Who store up v...
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(10) **Know not to do right.—**Not merely have lost the perception of what is and what is not right, *but* are indifferent to such distinctions. They know not and care not; the awful state of utter moral impotence, wherein not only the intellectual consciousness, but the impulses to action, are languid or even paralysed—a dead conscience! Nothing is more condemnatory than this brief sentence. The ...
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**8. foundations ... six ... cubits--**the substructure, on which the foundations rested, was a full reed of six cubits.
**great--**literally, "to the extremity" or root, namely, of the hand [Henderson]. "To the joining," or point, where the foundation of one chamber ceased and another began [Fairbairn].
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>An adversary there shall be even round about the land</strong> (צַר וּסְבִיב הָאָרֶץ, <em>tzar us'viv ha'aretz</em>)—The enemy surrounds them completely; no escape remains. The term צַר (<em>tzar</em>, 'adversary, enemy, distress') appears with geographical emphasis: וּסְבִיב (<em>us'viv</em>, 'all around'). <strong>He shall bring down thy strength from thee</strong> (וְהוֹרִיד מִמֵּךְ עֻז...
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(11) **An adversary.—**This rendering is to be preferred to “affliction” (Chald., Syr.). It is the subject of the following verb “bring down,” Assyria being referred to, though not in express terms. The reading of LXX., “O Tyre, thy land round about thee is desolate,” is incoherent, and confounds *Tzăr* with *tzôr.*
**Thy strength** points mainly to the stronghold of Samaria, which the enemy was t...
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**9. that which was left--**There was an unoccupied place within chambers that belonged to the house. The buildings in this unoccupied place, west of the temple, and so much resembling it in size, imply that no place was to be left which was to be held, as of old, not sacred. Manasseh (2Ki 23:11) had abused these "suburbs of the temple" to keeping horses sacred to the sun. All excuse for such abom...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. taketh: Heb. delivereth in Damascus: or, on the bed's feet
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KJV Study Commentary
The shepherd metaphor is devastatingly ironic: <strong>As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear</strong> (כַּאֲשֶׁר יַצִּיל הָרֹעֶה מִפִּי הָאַרְיֵה, <em>ka'asher yatzil haro'eh mipi ha'aryeh</em>)—these aren't rescued sheep but proof of death for the shepherd's legal defense (Exodus 22:13). Similarly, <strong>so shall the children of Israel be taken out</...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Taketh out** . . . **taken out.—**Should be (as in margin) *delivereth* . . . *be delivered.* The agricultural image, used by Amos, is very impressive. The shanks and pieces of the ear, worthless portions, saved from the lion’s jaws, represent the remnants of Samaria’s population that shall escape.
**In Damascus in** **a couch.—**Some would render “in Damascus on that of (*i.e.,* corner of)...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. the chambers--**that is, of the priests in the court: between these and the side chambers was the wideness, &c. While long details are given as to the chambers, &c., no mention is made of the ark of the covenant. Fairbairn thus interprets this: In future there was to be a perfect conformity to the divine idea, such as there had not been before. The dwellings of His people should all ...
Read full commentary →Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob</strong> (שִׁמְעוּ וְהָעִידוּ בְּבֵית יַעֲקֹב, <em>shim'u v'ha'idu b'veit ya'akov</em>)—The Hebrew הָעִידוּ (<em>ha'idu</em>, 'testify, bear witness') is legal language; God calls witnesses against His people. The use of 'Jacob' rather than 'Israel' may emphasize their unchanged carnal nature—still deceivers like their ancestor. <strong>Saith the ...
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(13) **Hear ye.**—Addressed to the foreign nations Egypt and Philistia referred to in Amos 3:9.
That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. visit: or, punish Israel for
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him</strong> (בְּיוֹם פָּקְדִי פִשְׁעֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עָלָיו, <em>b'yom pokdi pish'ei yisrael alav</em>)—The verb פָּקַד (<em>pakad</em>, 'visit, attend to, punish') appears frequently in judgment contexts; God's 'visitation' brings reckoning. <strong>I will also visit the altars of Beth-el</strong> (וּפָקַדְתִּי עַל־מִזְבְּחוֹת ...
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12-15. Sum of the measures of the temple, and of the buildings behind and on the side of it.
And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I will smite the winter house with the summer house</strong> (וְהִכֵּיתִי בֵית־הַחֹרֶף עַל־בֵּית הַקָּיִץ, <em>v'hikeiti beit-hachoref al-beit hakayitz</em>)—The wealthy maintained separate residences for different seasons; winter houses were typically in valleys, summer houses on cool heights. God will strike both simultaneously. <strong>The houses of ivory shall perish</strong> (וְאָבְדו...
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(15) **Houses.**—It is uncertain whether by “winter and summer houses” are meant two classes of royal abodes, or different chambers of the same house (Judges 3:20; Jeremiah 36:22, are compatible with either). “Ivory houses” mean mansions adorned with ivory. For “great houses” should be read *many houses.*
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-15. Sum of the measures of the temple, and of the buildings behind and on the side of it.