Amos 2:13

Translation
King James Version
Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
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KJV (with Strong's)
Behold, I am pressed H5781 under you, as a cart H5699 is pressed H5781 that is full H4392 of sheaves H5995.
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Complete Jewish Bible
"Enough! I will make all this crush you, just as a cart overloaded with grain crushes what's under it.
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Berean Standard Bible
Behold, I am about to crush you in your place as with a cart full of grain.
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American Standard Version
Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves.
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World English Bible Messianic
Behold, I will crush you in your place, as a cart crushes that is full of grain.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
Behold, I am pressed vnder you as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaues.
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Young's Literal Translation
Lo, I am pressing you under, As the full cart doth press for itself a sheaf.
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See also
Isaiah 1:14Malachi 2:17Isaiah 7:13Psalms 78:40Ezekiel 16:43Isaiah 43:24Ezekiel 6:9
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In the KJVVerse 22,393 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Amos 2:13 delivers a striking divine lament, portraying God as utterly burdened and "pressed" by the accumulated weight of Israel's persistent sin, particularly their social injustice, moral corruption, and covenant unfaithfulness. Using the vivid agricultural metaphor of an overloaded cart groaning under a full load of harvested sheaves, the verse powerfully communicates that God's patience has reached its breaking point, signaling the imminent and inevitable outpouring of His righteous judgment upon His rebellious people.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Amos 2:13 stands as a climactic declaration within a meticulously structured series of divine judgments. Chapters 1 and 2 detail God's pronouncements ("For three transgressions, and for four...") against surrounding nations (Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab), then Judah, and finally, with amplified intensity, against Israel. Each nation's judgment is tied to specific, egregious sins. The pronouncements against Israel (Amos 2:6-16) are the most extensive and severe, highlighting their unique covenant responsibility. Verse 13, with its visceral imagery, serves as the divine explanation for the impending, inescapable judgment detailed in the subsequent verses (Amos 2:14-16), where military might and human strength will prove utterly useless against the Lord's wrath. It underscores that God's patience is not infinite; the "burden" of their sin has become intolerable.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The prophet Amos ministered during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II in the Northern Kingdom of Israel (c. 793-753 BC). This era was marked by significant economic growth, territorial expansion, and a false sense of security. However, beneath this veneer of prosperity lay deep-seated social injustice, widespread oppression of the poor, moral decay (including sexual immorality and drunkenness), and religious hypocrisy (syncretism, formalistic worship devoid of true righteousness). The rich exploited the poor, justice was perverted, and the covenant obligations to care for the vulnerable were utterly disregarded. The agricultural imagery of a "cart... full of sheaves" would have resonated deeply with an agrarian society, where the strain of an overloaded wagon was a common and easily understood phenomenon, vividly conveying the immense, unmanageable weight of Israel's accumulated transgressions.
  • Key Themes: Amos 2:13 powerfully contributes to several key themes prevalent throughout the book of Amos and the broader prophetic literature. Firstly, it highlights God's Righteous Indignation and Justice. Far from being a detached deity, God is profoundly affected by sin, and His holiness demands a response to unrighteousness. The "pressed" imagery conveys divine grief and righteous anger over Israel's persistent rebellion, similar to how God was grieved in His heart by human wickedness in Genesis 6:6. Secondly, it underscores the Gravity and Burden of Sin. Sin is not merely a violation of rules but a heavy, oppressive weight that burdens God Himself and ultimately leads to societal collapse and divine judgment. This prefigures the New Testament understanding that the wages of sin is death. Thirdly, the verse implicitly speaks to Covenant Faithfulness and Accountability. Israel, as God's chosen people, had a unique covenant relationship with Him, yet they continually violated its terms. Their prosperity had led to spiritual complacency and moral corruption, making their sin even more reprehensible in God's eyes, leading to an inevitable divine reckoning as seen throughout the warnings in Deuteronomy.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Pressed (Hebrew, ʻûwq', H5781): A primitive root meaning "to pack" or "be pressed." In this context, it conveys a profound sense of being crushed, burdened, or distressed to the point of being overwhelmed. It's not merely discomfort but an unbearable weight that strains to the breaking point, a divine groan under the immense load of Israel's sin.
  • Cart (Hebrew, ʻăgâlâh', H5699): Referring to a wheeled vehicle, specifically a wagon or cart. This is a common agricultural implement used for transporting heavy loads, particularly harvested crops. Its inclusion grounds the metaphor in a tangible, relatable experience of strain and impending breakdown.
  • Full (Hebrew, mâlêʼ', H4392): Meaning "full" literally or figuratively, or "filling." Here, it emphasizes the completeness and overflowing nature of the burden. The cart is not partially loaded; it is completely filled to capacity, indicating the totality and cumulative nature of Israel's transgressions.
  • Sheaves (Hebrew, ʻâmîyr', H5995): Referring to a bunch of grain or a handful/sheaf. These are bundles of harvested crops, which, while individually manageable, become incredibly heavy when accumulated in large quantities. This detail highlights the sheer volume and weight of the sins that have piled up, making the cart's load unbearable.

Verse Breakdown

  • "Behold, I am pressed under you,": This opening clause is a dramatic divine declaration ("Behold!"). God Himself speaks, expressing a direct, personal experience of being "pressed" or burdened. The "under you" indicates that Israel's actions, their accumulated sins, are the direct cause of this divine strain. This is a powerful anthropomorphism, conveying God's deep anguish and righteous indignation over His people's rebellion, not a limitation of His omnipotence but an expression of His profound grief and resolve for justice.
  • "as a cart is pressed [that is] full of sheaves.": This is the core of the metaphor, illustrating the nature and intensity of God's burdened state. The comparison to an overloaded cart, bursting at the seams with heavy sheaves of grain, vividly communicates an unbearable weight. Just as such a cart would groan, strain, and be on the verge of collapsing or grinding to a halt, so too has Israel's sin pushed God's patience to its absolute limit, signifying that divine judgment is not merely possible but an imminent and necessary consequence.

Literary Devices

The verse is rich with literary devices that amplify its impact. The most prominent is Metaphor, where God's burdened state is directly compared to an overloaded cart. This comparison is not explicit (like a simile using "like" or "as") but implied in the direct statement "I am pressed... as a cart is pressed," making the imagery immediate and powerful. This agricultural metaphor would have been profoundly relatable to Amos's original audience, an agrarian society, underscoring the immense, unmanageable weight of their accumulated sins. Secondly, Anthropomorphism is evident in the portrayal of God as being "pressed" or burdened. While God is omnipotent and immutable, this human-like expression conveys His profound emotional response to sin – His grief, righteous anger, and the limits of His patience. It communicates the seriousness of sin from a divine perspective, making it accessible to human understanding. Finally, there is an element of Hyperbole in the implied magnitude of the "full of sheaves" imagery. While a cart can be full, the language suggests an overwhelming, almost impossible load, emphasizing the extreme nature and cumulative effect of Israel's transgressions, pushing the divine patience beyond endurance.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Amos 2:13 is a profound theological statement on the nature of God, the gravity of sin, and the certainty of divine justice. It reveals a God who is not distant or indifferent but deeply affected by the moral choices of His people. The "pressed" imagery, while anthropomorphic, underscores God's holiness and His righteous intolerance for persistent rebellion and injustice. It teaches us that sin is not merely a human transgression but an offense against the very character of God, accumulating as a heavy burden on His divine patience. This verse serves as a stark reminder that while God is patient and slow to anger, His patience has limits, and unrepentant sin inevitably leads to judgment, a principle woven throughout the biblical narrative.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Amos 2:13 offers a timeless and sobering reflection for individuals and communities today. It confronts us with the profound truth that our actions, particularly our injustices, moral compromises, and spiritual apathy, do not occur in a vacuum; they have a cumulative effect that can grieve and "burden" the heart of God. This verse challenges us to examine our lives and societies: Are we, through our choices and systems, contributing to a "load" of sin that weighs heavily on God's righteous character? Do we take God's patience for granted, assuming His grace is infinite without consequence for persistent rebellion? The imagery of the breaking cart serves as a powerful call to urgent repentance, reminding us that there is a tipping point where divine patience gives way to necessary justice. It compels us to live lives that reflect God's righteousness, actively pursuing justice, compassion, and genuine worship, thereby seeking to lighten the burden of sin in the world rather than adding to it.

Questions for Reflection

  • In what ways might our individual or collective sins be "pressing" upon God's heart today?
  • How does the concept of God being "burdened" by sin deepen your understanding of His holiness and justice?
  • What specific actions can you take to live a life that aligns with God's righteousness, rather than contributing to the "load" of sin in the world?
  • How does this verse challenge any complacency you might have about God's patience or the consequences of unrepentant sin?

FAQ

Does Amos 2:13 imply that God is weak or limited by human sin?

Answer: No, Amos 2:13 does not imply that God is weak or limited in His omnipotence. Rather, the anthropomorphic language ("I am pressed under you") is a powerful literary device used to convey the intensity of God's righteous indignation, grief, and the profound offense that Israel's persistent sin causes to His holy character. It's an expression of divine resolve and the breaking point of His long-suffering patience, signaling that judgment is imminent because His justice demands it. God is not literally "pressed" in a physical sense, but the metaphor communicates the unbearable weight of their rebellion from a divine perspective, much like God "grieved" over humanity in Genesis 6:6.

What were the specific sins of Israel that "pressed" God?

Answer: The preceding verses in Amos 2 (Amos 2:6-8) detail Israel's specific transgressions. These included severe social injustice (selling the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes), oppression of the vulnerable (trampling the head of the poor, turning aside the way of the meek), sexual immorality (father and son going in to the same maid), and religious hypocrisy (lying down by every altar upon clothes taken in pledge, drinking wine of the condemned in the house of their God). These actions demonstrated a profound disregard for God's covenant and His commands, particularly those concerning justice and care for the marginalized, which collectively became an unbearable burden to God.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Amos 2:13, with its vivid portrayal of God burdened by the weight of human sin, finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While Amos prophesied of God being "pressed" by Israel's transgressions, Jesus, the Son of God, willingly became the one "pressed" for our transgressions. He bore the full, crushing weight of humanity's sin – the very burden that grieved the Father – upon Himself on the cross. The "cart full of sheaves" representing the accumulated sin of the world was laid upon Him, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Through His atoning sacrifice, Christ absorbed the divine wrath and judgment that our sin deserved, effectively removing the unbearable burden that pressed upon God and separated humanity from Him. He became sin for us, though He knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Thus, the burden of sin that Amos described as pressing upon God is fully and finally dealt with through Christ's redemptive work, offering us reconciliation and a new covenant where our sins are remembered no more.

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Commentary on Amos 2 verses 9–16

Here, I. God puts his people Israel in mind of the great things he has done for them, in putting them into possession of the land of Canaan, the greatest part of which these ten tribes now enjoyed, Amo 2:9, Amo 2:10. Note, We need often to be reminded of the mercies we have received, which are the heaviest aggravations of the sins we have committed. God gives liberally, and upbraids us not with our meanness and unworthiness, and the disproportion between his gifts and our merits; but he justly upbraids us with our ingratitude, and ill requital of his favours, and tells us what he has done for us, to shame us for not rendering again according to the benefit done to us. "Son, remember; Israel, remember, 1. That God brought thee out of a house of bondage, rescued thee out of the land of Egypt, where thou wouldst otherwise have perished in slavery." 2. That he led thee forty years through a desert land, and fed thee in a wilderness, where thou wouldst otherwise have perished with hunger. Mercies to our ancestors were mercies to us, for, if they had been cut off, we should not have been. 3. That he made room for them in Canaan, by extirpating the natives by a series of wonders little inferior to those by which they were redeemed out of Egypt: I destroyed the Amorite before them, here put for all the devoted nations. Observe the magnificence of the enemies that stood in their way, which is taken notice of, that God may be the more magnified in the subduing of them. They were of great stature (whose height was like the height of the cedars) and the people of Israel were as shrubs to them; and they were also of great strength, not only tall, but well-set: He was strong as the oaks. Their kingdom was eminent among the nations, and over-topped all its neighbours. The supports and defences of it seemed impregnable; it was as fine as the stately cedar; it was as firm as the sturdy oak; yet, when God had a vine to plant there (Psa 80:8, Psa 80:9), this Amorite was not only cut down, but plucked up: I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from beneath, so that the Amorites were no more a nation, nor ever read of any more. Thus highly did God value Israel. He gave men for them and people for their life, Isa 43:4. How ungrateful then were those who put such contempt upon him! 4. That he made them possess the land of the Amorite, not only put it into their hands, so that they became masters of it jure belli - by right of conquest, but gave them a better title to it, so that it became theirs by promise.

II. He likewise upbraids them with the spiritual privileges and advantages they enjoyed as a holy nation, Amo 2:11. They had helps for their souls, which taught them how to make good use of their temporal enjoyments and were therefore more valuable. It is true the ten tribes had not God's temple, altar, and priesthood, and it was their own fault that they deserted them, and for that they might justly have been left in utter darkness; but God left not himself without witness, nor them without guides to show them the way. 1. They had prophets that were powerful instructors in piety, divinely inspired, and commissioned to make known the mind of God to them, to show them what is pleasing to God and what displeasing, to reprove them for their faults and warn them of their dangers, to direct them in their difficulties and comfort them in their troubles. God raised them up prophets, animated them for that work and employed them in it. He raised them up of their sons, from among themselves, as Moses and Christ were raised up from among their brethren, Deu 18:15. It was an honour put upon their nation, and upon their families, that they had children of their own to be God's messengers to them, of their own language, not strangers sent from another country, whom they might suspect to be prejudiced against them and their land, but those who, they knew, wished well to them. Note, Faithful ministers are great blessings to any people, and it is God that raises them up to be so, that they may justly be reckoned an honour to the families they are of. 2. They had Nazarites that were bright examples of piety: I raised up of your young men for Nazarites, men that bound themselves by a vow to God and his service, and, in pursuance of that, denied themselves many of the lawful delights of sense, as drinking wine and eating grapes. There were some of their young men that were in their prime for the enjoyment of the pleasures of this life and yet voluntarily abridged themselves of them; these God raised up by the power of his grace, to be monuments of his grace, to his glory, and to be his witnesses against the impieties of that degenerate age. Note, It is as great a blessing to any place to have eminent good Christians in it as to have eminent good ministers in it; for so they have examples to their rules. We must acknowledge that it bodes well to any people when God raises up numbers of hopeful young people among them, when he makes their young men Nazarites, devout, and conscientious, and mortified to the pleasures of sense; and those that are such Nazarites are purer than snow, whiter than milk; they are indeed the polite young men, for their polishing is of sapphires, Lam 4:7. Those that have such men, such young men, among them, have therein such an advantage, both for direction and encouragement, to be religious, as they will be called to an account for another day if they do not improve. Israel is here reckoned with, not only for the prophets, but for the Nazarites, raised up among them. Concerning the truth of this, he appeals to themselves: "Is it not even thus, O you children of Israel? Can you deny it? Have not you yourselves been sensible of the advantage you had by the prophets and Nazarites raised up among you?" Note, Sinners' own consciences will be witnesses for God that he has not been wanting to them in the means of grace, so that, if they perish, it is because they have been wanting to themselves in not improving those means. The men of Judah shall themselves judge between God and his vineyard, whether he could have done more for it, Isa 5:3, Isa 5:4.

III. He charges them with the abuse of the means of grace they enjoyed, and the opposition they gave to God's designs in affording them those means, Amo 2:12. They were so far from walking in the light that they rebelled against it, and did what they could to extinguish it, that it might not shine in their faces, to their conviction. 1. They did what they could to debauch good people, to draw them off from their seriousness in devotion and their strictness in conversation: You gave the Nazarites wine to drink, contrary to their vow, that, having broken it in that instance, they might not pretend to keep it in any other. Some they surprised, or allured into it, and with their much fair speech caused them to yield; others they forced and frightened into it, reproached and threatened them if they were more precise than their neighbours; and, by drawing them in to drink wine, they spoiled them for Nazarites. Note, Satan and his agents are very busy to corrupt the minds of young people that look heavenward; and many that we thought would have been Nazarites they have overcome by giving them wine to drink, by drawing them in to the love of mirth and pleasure, and drinking company. Multitudes of young men that bade fair for eminent professors of religion have erred through wine, and been undone for ever. And how do the factors for hell triumph in the debauching of a Nazarite! 2. They did what they could to silence good ministers, and to stop their mouths: "You commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not, and threatened them if they did prophesy (Amo 7:12), as if God's messengers were bound to observe your orders, and might not deliver their errand unless you gave them leave, and so you not only received the grace of God, in raising up those prophets, in vain, but put the highest affront imaginable upon that God in whose name the prophets spoke." Note, Those have a great deal to answer for that cannot bear faithful preaching, and those much more that suppress it.

IV. He complains of the wrong they did him by their sins (Amo 2:13): "I am pressed under you, I am straitened by you, and can no longer bear it, and therefore I will ease myself of my adversaries, Isa 1:24. I am pressed under you and the load of your sins as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves, is loaded with corn, in the midst of the joy of harvest, as long as any will lie on." Note, The great God complains of sin, especially the sins of his professing people, as a burden to him. He is grieved with this generation (Psa 95:10), is broken with their whorish heart (Eze 6:9), a consideration which, if it make not the sinner's repentance very deep, will make his ruin very great. The great God that upholds the world, and never complains that his is pressed under the weight of it (he fainteth not, neither is weary), yet complains of the sins of Israel, yea, and of their hypocritical services too, that he is weary of bearing them, Isa 1:14. No wonder the creature groans being burdened (Rom 8:22), when the Creator says, I am pressed under them.

V. He threatens them with unavoidable ruin. And so some read, Amo 2:13, "Behold I will press, or straiten, your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses; they shall be loaded with judgments till they shall sink under them, and shall make a noise, as a cart overloaded does." Those that will not submit to the convictions of the word, that will neither be won by that nor by the conversation of those about them, shall be made to sink under the weight of God's judgments. If God load us daily with his benefits, and we, notwithstanding that, load him with our sins, how can we expect any other than that he should load us with his judgments? And it is here threatened in the last three verses that, when God comes forth to contend with this provoking people, they shall not be able to stand before him, to flee from him, nor to make their part good with him; for when God judges he will overcome. Though his patience be tired out, his power is not, and so the sinner shall find, to his cost. When the Assyrian army comes to lay the country waste by sword and captivity none shall escape, but every one shall have his share in the common desolation. 1. It will be in vain to think of fleeing from the enemy that comes armed with a commission to make all desolate: The flight shall perish from the swift; those that have been famed for happy escapes and happy retreats shall now find their arts fail them; they shall have no time to flee, or shall find no way to take, or they shall have no strength or spirit to attempt it; they shall be at their wits' end, and then they are soon at their flight's end. Are they, as Asahel, as swift of foot as a wild roe? (Sa2 2:18), yet, like him, they shall run the faster upon their own destruction: He that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself, Amo 2:15. Or do they say (as those, Isa 30:16), We will flee upon horses, and we will ride upon the swift? Yet they shall be overtaken: Neither shall he that rides the horse deliver himself from his pursuers. A horse is a vain thing for safety. 2. It will be in vain to think of fighting it out. God is at war with them; and are they stronger than he? Is there any military force that can pretend to be a match for Omnipotence? No: The strong shall not strengthen his force. He that has a habit of strength shall not be able to exert it when he has occasion for it. And the mighty, whose should protect and deliver others, shall not be able to deliver himself, to deliver his soul (so the word is), shall not save his life. Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, nor trust in it, but strengthen himself in the Lord his God, for in him is everlasting strength. And, as the bodily strength shall fail, so shall the weapons of war. The armour as well as the arm shall become insufficient: Neither shall he stand that handles the bow, though he stand at a distance, but shall betake himself to flight, and not trust to his own bow to save him. Though the arm be ever so strong, and the armour ever so well fixed, neither will avail when the spirit fails (Amo 2:16): He that is courageous among the mighty, that used to look danger in the face, and not be dismayed at it, shall flee away naked in that day, not only disarmed, having thrown away his weapons both offensive and defensive, but plundered of his treasure, which he thought to carry away with him, and he shall think it as much as he could expect that he has his life for a prey. Thus when God pleases he takes away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causes those who used to boast of their courage, and their daring enterprises in the field, to wander and sneak in a wilderness where there is no way, Job 12:24.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 9–16. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Amos
(Verse 13 onwards) Behold, I will roar underneath you, like a heavily loaded wagon roars with hay, and the fleet warrior shall perish, and the strong shall not retain his strength, and the mighty shall not save his soul, and the archer shall not stand, and the swift-footed one shall not be saved, and the rider of the horse shall not save his soul, and the strong of heart among the strong ones, shall flee naked on that day, says the Lord. LXX: Therefore, behold, I will roll under you like a wagon full of straw is rolled, and the swift one shall perish in flight, and the strong one shall not retain his strength, and the warrior shall not save his soul, and the archer shall not endure, and the swift-footed one shall not be able to be saved, and the horseman shall not save his soul, and his heart shall be found among the mighty, and the naked one shall flee on that day, says the Lord. With me granting benefits to you, and leading you out of the land of Egypt, and destroying the Amorite before your face, so that you could possess his land, and raising up prophets from your sons, and Nazarites from your young men, you made my Nazarites drink wine, and said to the prophets: Do not prophesy. Therefore, just as a cart is burdened with a load of straw or hay, and it screeches and makes a loud noise from afar, so I, unable to bear your sins any longer, and handing you over to the fire like straw, will cry out and say: The quick will perish in flight, whom the Hebrews understand to be Jeroboam the son of Nabath, who had previously fled to Egypt (1 Kings 11). But here we will not take the princes themselves, but their houses and offspring. And the strong will not retain his strength: strong is interpreted as Basan, who was very ready for war (3 Kings 15). And the mighty will not save his soul: they understand this as referring to Amri (or Omri) here. And the one holding a bow will not stand or sustain: they think this refers to Jehu son of Namsi (or Nemsi), who struck King Joram of Israel with an arrow (4 Kings 9). And he who is swift on his feet will not be saved: Manahen they understand, who vainly hastening directed gifts to the king of the Assyrians (2 Kings 15): And the rider of the horse will not save his life: this Phacee, the son of Romelia, they interpret, who united with Aram, that is, Syria, devastated many things under the reign of Achaz, king of Judah. And with a strong heart, he will flee naked among the strong on that day, says the Lord (Ibid.). Only Osee, who was the last king of the ten tribes, and who attempted to bring back the errant people to the worship of God (2 Kings 18), will go out as if naked from the fire. Moreover, he calls them naked because under him the ten tribes were captured. This is what the Hebrews assert, and as it has been handed down to us, we have faithfully explained it to our people. But now let us return to our own matter. God threatens to roll a cart over them, burdened with hay or straw, so that because they do not have grain to store in granaries, their hay and straw will be consumed by fire. This is the hay of which the prophet says: Let it become like the hay of buildings, which withers before it is uprooted (Ps. 128:6). And: All flesh is grass (Isaiah 40:6). But that straw is what the prophet mourns lamentably for when it catches fire, saying: Woe is me! for I have become like one who gathers straw in the harvest, and like grape clusters in the vintage, when there is no bunch to eat the firstfruit. Woe is me! my soul (added in some versions), for the kind-hearted person has perished from the earth, and there is no one who does what is right among humanity: all are judged by blood (Micah 7:1), and so on. This is hay and straw, of which the Apostle speaks: Each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire. And the rolling cart, that is what we read about in Isaiah: Moab shall be trampled down as straw is trampled in the dung-pit. And in another place: I will make you like a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff. And after you have broken the mountains and hills, the swift flight shall cease, as Paul says: Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. And in another place: You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth (Gal. 5:7) ? And about himself, fearing, he said: Not that I have now received, or am already perfected; but I pursue, if I may apprehend, in which also I am apprehended by Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12) . He did all these things, lest the flight from the swift be in vain: wherefore when he had now reached the end, and had received the reward of victory, he said securely: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; as to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me in that day; and not only to me, but to them also that love his coming (2 Tim. 4:7, 8) . If we flee with quickness, sin will not be able to apprehend us; but if malice binds our feet, we will speak with the prophet to God: Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I flee from your face (Ps. 138:7)? The Apostle speaks about wicked runners: It is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of the one who has mercy of God (Rom. 9:16) . It follows: And the strong will not obtain his strength: not because he is strong, but because he boasts of being strong. Whether one trusts in their own strength and not in God's mercy, according to what is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart' (1 Corinthians 2:19): not that true wisdom can perish, and the understanding of truth be rejected; but that the wisdom of those who consider themselves wise and trust in their own erudition may perish. Likewise, the strong or warrior who does not save his own soul is the one who does not possess the full armor of the Apostle: having a shield, but not faith; girded with a belt, but not in truth; clad in armor, but not in righteousness; wielding a sword, but not for salvation (Ephesians 6). A warrior of this sort does not sanctify battle, nor can he wage war in the name of the Lord, fighting against truth for the sake of lies. Such a warrior cannot say: Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to war. My mercy and my refuge (Ps. CXLIII, 1). The heretics also have archers who, in vain, try to draw the bow, they cannot withstand the arrow of the Lord, as spoken by Isaiah: But I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity' (Isa. XLIX, 2). These are the archers, of whom David also sings: Look, the sinners have bent their bow, they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, to shoot at the upright in heart in the darkness (Ps. X, 2). And the swift (he says) will not be saved by his feet, who runs through the testimonies of the Scriptures because of the sharpness of his wit, and tries to oppress the truth with the eloquence of speakers or with the sophisms of the dialecticians, and is hindered in it and falls, because he trusts not in God but in his own feet. The horse also will not save his own soul, who disregards the saying through the prophet: The horse is a deceitful hope for salvation (Ps. 32:17). And he does not know that it is written: All who mounted horses have slumbered (Ps. 75:7). This one will not save his own soul; but perishing, he will hear: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. They are impeded and have fallen; but we have risen and have been raised up (Ps. 19:8-9). A strong man, even with a courageous heart, will flee when naked among the brave. This place can be interpreted in two ways: either he is able to escape because he has stripped himself of the old man and the garments of sins, and he is burdened by no weight, or on the contrary, he is naked and has lost the clothing of Christ, of which it is said in the Apostle: Put on Christ Jesus (Rom. XIII, 14) . And in another place: For if we are clothed, we shall not be found naked (II Cor. V, 3); his strength will be of no use to him; but on the day of battle and struggle, he will flee from those who pursue him, and not being able to resist the enemies without armor, he will show them his back.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 6:32.7
He sometimes compares himself with deep condescension, on account of our infirmity, to objects without sense, as he says by the prophet, “Behold, I will shriek over you as a cart creaks when laden with hay.” For since the life of the carnal is hay (as it is written, all flesh is hay), in that the Lord endures the life of the carnal he declares that he carries hay as a cart. And to creak under the weight of the hay is for him to bear with murmuring the burdens and iniquities of sinners. When therefore he applies to himself very unlike resemblances, we must carefully observe that some things of this kind are sometimes spoken of concerning God, on account of the effect of his doings, but sometimes to indicate the substance of his majesty.
Richard ChallonerAD 1781
I will screak: Unable to bear any longer the enormous load of your sins, etc. The spirit of God, as St. Jerome takes notice, accommodates himself to the education of the prophet and inspires him with comparisons taken from country affairs.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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