English · ASV

Amos 4

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Judgment on the Oppressive Women 1–3

1
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords, Bring, and let us drink. ​
2
The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that they shall take you away with hooks, and your residue with fish-hooks. ​
3
And ye shall go out at the breaches, every one straight before her; and ye shall cast yourselves into Harmon, saith Jehovah. ​

Satire of Formalistic Worship 4–5

4
Come to Beth-el, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes every three days; ​
5
and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill-offerings and publish them: for this pleaseth you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah. ​

Five Warnings Rejected by Israel 6–11

6
And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. ​
7
And I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. ​
8
So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.
9
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees hath the palmer-worm devoured: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. ​
10
I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. ​
11
I have overthrown cities among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. ​

Prepare to Meet Your God 12–13

12
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. ​
13
For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought; that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth—Jehovah, the God of hosts, is his name. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Amos 4

Verse 1

ye kine of Bashan — Parah is a cow, here in the plural, and Bashan was known for its cattle: 'strong bulls of Bashan' (Ps 22:12), 'fatlings of Bashan' (Ezek 39:18). They 'oppress' (ashaq, the verb of Hos 12:7) the poor, 'crush' the needy, and tell 'their masters' to bring them drink.

Verse 2

sworn by his holiness — The LORD swears 'by his holiness' (Ps 89:35), in 6:8 'by himself' and in 8:7 'by the excellency of Jacob'. 'Hooks' and 'fishhooks' are a fisher's tools, as in 'I will send for many fishers' (Jer 16:16) and 'I will put hooks in thy jaws' (Ezek 29:4).

Verse 3

at the breaches — 'Breaches' (perets) are gaps in the wall, so the women leave the city through the broken places, each 'at that which is before her', straight ahead. 'Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby' (Ezek 12:5) shows the same exit. 'Palace' is harmon, a word found nowhere else.

Verse 4

Come to Bethel, and transgress — The invitation is irony. 'Transgress' is pasha, the verb behind the 'transgressions' (pesha) charged against each nation (1:3). 'Tithes after three years' keeps to 'at the end of three years' (Deut 14:28). Amos 5:5 forbids the journey: 'seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal'.

Verse 5

with leaven — Leavened bread was part of the thanksgiving sacrifice (Lev 7:13), but no leaven was to be burned on the altar (Lev 2:11), and the verb here, qatar, is to burn as incense. 'Free offerings' (nedavah) are freewill offerings (Lev 22:18). 'For this liketh you' is literally 'for so ye love' (ahav).

Verse 6

cleanness of teeth — Five calamities follow (vv.6–11), and each closes 'yet have ye not returned unto me', with shub, the verb of repentance (Hos 14:1). They match the covenant's curses, such as having 'broken the staff of your bread' (Lev 26:26) and 'blasting' and 'mildew' (Deut 28:22).

Verse 7

withholden the rain — Rain in its season was the LORD's promise (Deut 11:14), and its withholding follows sin: 'When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee' (1 Kgs 8:35). One city rained on and another dry shows whose hand sent it. 'Withered' (yabesh) is the verb of Carmel in 1:2.

Verse 9

blasting and mildew — 'Blasting' (shiddafon) and 'mildew' (yeraqon) are named together in Deut 28:22 and in Hag 2:17: 'I smote you with blasting and with mildew… yet ye turned not to me'. The 'palmerworm' is gazam, a devouring insect named with the locust in Joel 1:4.

Verse 10

pestilence after the manner of Egypt — 'Pestilence' (deber) is the word rendered 'murrain' in Ex 9:3, the plague on Egypt's cattle, and 'plagues' in Hos 13:14. 'All the diseases of Egypt' were threatened to covenant-breakers (Deut 28:60). The loss of 'your horses' recalls an army left with 'fifty horsemen, and ten chariots' (2 Kgs 13:7).

Verse 11

as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah — 'Overthrown' is haphak, the verb of Gen 19:25, 'he overthrew those cities'. The same verb returns in 5:7 and 6:12 for turning judgment to wormwood and to gall. 'A firebrand plucked out of the burning' is the figure of Zech 3:2, 'a brand plucked out of the fire'.

Verse 12

prepare to meet thy God — 'Prepare' is kun, to make ready, the word of Ex 19:11, 'be ready against the third day', and 'to meet' (liqrat) is the phrase of Ex 19:17, 'to meet with God', when the people stood at the foot of Sinai. The same preparing and meeting are now required before the God who spoke there.

Verse 13

he that formeth the mountains — 'Formeth' is yatsar and 'createth' is bara. 'Treadeth upon the high places of the earth' is the picture of Mic 1:3. 'The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name' is the name that Hos 12:5 calls his 'memorial'. Similar closing lines stand in 5:8, 'The LORD is his name', and 9:6.