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Amos 9

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The Fifth Vision: Inescapable Judgment 1–6

1
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar: and he said, Smite the capitals, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape. ​
2
Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. ​
3
And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
4
And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. ​
5
For the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, ishe that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like the River, and shall sink again, like the River of Egypt;
6
it is he that buildeth his chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is his name. ​

Israel's Identity and Ultimate Preservation 7–10

7
Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? ​
8
Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah. ​
9
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth. ​
10
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us.

Restoration of David's Fallen Tabernacle 11–15

11
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; ​
12
that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, saith Jehovah that doeth this. ​
13
Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. ​
14
And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15
And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith Jehovah thy God. ​

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

Study Notes for Amos 9

Verse 1

I saw the Lord standing upon the altar — Natsab, to station, shows the Lord posted at the altar, which Amos 3:14 had marked for visiting. The 'lintel' (kaphtor) is the capital of a column and the 'posts' (saph) the thresholds; compare 'the posts of the door moved' (Isa 6:4).

Verse 2

dig into hell — Sheol, the realm of the dead, set against 'heaven' as the lowest against the highest. David had asked 'Whither shall I go from thy spirit?' (Ps 139:7) and found 'thou art there' (Ps 139:8); here the same presence is a hand that seizes, not one that holds.

Verse 4

go into captivity — Shebi, exile. Exile was the penalty of the covenant: 'I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you' (Lev 26:33). 'Mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good' matches 'I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good' (Jer 21:10).

Verse 6

buildeth his stories in the heaven — Ma'alah, an ascent or upper stair, rendered 'stories'. The line 'that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth' stands also in Amos 5:8. The closing words 'is his name' end the doxologies of Amos 4:13 ('The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name') and 5:8 as well.

Verse 7

children of the Ethiopians — Kushi, a Cushite. Israel's exodus is set beside the Philistines' coming out of Caphtor (Deut 2:23) and Aram's coming from Kir, where Aram was later carried captive (2 Kings 16:9): the LORD directed other peoples too. His words 'I brought you up from the land of Egypt' (Amos 2:10) gave no immunity.

Verse 8

the sinful kingdom — The LORD's eyes fall on this kingdom, to be destroyed 'from off the face of the earth'. The exception is 'the house of Jacob': God may make 'a full end of all nations' yet not 'of thee' (Jer 30:11). Judgment falls on the kingdom, not on the covenant people.

Verse 9

sift the house of Israel — Nua, to shake to and fro, as in a kebarah, a sieve. Scattering 'among all people' was the covenant curse (Deut 28:64). The 'least grain' is tseror, a pebble or kernel: nothing of worth drops through. Christ uses the sifting image of Peter (Luke 22:31).

Verse 11

the tabernacle of David that is fallen — Sukkah, a booth or hut, describes David's house reduced to a shelter. James quotes it at the Jerusalem council, 'I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down' (Acts 15:16), applying it to the Gentiles seeking the Lord (Acts 15:17).

Verse 12

the remnant of Edom — Yarash, to possess or inherit. In James's quotation the aim is 'That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called' (Acts 15:17). Balaam's word 'Edom shall be a possession' (Num 24:18) is echoed in the naming of Edom.

Verse 13

the plowman shall overtake the reaper — The harvest is so long that the next work begins before the last ends, the blessing of obedience promised in Lev 26:5, 'your threshing shall reach unto the vintage'. 'The mountains shall drop sweet wine' (asis, fresh juice) is echoed in Joel 3:18.

Verse 15

plant them upon their land — Nata, to plant, set against nathash, 'pulled up', the verb of uprooting. The people removed in vv.8–9 are rooted again, in 'their land which I have given them', and the promise is sealed in the words 'saith the LORD thy God'.