Amos 9:1-4

Destruction of Israel

1 I saw my Lord standing by the altar and he said, "Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, and shatter them on the head of all of them, and I will kill the rest of them with the sword. A fugitive belonging to them will not run away, and a survivor belonging to them will not escape.
2 If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them, and [even] if they climb up [to] heaven, from there I will bring them down.
3 And [even] if they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search and will take them, and [even] if they hide from before my eyes at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the sea serpent and it will bite them.
4 And [even] if they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword and it will kill them, and I will fix my eyes on them for harm and not for good."

Amos 9:1-4 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 9

This chapter contains the fifth and last vision the prophet saw; which represents the certain desolation of the land, city, and temple, and the slaughter of all sorts of persons, high and low, none should escape it, Am 9:1; be they where they would, they should be found out, whether in hell or heaven, on the tops of the highest mountains, or in the bottom of the sea, or in a foreign land, since the eyes of the Lord were upon them for evil, Am 9:2-4; nor could they hope to escape, when they considered his greatness and his power, and what he could do, and had done; and how they had behaved towards him, even though they were the people he had brought out of Egypt, Am 9:5-7; but though the sinful kingdom should be destroyed, yet not utterly, a remnant should be saved, Am 9:8-10; and the chapter is concluded with gracious promises of raising up the tabernacle of David fallen down, and of the return of the people of Israel to their own land; and of their settlement and continuance in it, never more to depart from it, Am 9:11-15.

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.