Amos 7:16

16 "Now hear the word of the LORD: you are saying, 'You ¹shall not prophesy against Israel ²nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.'

Amos 7:16 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 7:16

Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord
Which I have from him concerning thee, and which he has pronounced upon thee and thy family: thou sayest, prophesy not against Israel;
when God has bid me prophesy: and drop not [thy word] against the house of Isaac;
say nothing against it, though in ever so soft and gentle a manner: it designs the same thing as before, only in different words; and is a prohibition of the prophet to prophesy against the ten tribes that descended from Isaac, in the line of Jacob. So the Targum paraphrases it,

``thou shalt not teach against the house of Isaac;''

or deliver out any prophecy or doctrine that is against them, or threatens them with any calamity. Jarchi says the phrase is expressive of prophecy; see ( Deuteronomy 32:2 ) ( Ezekiel 21:2 ) .

Amos 7:16 In-Context

14 Then Amos replied to Amaziah, "I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.

15 "But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'

16 "Now hear the word of the LORD : you are saying, 'You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.'

17 "Therefore, thus says the LORD , 'Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.' "

Cross References

• 1. Amos 2:12; Amos 7:13
• 2. Deuteronomy 32:2; Ezekiel 20:46; Ezekiel 21:2

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "flow"