Amos 9:1-3

God's Judgment Unavoidable

1 I saw the Lord standing beside the 1altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the 2thresholds will shake, And 3break them on the heads of them all! Then I will 4slay the rest of them with the sword; They will 5not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.
2 "Though they dig into 6Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they 7ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.
3 "Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will 8search them out and take them from there; And though they 9conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the 10serpent and it will bite them.

Amos 9:1-3 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.

Cross References 10

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.