Amos 9:1-9

1 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and He said: "Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake, and wound them on the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword. He that fleeth from them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth from them shall not be delivered.
2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take them; 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 he 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 And the Lord GOD of hosts is He that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like a flood, and shall be drowned as by the flood of Egypt.
6 It is He that buildeth His spheres in the heaven, and hath founded His troop on the earth. He that calleth for the waters of the sea and poureth them out upon the face of the earth--the LORD is His name.
7 "Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto Me, O children of Israel?" saith the LORD. "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 GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," saith the LORD.
9 "For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as corn is sifted in a sieve; yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

Amos 9:1-9 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.

Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.