Amos 7:16

16 Now therefore listen to the word of Yahweh: 'You say, Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach 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 answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore trees;

15 and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

16 Now therefore listen to the word of Yahweh: 'You say, Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't preach against the house of Isaac.'

17 Therefore thus says Yahweh: 'Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.'"