Amos 9:8

8 Lo! the eyes of the Lord God be on the realm sinning (Lo! the eyes of the Lord God be upon the sinning realm, or upon this sinful kingdom), and I shall all-break it from (off) the face of [the] earth; nevertheless I all-breaking shall not all-break the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.

Amos 9:8 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 9:8

Behold, the eyes of the Lord God [are] upon the sinful kingdom,
&c.] God is omniscient, and his eyes are everywhere, and upon all persons, good and bad, and upon all kingdoms, especially upon a sinful nation: "the sinning kingdom" F14, or "the kingdom of sin" F15, as it may be rendered; that is addicted to sin, where it prevails and reigns; every such kingdom, particularly the kingdom of Israel, Ephraim, or the ten tribes, given to idolatry, and other sins complained of in this prophecy; and that not for good, but for evil, as in ( Amos 9:4 ) ; in order to cut them off from being a people: and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth:
so that it shall be no more, at least as a kingdom; as the ten tribes have never been since their captivity by Shalmaneser; though Japhet interprets this of all the kingdoms of the earth, being sinful, the eyes of God are upon them to destroy them, excepting the kingdom of Israel; so Abarbinel: saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the
Lord;
and so it is, that though they have been destroyed as a kingdom, yet not utterly as a people; there were some of the ten tribes that mixed with the Jews, and others that were scattered about in the world; and a remnant among them, according to the election of grace, that were met with in the ministry of the apostles, and in the latter day all Israel shall be saved; see ( Jeremiah 30:10 Jeremiah 30:11 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F14 (hajxh hklmm) "hoc regnum peccans", V. L. Junius & Tremellius, Drusius, Mercerus; "peccatrix", Piscator.
F15 "Regnum peccati", Pagninus, Montanus.

Amos 9:8 In-Context

6 He that buildeth his going up in heaven, shall do these things, and founded his burden on earth; which calleth waters of the sea, and poureth out them on the face of (the) earth; the Lord is (the) name of him. (He who buildeth his stairway in the heavens, and putteth his dome over the earth, shall do these things; who calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; the Lord is his name.)
7 Whether not as the sons of Ethiopians ye be to me, the sons of Israel? saith the Lord God. Whether I made not Israel for to go up from the land of Egypt, and Palestines from Cappadocia, and Syrians from Kir? (Be ye not like the Ethiopians to me, ye Israelites? saith the Lord God. Did I not make Israel to go up from the land of Egypt, like the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians, or the Aramaeans, from Kir?)
8 Lo! the eyes of the Lord God be on the realm sinning (Lo! the eyes of the Lord God be upon the sinning realm, or upon this sinful kingdom), and I shall all-break it from (off) the face of [the] earth; nevertheless I all-breaking shall not all-break the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.
9 For lo! I shall command, and shall shake together the house of Israel in all folks, as wheat is shaken together in a riddle, and a little stone shall not fall on the earth. (For lo! I shall command, and shall altogether shake the house of Israel among all the nations, like corn, or grain, is altogether shaken in a sieve, and yet a little stone of it shall not fall upon the earth.)
10 All sinners of my people shall die by sword, which say, Evil shall not nigh, and shall not come on us. (All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, yea, they who say, Evil shall not come near us, and it shall not come upon us.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.