Amos 7:7-9

7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[a] with a plumb line[b] in his hand.
8 And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”

Amos 7:7-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 7

In this and the two following chapters are the visions of Amos, in number five; three of which are contained in this chapter, and with which it begins. The first is of the grasshoppers or locusts eating up the later grass of the land, which are stopped at the intercession of the prophet, Am 7:1-3; the second is of fire the Lord called for to contend by, whose devouring flames are made to cease by the same interposition, Am 7:4-6; and the other is of the plumbline, signifying the utter destruction of the people of Israel, according to the righteous judgment of God, Am 7:7-9; upon the delivery of which prophecies and visions, the priest of Bethel forms a charge against the prophet to the king; and advises Amos to flee into Judea, and prophesy there, and not at Bethel, being willing to be rid of him at any rate, Am 7:10-13; next follows the prophet's vindication of himself showing his divine call to the prophetic office, and his mission and express order he had from the Lord to prophesy unto Israel, Am 7:14,15; and concludes with a denunciation of divine judgments on the priest's family, and upon the whole land of Israel, Am 7:16,17.

Cross References 7

  • 1. Jeremiah 1:11,13
  • 2. Isaiah 28:17; Lamentations 2:8; Amos 8:2
  • 3. S 2 Kings 21:13
  • 4. S Jeremiah 15:6; Ezekiel 7:2-9
  • 5. S Leviticus 26:30
  • 6. S Leviticus 26:31
  • 7. S 1 Kings 13:34; 2 Kings 15:9; Isaiah 63:18; S Hosea 10:8

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  • [b]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
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