Amos 7:16

16 Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not 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 “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.

15 But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

16 Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”