Amos 3:10

10 They don't know how to do right, says the LORD— those who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.

Amos 3:10 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 3:10

For they know not to do right, saith the Lord
What is just and fight between man and man, no, not in one single instance; they did not regard it, or advert to it; they were under no concern about it; and were so much under the power of their lusts, that they knew not how to do it; and had used themselves so long to such wicked and unjust ways, that they had lost at least the practical knowledge of doing justice; they knew what was right in the theory, but not in the practice; bribes blinded their eyes; for this seems to design judges, civil magistrates, such who had the administration of justice and the execution Of the laws in their hands. The Targum is,

``they know not to execute the law;''
see ( Jeremiah 4:22 ) ; who store up violence and robbery in their palaces;
treasured up riches in their palaces, gotten in a violent way, by oppression and injustice; and which was no other, nor better, than robbery. This shows that persons in power and authority, that lived in palaces, in great splendour and grandeur, are here meant.

Amos 3:10 In-Context

8 A lion has roared; who will not fear? The LORD God has spoken; who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim it to the palaces of Ashdod and to the palaces in the land of Egypt. Say, "Gather yourselves on Mount Samaria, and see the great turmoil in the city, and what violent deeds are inside it."
10 They don't know how to do right, says the LORD— those who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
11 Therefore, the LORD my God proclaims: An enemy will surround the land; he will bring you down from your protected places, and your palaces will be robbed.
12 The LORD proclaims: Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or the piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so will the people of Israel be rescued. Those who live in Samaria will escape with the corner of a bed, and those in Damascus with a piece of a couch.
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