Amos 9:1

1 Und ich sah den Herrn an dem Altar stehen; und er sprach: Schlage auf den Säulenknauf, daß die Schwellen erbeben, und zerschmettere sie auf ihrer aller Haupt; und ich werde ihren Rest mit dem Schwerte umbringen; kein Flüchtling von ihnen soll entfliehen und kein Entronnener von ihnen davonkommen.

Amos 9:1 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 9:1

And I saw the Lord standing upon the altar
Either upon the altar of burnt offerings in the temple of Jerusalem, whither he had removed from the cherubim; signifying his being about to depart, and that he was displeased, and would not be appeased by sacrifice: so the Targum,

``said Amos the prophet, I saw the glory of the Lord removing from the cherub, and it dwelt upon the altar;''

and the vision may refer to the destruction of the Jews, their city and temple, either by the Chaldeans, or by the Romans: or rather, since the prophecy in general, and this vision in particular, seems to respect the ten tribes only, it was upon the altar at Bethel the Lord was seen standing, as offended at the sacrifices there offered, and to hinder them from sacrificing them, as well as to take vengeance on those that offered them, ( 1 Kings 13:1 1 Kings 13:2 ) ; and he said;
the Lord said, either to the prophet in vision, or to one of the angels, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or to the executioners of his vengeance, the enemies of the people of Israel: smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake;
the upper lintel, on which pomegranates and flowers were carved, and therefore called "caphtor", as Kimchi thinks; this was the lintel of the door, either of the temple at Jerusalem, as the Jewish writers generally suppose; or rather of the temple at Bethel, see ( 1 Kings 12:31 ) ( Amos 7:10 Amos 7:13 ) ; which was to be smitten with such three, that the posts thereof should shake; signifying the destruction of the whole building in a short time, and that none should be able to go in and out thereat: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them
with the sword;
which shows that the lintel and doorposts are not to be taken literally, but figuratively; and that the smiting and cutting of them intend the destruction of men; by the "head", the king, and the princes, and nobles, or the priests; and, by "the last of them", the common people, the meanest sort, or those that were left of them, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away;
he that attempts to make his escape, and shall flee for his life, shall not get clear, but either be stopped, or pursued and taken: and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered;
he that does get out of the hands of those that destroy with the sword shall not be delivered from death, but shall die by famine or pestilence. The Targum is,

``and he said, unless the people of the house of Israel return to the law, the candlestick shall be extinguished, King Josiah shall be killed, and the house destroyed, and the courts dissipated, and the vessels of the house of the sanctuary shall go into captivity; and the rest of them I will slay with the sword''

referring the whole to the Jews, and to the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem.

Amos 9:1 In-Context

1 Und ich sah den Herrn an dem Altar stehen; und er sprach: Schlage auf den Säulenknauf, daß die Schwellen erbeben, und zerschmettere sie auf ihrer aller Haupt; und ich werde ihren Rest mit dem Schwerte umbringen; kein Flüchtling von ihnen soll entfliehen und kein Entronnener von ihnen davonkommen.

2 Wenn sie in den Scheol einbrechen, wird von dort meine Hand sie holen; und wenn sie in den Himmel hinaufsteigen, werde ich von dort sie herniederbringen;

3 und wenn sie sich auf den Gipfel des Karmel verbergen, werde ich von dort sie hervorsuchen und holen; und wenn sie sich, vor meinen Augen hinweg, im Grunde des Meeres verstecken, werde ich von dort die Schlange entbieten, und sie wird sie beißen;

4 und wenn sie vor ihren Feinden her in Gefangenschaft ziehen, werde ich von dort das Schwert entbieten, und es wird sie umbringen. Und ich werde mein Auge wider sie richten zum Bösen und nicht zum Guten.

5 Und der Herr, Jehova der Heerscharen, der das Land anrührt, und es zerfließt, und es trauern alle, die darin wohnen, und es steigt empor insgesamt, wie der Nil, und sinkt zurück, wie der Strom Ägyptens;