Amos 9:1-4

The Destruction of Israel

1 I saw the Lord standing beside^[a] the altar, and he said: ¹“Strike the capitals until ²the thresholds ³shake, ⁴and shatter them on the heads of all the people; ^[b] and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword; ⁵not one of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape.

2 ⁶“If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; ⁷if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.

3 If they hide themselves on ⁸the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; ⁹and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.

4 ¹⁰And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; ¹¹and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good. ”

Amos 9:1-4 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 9

This chapter contains the fifth and last vision the prophet saw; which represents the certain desolation of the land, city, and temple, and the slaughter of all sorts of persons, high and low, none should escape it, Am 9:1; be they where they would, they should be found out, whether in hell or heaven, on the tops of the highest mountains, or in the bottom of the sea, or in a foreign land, since the eyes of the Lord were upon them for evil, Am 9:2-4; nor could they hope to escape, when they considered his greatness and his power, and what he could do, and had done; and how they had behaved towards him, even though they were the people he had brought out of Egypt, Am 9:5-7; but though the sinful kingdom should be destroyed, yet not utterly, a remnant should be saved, Am 9:8-10; and the chapter is concluded with gracious promises of raising up the tabernacle of David fallen down, and of the return of the people of Israel to their own land; and of their settlement and continuance in it, never more to depart from it, Am 9:11-15.

Cross References

• 1. 9:1 Zeph. 2:14
• 2. 9:1 Zeph. 2:14
• 3. 9:1 [Isa. 6:4]
• 4. 9:1 See Judg. 16:26-30
• 5. 9:1 [ch. 2:14]
• 6. 9:2 [Ps. 139:8-10]
• 7. 9:2 [Ps. 139:8-10]
• 8. 9:3 ch. 1:2
• 9. 9:3 [Job 26:5]
• 10. 9:4 [Deut. 28:65]
• 11. 9:4 See Jer. 21:10

Footnotes

• [a] 9:1 Or 'on'
• [b] 9:1 Hebrew 'all of them'