Amos 7:16

16 So listen to the Lord's word. You tell me, 'Don't prophesy against Israel, and stop prophesying against the descendants 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 Then Amos answered Amaziah, "I do not make my living as a prophet, nor am I a member of a group of prophets. I make my living as a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore trees.

15 But the Lord took me away from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

16 So listen to the Lord's word. You tell me, 'Don't prophesy against Israel, and stop prophesying against the descendants of Isaac.'

17 "Because you have said this, the Lord says: 'Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will be killed with swords. Other people will measure your land and divide it among themselves, and you will die in a foreign country. from their own land as captives.'"