Amos 9:1-11

1 I saw Adonoi standing by the mizbe’ach; and He said, Strike the pillar capitals [of the heathen shrine], that the thresholds may shake; and smash them upon the heads of all; and I will slay the last of them with the cherev; he that fleeth of them shall not get away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
2 Though they dig down to Sheol, thence shall Mine hand take them; though they climb up to Shomayim, thence will I bring them down;
3 And though they hide themselves in the summit of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of the yam, thence will I command the nachash, and he shall bite them;
4 And though they go into golus (exile) before their enemies, thence will I command the cherev, and it shall slay them; and I will set Mine eyes upon them for rah, and not for tov.
5 And Adonoi Hashem HaTzva’os is He that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like the Nile; and sink like the Nile of Mitzrayim.
6 It is He that buildeth his ma’alot (stairs) in Shomayim, and hath founded His aguddah (fitted together vault) over Eretz; He that calleth for the waters of the yam, and poureth them out upon the face of ha’aretz; Hashem Shmo.
7 Are ye not as children of Ethiopia unto Me, O Bnai Yisroel? saith Hashem. Have not I brought up Yisroel out of Eretz Mitzrayim? And the Pelishtim (Philistines) from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?
8 Hinei, the eyes of Adonoi Hashem are upon the mamlachah hachatta’ah, and I will destroy it from off the face of ha’aretz; nevertheless I will not utterly destroy Bais Yaakov, saith Hashem.
9 For, hinei, I will command, and I will sift Bais Yisroel among all Goyim, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon ha’aretz.
10 All the chatta’ei ami (sinners of My people) shall die by the cherev, which say, the ra’ah shall not overtake nor come to us.
11 In that Yom will I raise up the Sukkat Dovid that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the yamei olam;

Amos 9:1-11 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.

The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.