Amos 9:2-12

2 Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to the heavens, thence will I bring them down;

3 and though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them;

4 and though they go into captivity before their enemies, there will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

5 And the Lord Jehovah of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it melteth, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall wholly rise up like the Nile, and sink down as the river of Egypt.

6 It is he that buildeth his upper chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: Jehovah is his name.

7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth: only that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah.

9 For behold, I command, and I will shake the house of Israel to and fro among all the nations, like as one shaketh [corn] in a sieve; yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, Evil shall not overtake nor befall us.

11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David which is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations upon whom my name is called, saith Jehovah who doeth this.

Amos 9:2-12 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb. 'Cushites.'
• [b]. See Gen. 10.14.
• [c]. Or 'booth.' 'hut,' 2Sam. 11.11; Ps. 76.2.
• [d]. The LXX and their followers would seem to have read 'men,' and hence the application in Acts 15.17. But the manuscripts with one voice have 'Edom.' There can be no doubt that it is right.