Amos 5:4

4 This is what the LORD says to Israel: “Seek me and live;

Amos 5:4 in Other Translations

KJV
4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
ESV
4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live;
NLT
4 Now this is what the LORD says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live!
MSG
4 God's Message to the family of Israel: "Seek me and live.
CSB
4 For the Lord says to the house of Israel: Seek Me and live!

Amos 5:4 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 5:4

For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel
Or "yet" {a}, notwithstanding all this, though such judgments were threatened and denounced, and such desolations should certainly come, in case of impenitence, and an obstinate continuance in a course of sin; yet hopes are given of finding mercy and kindness upon repentance and reformation, at least to the remnant of them; see ( Amos 5:15 ) ; seek ye me;
seek my fear, as the Targum; fear and reverence, serve and worship, the Lord God; return unto him by repentance; seek to him by prayer and supplication; acknowledge your sins, and humble yourselves before him, and implore his pardoning grace and mercy: and ye shall live;
in your own land, and not be carried out of it; live comfortably, in great plenty of good things; and live spiritually, enjoying the favour of God, and his presence in his ordinances, and live eternally in the world to come.


FOOTNOTES:

F1 (yk) "attamen", Grotius.

Amos 5:4 In-Context

2 “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.”
3 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Israel: “Your city that marches out a thousand strong will have only a hundred left; your town that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left.”
4 This is what the LORD says to Israel: “Seek me and live;
5 do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. ”
6 Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Deuteronomy 4:29
  • 2. Deuteronomy 32:46-47; Isaiah 55:3; Jeremiah 29:13; S Ezekiel 18:9
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