Amos 7:16

16 Now therefore, hear thou the word of the LORD. Thou sayest, `Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house 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 answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.

15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, `Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.'

16 Now therefore, hear thou the word of the LORD. Thou sayest, `Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.'

17 Therefore thus saith the LORD: `Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword; and thy land shall be divided by line, and thou shalt die in a polluted land. And Israel shall surely go into captivity forth from his land.'"