Notes on Amos
From the Original 1599 Geneva Bible Notes


Am 1:1

1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of {a} Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of {b} Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the {c} earthquake.

The Argument - Among many other Prophets that God raised up to admonish the Israelites of his plagues for their wickedness and idolatry, he stirred up Amos, who was a herdman or shepherd of a poor town, and gave him both knowledge and constancy to reprove all estates and degrees, and to make known God's horrible judgments against them, unless they repented in time. And he showed them, that if God did not spare the other nations around them, who had lived as it were in ignorance of God compared to them, but for their sins punished them, then they could look for nothing, but a horrible destruction, unless they turned to the Lord in true repentance. And finally, he comforts the godly with hope of the coming of the Messiah, by whom they would have perfect deliverance and salvation.

Am 1:2

1:2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top {d} of Carmel shall wither.

Am 1:3

1:3 Thus saith the LORD; For {e} three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they have {f} threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

Am 1:4

1:4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the {g} palaces of Benhadad.

Am 1:5

1:5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto {h} Kir, saith the LORD.

Am 1:6

1:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they {i} carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver [them] up to Edom:

Am 1:9

1:9 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the {k} brotherly covenant:

Am 1:11

1:11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath {l} for ever:

Am 1:13

1:13 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they {m} have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

Am 2:1

2:1 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because he burned the {a} bones of the king of Edom into lime:

Am 2:4

2:4 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, {b} I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

Am 2:6

2:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of {c} Israel, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of {d} shoes;

Am 2:7

2:7 That pant after the {e} dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the [same] maid, to profane my holy name:

Am 2:8

2:8 And they lay [themselves] down upon clothes laid to pledge {f} by every altar, and they {g} drink the wine of the condemned [in] the house of their god.

Am 2:9

2:9 Yet destroyed I the {h} Amorite before them, whose height [was] like the height of the cedars, and he [was] strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

Am 2:11

2:11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of {i} your young men for Nazarites. [Is it] not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

Am 2:13

2:13 Behold, I am {k} pressed under you, as a cart is pressed [that is] full of sheaves.

Am 2:14

2:14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the {l} swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

Am 3:2

3:2 You {a} only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

Am 3:3

3:3 Can two walk together, except they be {b} agreed?

Am 3:4

3:4 Will a {c} lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

Am 3:5

3:5 {d} Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up a {e} snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

Am 3:6

3:6 {f} Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there {g} be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?

Am 3:7

3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he {h} revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Am 3:8

3:8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but {i} prophesy?

Am 3:9

3:9 Publish in the palaces at {k} Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.

Am 3:10

3:10 For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery {l} in their palaces.

Am 3:12

3:12 Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh {m} out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in {n} Damascus [in] a couch.

Am 4:1

4:1 Hear this word, ye {a} kine of Bashan, that [are] in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, {b} Bring, and let us drink.

Am 4:2

4:2 The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with {c} hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

Am 4:4

4:4 Come to {d} Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three {e} years:

Am 4:5

4:5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving {f} with leaven, and proclaim [and] publish the free offerings: for this {g} liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Am 4:6

4:6 And I also have given you {h} cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Am 4:7

4:7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when [there were] yet three {i} months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

Am 4:8

4:8 So two [or] three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were {k} not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Am 4:10

4:10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of {l} Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Am 4:11

4:11 I have overthrown [some] of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a {m} firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Am 4:12

4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: [and] because I will do this unto thee, prepare to {n} meet thy God, O Israel.

Am 5:2

5:2 The {a} virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; [there is] none to raise her up.

Am 5:3

5:3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave {b} an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

Am 5:5

5:5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into {c} Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

Am 5:7

5:7 Ye who turn {d} judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

Am 5:8

5:8 [Seek him] that {e} maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name:

Am 5:10

5:10 They hate him {f} that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Am 5:11

5:11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading [is] upon the poor, and {g} ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

Am 5:13

5:13 Therefore {h} the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time.

Am 5:16

5:16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing [shall be] in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the {i} husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

Am 5:18

5:18 Woe unto you that {k} desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.

Am 5:22

5:22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, {l} I will not accept [them]: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

Am 5:24

5:24 But let judgment run down as {m} waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Am 5:26

5:26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your {n} Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

Am 6:1

6:1 Woe to {a} them [that are] at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, {b} [which are] named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Am 6:2

6:2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: [be {c} they] better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

Am 6:3

6:3 Ye that put far away the {d} evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

Am 6:5

6:5 That chant to the sound of the viol, [and] invent to themselves instruments of musick, like {e} David;

Am 6:6

6:6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not {f} grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Am 6:7

6:7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the {g} banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

Am 6:8

6:8 {h} The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor {i} the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

Am 6:10

6:10 And a man's uncle {k} shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that [is] by the {l} sides of the house, [Is there] yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, {m} Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

Am 6:12

6:12 Shall horses {n} run upon the rock? will [one] plow [there] with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into {o} hemlock:

Am 6:13

6:13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us {p} horns by our own strength?

Am 6:14

6:14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of {q} Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

Am 7:1

7:1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed {a} grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, [it was] the latter growth {b} after the king's mowings.

Am 7:3

7:3 The LORD {c} repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.

Am 7:4

7:4 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, {d} and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

Am 7:7

7:7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall [made] by a plumbline, {e} with a plumbline in his hand.

Am 7:10

7:10 {f} Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

Am 7:12

7:12 Also {g} Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

Am 7:14

7:14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I [was] no {h} prophet, neither [was] I a prophet's son; but I [was] an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:

Am 7:17

7:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; {i} Thy wife shall be an 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 of his land.

Am 8:2

8:2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of {a} summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

Am 8:3

8:3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: [there shall be] many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast [them] forth with {b} silence.

Am 8:4

8:4 Hear this, O ye that {c} swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

Am 8:5

8:5 Saying, When will the {d} new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making {e} the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

Am 8:8

8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and {f} drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt.

Am 8:9

8:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the {g} sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

Am 8:12

8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the {h} word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].

Am 8:14

8:14 They that swear by the sin {i} of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, {k} The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

Am 9:1

9:1 I saw the Lord standing upon the {a} altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the {b} head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

Am 9:3

9:3 And though they hide themselves in 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, thence will I command the {c} serpent, and he shall bite them:

Am 9:6

9:6 [It is] he that buildeth his {d} stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name.

Am 9:7

9:7 [Are] ye not as children of the Ethiopians {e} unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from {f} Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

Am 9:8

9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD [are] upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly {g} destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

Am 9:9

9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the {h} least grain fall upon the earth.

Am 9:11

9:11 In that day will I raise up the {i} tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

Am 9:12

9:12 That they may possess the remnant of {k} Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

Am 9:13

9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall {l} overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall {m} drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

Am 9:14

9:14 {n} And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.