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Amos Chapter
Five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 5
In
this chapter the prophet exhorts Israel to hear his lamentation over them for
their impending ruin, Amos 5:1;
nevertheless to seek the Lord, and all that is good; to forsake their idols,
and repent of their sins, in hopes of finding mercy, and living comfortably; or
otherwise they must expect the wrath of God for their iniquities, especially
their oppression of the poor, Amos 5:4; otherwise
it would be a time of weeping and wailing, of darkness and distress, however
they might harden or flatter themselves, or make a jest of it, Amos 5:16; for all
their sacrifices and ceremonial worship would signify nothing, so long as they
continued their idolatry with them Amos 5:21; and
therefore should surely go into captivity, Amos 5:27.
Amos 5:1 Hear this word
which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
YLT
1Hear this word that I am
bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:
Hear ye the word which I take up against you,.... And which
was not his own word, but the word of the Lord; and which he took up, by his
direction as a heavy burden as some prophecies are called, and this was; and
which, though against them, a reproof for their sins, and denunciation of
punishment for them, yet was to be heard; for every word of God is pure, and to
be hearkened to, whether for us or against us; since the whole is profitable,
either for doctrine and instruction in righteousness, or for reproof and
correction. It may be rendered, "which I take up concerning you", or
"over you"F26עליכם "de
vobis", Tigurine version, Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius; "super
vos", Pagninus, Montanus; "pro vobis", Vatablus. :
even a lamentation,
O house of Israel; a mournful ditty, an elegiac song over the house of Israel, now
expiring, and as it were dead. This word was like Ezekiel's roll, in which were
written "lamentation, and mourning, and woe", Ezekiel 2:10; full
of mournful matter, misery, and distress, as follows:
Amos 5:2 2 The
virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her
land; There is no one to raise her up.
YLT
2`Fallen, not again to rise,
hath the virgin of Israel, Left on her land -- she hath no raiser up.'
The virgin of Israel is fallen,.... The kingdom of
Israel, so called, because it had never been subdued, or become subject to a
foreign power, since it was a kingdom; or because, considered in its
ecclesiastic state, it had been espoused to the Lord as a chaste virgin; and
perhaps this may be ironically spoken, and refers to its present adulterate and
degenerated state worshipping the calves at Dan and Bethel; or else because of
its wealth and riches and the splendour and gaiety in which it appeared; but
now, as it had fallen into sin and iniquity, it should quickly fall by it, and
on account of it, into ruin and misery; and because of the certainty of it it
is represented as if it was already fallen:
she shall no more rise; and become a kingdom
again, as it never has as yet, since the ten tribes were carried away captive
by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, to which calamity this prophecy refers, The
Targum is,
"shall
not rise again this year;'
very
impertinently; better Kimchi and Ben Melech, for a long time; since as they
think, and many others, that the ten tribes shall return again, as may seem
when all Israel shall be converted and saved, and repossess their own land; see
Hosea 1:10. Abendana
produces a passage out of Zohar, in which these words are interpreted, that the
virgin of Israel should not rise again of herself, she not having power to
prevail over her enemies; but God will raise her up out of the dust, when he
shall raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, who shall reign in
future time over all the tribes together, as it is said in Amos 9:11;
she is forsaken upon her land; by her people, her
princes, and her God; or prostrate on the ground, as the Targum; she was cast
upon the ground, and dashed to pieces by the enemy as an earthen vessel, and
there left, her ruin being irrecoverable; so whatever is cast and scattered, or
dashed to pieces on the ground, and left, is expressed by the word here used,
as Jarchi observes:
there is none to raise
her up: her princes and people are either slain by the sword, famine,
and pestilence, or carried captive, and so can yield her no assistance; her
idols whom she worshipped cannot, and her God she forsook will not.
Amos 5:3 3 For
thus says the Lord God:
“The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which
goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
YLT
3For thus said the Lord
Jehovah: The city that is going out a thousand, Doth leave an hundred, And that
which is going out an hundred, Doth leave ten to the house of Israel.
For thus saith the Lord God,.... This is a reason why
there were none to raise her up: since
the city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred; that is, the
city in which there were a thousand constantly going in and out; or which sent,
caused to go out, or furnished, a thousand men upon occasion for war, had only
a hundred persons left in it; or there remained but a hundred of the thousand
they sent out, the rest being destroyed by one means or another:
and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to
the house of Israel; where there were a hundred persons going out and coming in
continually; or which sent out a hundred men to the army to fight their battles
had now only ten remaining; to such a small number were they reduced all over
the land, so that there were none, or not a number sufficient to raise up
Israel to its former state and glory.
Amos 5:4 4 For
thus says the Lord
to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live;
YLT
4For thus said Jehovah to
the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live,
For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel,.... Or
"yet"F1כי "attamen",
Grotius. , 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.
Amos 5:5 5 But
do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal
shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.
YLT
5And seek not Beth-El, and
Gilgal enter not, And Beer-Sheba pass not through, For Gilgal doth utterly
remove, And Beth-El doth become vanity.
But seek not Bethel,.... Do not go to Bethel,
the place where one of Jeroboam's calves was set up and worshipped, to consult
the oracle, idols, and priests there; or to perform religious worship, which
will be your ruin, if not prevented by another course of living:
nor enter into Gilgal; another place of
idolatry, where idols were set up and worshipped See Gill on Amos 4:4;
and pass not to Beersheba; a place in the further
part of the land of Israel; it formerly belonged to Judah, but was now in the
hands of the ten tribes, and where idolatrous worship was practised; see Amos 8:14; it having
been a place where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had dwelt, and worshipped the
true God:
for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity; that is, the
inhabitants of it; they will not be able with their idols and idol worship to
save themselves, and therefore go not thither. There is an elegant play on
words hereF2הגלגל גלה
יגלה. , as there is also in the next words:
and Bethel shall come to nought; which also was called
Bethaven, the house of vanity, or of an idol which is nothing in the world; and
therefore, because of the idolatry in it, should come to nothing, be utterly
destroyed, and the inhabitants of it. So the Targum,
"they,
that are in Gilgal, and worship calves in Bethel.'
Amos 5:6 6 Seek
the Lord
and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour
it, With no one to quench it in Bethel—
YLT
6Seek ye Jehovah, and live,
Lest He prosper as fire [against] the house of Joseph, And it hath consumed,
And there is no quencher for Beth-El.
Seek the Lord, and ye shall live,.... This is, repeated to
stir up unto it, because of their backwardness and slothfulness, and to show
the importance and necessity of it. By the "Lord" may be meant the
Messiah, Israel's God that was to come, and they were to prepare to meet, Amos 4:12; and the
rather, since life spiritual and eternal is only to be had from him, and he is
to be sought unto for it, and all the blessings of it, peace, pardon,
righteousness, rest, and salvation as well as temporal deliverance, and all
outward mercies:
lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it; that is, lest
his wrath and fury break out like fire as the Targum, by sending an enemy to
invade the land, destroy it, and carry the inhabitants of it captive; even all
the ten tribes, who frequently go by the name of Ephraim the son of Joseph,
that being the principal tribe, and the first king of them being of it:
and there be none to quench it in Bethel; the calf worshipped
there, and the priests that officiated, would not be able to avert the stroke
of divine vengeance, or turn back the enemy, and save the land from ruin. The
Targum is,
"and
there be none to quench it, because of your sins, who have been serving idols
in Bethel.'
Amos 5:7 7 You
who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
YLT
7Ye who are turning to
wormwood judgment, And righteousness to the earth have put down,
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood,.... This seems to be
spoken to kings and judges, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe; in whose hands is
the administration of justice, and who often pervert it, as these did here
addressed and complained of; that which was the most useful and salubrious, and
so the most desirable to the commonwealth, namely, just judgment, was changed
into the reverse, what was as bitter and as disagreeable as wormwood; or
"hemlock", as it might be rendered, and as it is in Amos 6:12; even
injustice:
and leave off righteousness in the earth; leave off
doing it among men: or rather, "leave it on the earth"F3הניחו "in terram prosterunt", Piscator;
"justitiam in terram reliquerunt, i.e. humi prosternitis et
deseritis", Mercerus; "collocantes humi", Junius &
Tremellius. ; who cast it down to the ground, trampled upon it, and there left
it; which is expressive not only of their neglect, but of their contempt of it;
see Daniel 8:12.
Amos 5:8 8 He
made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And
makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them
out on the face of the earth; The Lord is His name.
YLT
8The maker of Kimah and
Kesil, And the turner to morning of death-shade, And day [as] night He hath
made dark, Who is calling to the waters of the sea, And poureth them on the
face of the earth, Jehovah [is] His name;
Seek him that maketh
the seven stars,.... Which some connect with the preceding words, without a
supplement, "they leave righteousness on the ground, who maketh the seven
stars"; understanding it of Christ, the Lord our righteousness, who is
made unto us righteousness, whom the Jews rejected and despised, though the
Maker of the heavens and the constellations in them. Some continue, and supply
the words thus, and remember not him "that maketh the seven stars",
as Kimchi; or forget him, as Japhet in Aben Ezra. The Targum is,
"they
cease to fear him that maketh, &c.'
they
have no regard unto him, no awe and reverence of him, or they would not act so
unjustly as they do. There is but one word for the "seven stars" in
the original text, which signifies that constellation called the Pleiades, and
so the same word is rendered, Job 9:9; and the
Vergiliae, because they appear in the spring of the year, when they yield their
sweet influences, which the Scripture ascribes to them, and are desirable;
hence they have their name in Hebrew from a word which signifies desire:
and Orion; another constellation; for Aben Ezra says, it is not one star,
but many; and as he, with the ancients he mentions, takes the former to be the
tail of Aries, and the head of Taurus; so this to be the heart of Scorpio. This
constellation appears in winter, and is a sign of bad weather. Virgil calls it
Nimbosus Orion; and it has its name in Hebrew from unsettledness and
inconstancy, the weather being then very variable. Amos, being a herdsman, had
observed the appearances and effects of these constellations, and adored the
Maker of them, whom others neglected:
and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the
day dark with night: maketh the constant revolution of day and night, and the days
longer in the summer, and shorter in winter, as Kimchi interprets it; and also
the various changes of prosperity and adversity, turning the one into the other
when he pleases:
that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon
the face of the earth; as in the time of the universal deluge, to which some Jewish
writers apply this, as Jarchi observes; or rather draws up by the heat of the
sun the waters of the sea into the air, and forms them into clouds, where they
lose their saltness, and become sweet; and then lets them down in plentiful and
gentle showers, to water, refresh, and fructify the earth; which is an instance
of divine power, wisdom, and goodness. The Targum is,
"who
commands many armies to be gathered like the waters of the sea, and scatters
them upon the face of the earth.'
Some,
who understand these words of Christ our righteousness, interpret the whole
mystically of his raising up the twelve apostles, comparable to stars; and of
his turning the Gentiles, who were darkness itself, to the light of the Gospel;
and of his giving up the Jews, who were formerly light, to judicial blindness
and darkness; and of his watering the earth with large showers of the divine
word;
the Lord is his name; he is the true Jehovah,
that can and does do all this.
Amos 5:9 9 He
rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.
YLT
9Who is brightening up the
spoiled against the strong, And the spoiled against a fortress cometh.
That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong,.... Such as
have been taken by an enemy, who have been stripped of their armour, and
spoiled of all their goods and substance, and have no friends nor allies, nor
anything to help themselves with; the Lord can supply them with strength,
furnish them with weapons, and send them helpers, so that they shall rise up
against their conquerors and spoilers, and in their turn subdue them. The
Targum is,
"that
strengthens the weak against the strong;'
or
causes the weak to prevail over the strong. A learned man, from the use of the
word in the Arabic language, chooses to render it, "who intends", or
"designs, destruction to the strong"F4המבליג
שד על עז
"qui intendit destinat destructionem forti", Hottinger, Smegma
Orientale, l. 1. c. 7. p. 129. ; that is, in his secret purposes, and which he
brings about in providence; though he is doubtful whether it may not have the
signification of recreation and refreshment, and whether the construction and
circumstances will admit of it; and some do so translate it, "who
refreshes himself with destruction against the strong"F5"Qui
recreat se vastatione contra fortem sive robustum", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius. So Stockius, p. 136. ; takes delight and
pleasure in it; it is a recreation to him:
so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress: lay siege to
it and take it, in which the spoiler thought himself secure with the spoil and
substance he had taken from the spoiled; such sudden changes and vicissitudes
can God bring upon men when he pleases. Some apply this to the Romans
strengthened against the Jews, and besieging their fortified city Jerusalem;
but not very aptly.
Amos 5:10 10 They
hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks
uprightly.
YLT
10They have hated a reprover
in the gate, And a plain speaker they abominate.
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate,.... Openly
and publicly in the courts of judicature: wicked judges hated the prophets of
the Lord, such as Amos, who faithfully reproved them for the perversion of
justice, even when they were upon the bench: or the people were so corrupt and
degenerate, that they hated those faithful judges who reproved them for their
vices in the open courts of justice, when they came before them, The former
sense seems best, and more agreeable to the context:
and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly; not only hate
him, but abhor him, cannot bear the sight of him, or to hear his name mentioned
that speaks out his mind freely and honestly, and tells them of their sins, and
advises them to repent of them, and leave them.
Amos 5:11 11 Therefore,
because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have
built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted
pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them.
YLT
11Therefore, because of your
trampling on the poor, And the tribute of corn ye take from him, Houses of hewn
work ye have built, And ye do not dwell in them, Desirable vineyards ye have
planted, And ye do not drink their wine.
Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor,.... This
seems to be spoken to the princes, judges, and civil magistrates, as Kimchi
observes; who oppressed the poor and needy, and crushed them to the ground,
trampled upon them, stripped them of the little substance they had, and left
them destitute; exercising a cruel and tyrannical power over them, they having
none to stand by them, and deliver them:
and ye take from him burdens of wheat; which perhaps
he had been gleaning in the field, and was carrying home for the support of his
family; or which he had gotten with great labour, and was all he had in the
world: this they took away from him, for the payment of pretended debts, or
lawsuits; or as not in right belonging to him, but taken out of fields where he
should not have entered:
ye have built houses of hewn stones; in a very grand and
pompous manner for themselves and their children, with money they had extorted
from the poor, and got by oppression and injustice:
but ye shall not dwell in them; at least but a very
short time; for quickly and suddenly the enemy will come and turn you out of
them, and destroy them, which would be a just retaliation for their spoiling
the houses of the poor:
ye have planted pleasant vineyards: well situated, and
filled with the choicest vines, which promise a large produce of the best wine:
but ye shall not drink wine of them; for before the grapes
are fully ripe they should be either taken away by death, or be carried
captive, and others should dwell in their houses, and drink the wine of their
vineyards.
Amos 5:12 12 For
I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and
taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
YLT
12For I have known -- many
[are] your transgressions, And mighty your sins, Adversaries of the righteous,
taking ransoms, And the needy in the gate ye turned aside.
For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins,.... Their
sins were numerous, and of the first magnitude, attended with very heavy
aggravations; and these with all their circumstances were well known to the
omniscient God, and therefore he determined to punish them as he had threatened.
Some of their transgressions are pointed out, as follow:
they afflict the just; who are so both in a
moral and evangelic sense; not comparatively only, but really; and particularly
whose cause was just, and yet were vexed and distressed by unjust judges, who
gave the cause against them, made them pay all costs and charges, and severely
mulcted them: they take a bribe; of those that were against the just, and gave
the cause for them. The word signifies "a ransom"F6כופר "pretium redemptionis", Mercerus, Liveleus,
Drusius, Lytron, Cocceius. . The Targum it false mammon. Corrupt and unjust
judges are here taxed:
and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right; in the court
of judicature, where they should have done them justice, such courts being
usually held in the gates of cities; but instead of that they perverted their
judgment, and did them wrong.
Amos 5:13 13 Therefore
the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time.
YLT
13Therefore is the wise at
that time silent, For an evil time it [is].
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence at that time,.... Not the
prophets of the Lord, whose business it was at all times to reprove, and not
hold their peace, let the consequence be what it would; though the Targum calls
them teachers; but private persons, whose wisdom it would be to say nothing;
since reproof would do no good to these persons, and they would bring a great
deal of hatred ill will, and trouble upon themselves as well as would hear the
name of God blasphemed, which would be very afflictive to them: or the sense
is, they would not speak to God on the behalf of these wicked men, knowing the
decree was gone forth; nor say one murmuring word at it, believing it was in
righteousness; and being struck also with the awfulness of God's righteous
judgments:
for it is an evil time; in which sin abounded,
and miseries and calamities on account of it.
Amos 5:14 14 Seek
good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts
will be with you, As you have spoken.
YLT
14Seek good, and not evil,
that ye may live, And it is so; Jehovah, God of Hosts, [is] with you, as ye
said.
Seek good, and not evil,.... Seek not unto, or
after, evil persons and evil things; not the company and conversation of evil
men, which is infectious and dangerous; nor anything that is evil, or has the
appearance of it, especially the evil of evils, sin; which is hateful to God,
contrary to his nature and will; is evil in its own nature, and bad in its
consequences, and therefore not to be sought, but shunned and avoided; but seek
that which is good, persons and things: seek the "summum bonnum",
"the chief good", God, who is essentially, perfectly, immutably, and
communicatively good, the fountain of all goodness, and the portion of his
people; seek Christ the good Saviour and sacrifice, the good Shepherd, and the
good Samaritan, who is good in all his relations, as a father, husband, and
friend, and in whom all good things are laid up; seek the good Spirit of God,
who works good things in his people, and shows good things to them, and is the
Comforter of them; seek to him for assistance in prayer, and to help in the
exercise of every grace, and in the discharge of every duty, and as the guide
into all truth, and to eternal glory; seek the good ways of God, the way of
truth, the path of faith and holiness, and especially the good way to the
Father, the way of life and salvation by Christ; seek the good word of God, the
Scriptures of truth, the promises contained in them, and the Gospel of them;
seek the company of good men, and that good part that shall not be taken away,
the true grace of God, the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; seek the
glories of another world, the goodness of God laid up, the best things which are
reserved to last:
that ye may live; comfortably, spiritually, and eternally,
which is the consequence of all this; See Gill on Amos 5:4; See Gill
on Amos 5:6;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have
spoken; as they used to say, and boasted of; though they had not the
temple, the ark of the testimony, the symbols of the divine Presence, as Judah
had; but this they would have in reality, both his gracious presence here, and
his glorious presence hereafter, did they truly and rightly seek those things;
than which nothing is more desirable to good men, or can make them more
comfortable, or more happy. The Targum is,
"seek
to do well, and not to do ill, that ye may live; and then the word of the Lord
God of hosts shall be your help, as ye have said.'
Amos 5:15 15 Hate
evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will
be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
YLT
15Hate evil, and love good,
And set up judgment in the gate, It may be Jehovah, God of Hosts, doth pity the
remnant of Joseph.
Hate the evil, and love the good,.... Evil is not only not
to be sought, but to be hated, especially the evil of sin, because of its evil
nature, and pernicious effects and consequences; and, if it was for no other
reason but because it is hateful and abominable unto God, therefore they that
love him should hate evil, even with a perfect hatred; as all good men do,
though it is present with them, and cleaves unto them, and they do it, Psalm 97:10; and
"good" is to be loved for its goodness' sake; and the good effects of
it; a good God is to be loved, and all good men, and all good things; the good
word of God, and his commands and ordinances; and highly to be esteemed, and
affectionately regarded:
and establish judgment in the gate; openly, publicly, in
every court of judicature, which used to be kept in the gates of cities; not
only execute judgment and justice in all, cases brought into court, but let it
have its constant course, and be always practised according to the settled laws
of it:
it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the
remnant of Joseph: who should escape the fire that should break out of his house,
and devour it, even the ten tribes, Amos 5:6; such of
them as should seek the Lord, and that which is good; for in the worst of times
God reserves a remnant for himself, as in the times of Elijah, Isaiah, Christ,
and his apostles; a remnant according to the election of grace, to whom he has
been gracious in the choice and reserve he has made of them; in the stores of
grace he has hid up for them; in the provision and mission of his Son as a
Saviour; and in waiting the time of their conversion, when he is gracious to
them, in regenerating, quickening, pardoning, and justifying of them; and still
will be in the visits of his love; in the supplies of his grace, in supporting
them under afflictions, temptations, desertions, &c. and in giving them his
word and ordinances for their comfort and relief: nor is this "may
be" to be understood in a way of doubt or hesitation, but of good hope,
yea, of a holy confidence; and so some render it, "without doubt the Lord
God of hosts will be gracious"F7אולי
"sine dubio", Tarnovius; so Burkius. , &c. see Zephaniah 2:3.
Amos 5:16 16 Therefore
the Lord
God of hosts, the Lord, says this: “There shall be wailing in all
streets, And they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call
the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing.
YLT
16Therefore, thus said
Jehovah, God of Hosts, the Lord, In all broad places [is] lamentation, And in
all out-places they say, `Alas, alas,' And called the husbandman to mourning,
And to lamentation the skilful of wailing.
Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus,.... The
connection of these words is not with those that immediately precede, but with
the whole context; seeing neither promises nor threats, exhortations, good
advice, and intimations of grace and mercy, had no effect, at least upon the
generality of the people, therefore the Lord declared as follows:
wailing shall be in all streets; in all the
streets of the towns and cities of Israel, because of the slain and wounded in
them:
and they shall say in all the highways, alas! alas! in the
several roads throughout the country, as travellers pass on, and persons flee
from the enemy; they shall lament the state of the kingdom, and cry Woe, woe,
unto it; in what a miserable condition and circumstances it is in:
and they shall call the husbandmen to mourning: who used to
be better employed in tilling their land, ploughing, sowing, reaping, and
gathering in the fruits of the earth; but now should have no work to do, all
being destroyed, either by the hand of God, by blasting, and mildew, and
vermin, or by the trampling and forage of the enemy; and so there would be just
occasion for mourning:
and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing; that have got
the art of mourning, and were expert in making moans, and using plaintive
tones, and who assisted at funerals, and other doleful occasions; and who are
made use of to this day in some countries, particularly in Ireland; and were
the old Romans, by whom they were called "siticines",
"praefici", and "praeficae" and these mourning men and
women were also employed among the Jews at such times; see Matthew 9:23; in Jeremiah 9:17, the
mourning women are called "cunning women"; and so LucianF8Dialog.
περι πενθ. calls: them σοφιστας των θρηνων, "sophists at
lamentations", artists: at them, well skilled therein, such as those are
here directed to be called for. Mr. Lively, our countryman, puts both clauses
together, and renders them thus, "the husbandmen shall call to mourning
and wailing such as are skilful of lamentation"; to assist them therein,
because of the loss of the fruits of the earth; and such a version is confirmed
by Jarchi, though he paraphrases it to a different sense;
"companies
of husbandmen shall meet those that plough in the fields with the voice of
mourners that cry in the streets.'
Amos 5:17 17 In
all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you,” Says
the Lord.
YLT
17And in all vineyards [is]
lamentation, For I pass into thy midst, said Jehovah.
And in all vineyards shall
be wailing,.... The vines being destroyed, and no grapes to be gathered, and
put into the press; when there used to be great shoutings, and large
expressions of joy, at the gathering in of the vintage, and pressing the
grapes; but now there shall be a different tone; see Jeremiah 48:32;
for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord; through their
cities, towns, and country, fields and vineyards, and destroy all in his way,
as he passed through Egypt when he destroyed their firstborn.
Amos 5:18 18 Woe
to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is
the day of the Lord
to you? It will be darkness, and not light.
YLT
18Ho, ye who are desiring the
day of Jehovah, Why [is] this to you -- the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and
not light,
Woe unto you that desire
the day of the Lord,.... Either the day of Christ's coming in the flesh, as Cocceius
interprets it; and which was desired by the people of Israel, not on account of
spiritual and eternal salvation, but that they might be delivered by him from
outward troubles and enemies, and enjoy temporal felicity; they had a notion of
him as a temporal Saviour and Redeemer, in whose days they should possess much
outward happiness, and therefore desired his coming; see Malachi 3:1; or
else the day of the Lord's judgments upon them, spoken of by the prophet, and
which they were threatened with, but did not believe it would ever come; and
therefore in a scoffing jeering manner, expressed their desire of it, to show
their disbelief of it, and that they were in no pain or fear about it, like
those in Isaiah 5:19;
to what end is it for you? why do you desire it?
what benefit do you expect to get by it?
the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light; it will bring
on affliction, calamities, miseries, and distress, which are often in Scripture
expressed by "darkness", and not prosperity and happiness, which are
sometimes signified by "light"; see Isaiah 5:30; and
even the day of the coming of Christ were to the unbelieving Jews darkness, and
not light; they were blinded in it, and given up to judicial blindness and
darkness; they hating and rejecting the light of Christ, and his Gospel, and
which issued in great calamities, in the utter ruin and destruction of that
people, John 3:19.
Amos 5:19 19 It
will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as
though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent
bit him!
YLT
19As [when] one fleeth from
the face of the lion, And the bear hath met him, And he hath come in to the
house, And hath leant his hand on the wall, And the serpent hath bitten him.
As if a man did flee from
a lion, and a bear met him,.... That is, should the day of the Lord
come as they desired, they would not be the better for it; it would be only
going from one trouble to another, like escaping Scylla, and falling into
Charybdis: or as if a man, upon the sight of a lion, and at his yell, should
take to his heels, and flee "from the face" of him, as the phrase isF9מפני "a facie", V. L. Pagninus; "a
faciebus", Montanus; "a conspectu", Mercerus. , and a bear, a
less generous, and more cruel and voracious creature, especially when: bereaved
of its whelps, should meet him, and seize him: or should: he get clear of them both,
or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a
serpent bit him; should he get into a house, and so escape the lion and the bear,
and lean upon the wall of the house to support and ease him, being out of
breath in running from these creatures; yet a serpent lurking in the wall of an
old house bites him, and the venom and poison of it issues in his death; so he
gains nothing by fleeing from the lion, or escaping the bear. These proverbial
expressions signify that the Israelites would be no gainers by the day of the
Lord, but rather fall into greater evils, and more distressing calamities. Some
Jewish writers interpret the lion and the bear of Laban and Esau; the lion
(they sayF11Pirke Eliezer, c. 37. fol. 41. 1. ) is Laban, who
pursued after Jacob to take away his life; the bear is Esau, who stood in the
way to kill all that came, the mother with the children; but are much better
interpreted of the Chaldeans, Persians, and Grecians, by Jerom; whose words
are,
"fleeing
from the face of Nebuchadnezzar the lion, ye will be met by Ahasuerus, under
whom, was the history of Esther; or the empire of the Assyrians and Chaldeans
being destroyed, the Medes and Persians shall arise; and when upon the reign of
Cyrus ye shall have returned, and at the command of, Darius shall have begun to
build the house of the Lord, and have confidence in the temple, so as to rest
in it, lean your weary hands on its walls; then shall come Alexander king of
the Macedonians, or Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, who shall abide in the
temple, and bite likes serpent, not without in Babylon, and in Susa, but within
the borders of the holy land; by which it appears that the day ye desire is not
a day of light and joy, but of darkness and sorrow.'
The
interpretation is pretty and ingenious enough, since the characters of the
lion, bear, and serpent, agree with the respective persons and people
mentioned; Nebuchadnezzar is often compared to a lion, Jeremiah 4:7; and
the Babylonian and Chaldean monarchy is represented by one in Daniel 7:4; and the
Persian monarchy by a bear, Daniel 7:5; to
which the Persians are compared, the Jews sayF12T. Bab. Kiddushin,
fol. 72. 1. & Avoda Zara, fol. 2. 2. , because they eat and drink like a
bear, are as fat as bears, and hairy like them, and as restless as they; and so
the Persians were noted for their luxury and lust, as well as their cruelty;
and, wearing long hair, are called hairy persons in the Delphic oracle, which
HerodotusF13Erato, sive l. 6. c. 19. Vid. Calliope, sive l. 9. c.
81. interprets of them; See Gill on Daniel 7:5; and
Antiochus may not unfitly be compared to a serpent; see See Gill on Daniel 8:23; See
Gill on Daniel 8:24; See
Gill on Daniel 8:25; See
Gill on Daniel 11:23; but
what is to be objected to this sense is, that the words are spoken to the ten
tribes, or Israel, who were carried captive by the Assyrians; and not the two
tribes, or the Jews, who fell into the hands, first of the Chaldeans, then the
Persians, and then the Grecians, particularly into the hands of Antiochus; see Daniel 7:4.
Amos 5:20 20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and
not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
YLT
20Is not the day of Jehovah
darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that hath no brightness?
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?.... The
design of such a question is strongly to affirm, that, in this day of the Lord
spoken of, there should be nothing but misery and distress, and no prosperity
and happiness, at least to the wicked Israelites, or the unbelieving Jews:
even very dark, and no brightness in it? signifying
that there should be no deliverance, nor the least glimmering view or hope of
it; that the calamity should be so very great, and the destruction so entire,
that there should be no mixture of mercy, nor the least appearance of relief.
Amos 5:21 21 “I
hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
YLT
21I have hated -- I have loathed
your festivals, And I am not refreshed by your restraints.
I hate, I despise your
feast days,.... Kimchi thinks this is said, and what follows, with respect
to the kingdom of the house of Judah, which kept the feast the Lord commanded;
but it is not necessary so to understand it; for doubtless the ten tribes
imitated the worship at Jerusalem, and kept the feasts as the Jews did there,
in the observance of which they trusted; but the Lord rejects their vain
confidence, and lets them know that these were no ways acceptable to him; and
were so far from atoning for their sins, that they were hated, abhorred, and
despised by him, being observed in such a manner and with such a view as they
were;
and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies; a sweet savour
of rest, as in Genesis 8:21; take
no pleasure in their duties and services performed, in their solemn assemblies
convened together for religious purposes, nor accept of them; but, on the
contrary, dislike and abhor them; see Isaiah 1:11.
Amos 5:22 22 Though
you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
YLT
22For though ye cause
burnt-offerings and your presents to ascend to Me, I am not pleased, And the
peace-offering of your fatlings I behold not.
Though ye offer me burnt
offerings, and your meat offerings, I will not accept them,.... The daily
burnt offerings, morning and night, and others which were wholly the Lord's;
and the "minchah", or bread offering, which went along with them; in
which they thought to do God service, and to merit his favour; but instead of
that they were unacceptable to him, being neither offered up in a proper place,
if in a right manner according to the law of Moses; however, not in the faith
of the great sacrifice, Christ; nor attended with repentance towards God:
neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts; even though
their peace offerings were of the best of the herd. Aben Ezra says the creature
here meant is the same which in the Ishmaelitish or Arabic language is called
"giamus", a creature bigger than an ox, and like one, which is called
a buffle or buffalo. And so Ben Melech says it means one of the kinds of the
larger cattle; for not a lamb, a ram, or a sheep, is meant, as the word is
sometimes rendered by the Septuagint, but a creature like an ox; not larger, or
the wild ox, as the above Hebrew writers, but smaller; with which agrees the
description BelloniusF14Apud Bochart. Hierozoic. p. 1. l. 2. c. 28. Colossians 283. gives of the Syrian "bubalus"
or "buffalo", which he calls a small ox, full bodied, little, smooth,
sleek, fat, and well made; and is no doubt the same the Arabs call
"almari", from its smoothness.
Amos 5:23 23 Take
away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your
stringed instruments.
YLT
23Turn aside from Me the
noise of thy songs, Yea, the praise of thy psaltery I hear not.
Take thou away from me the
noise of thy songs,.... The ten tribes, very probably, imitated the, temple music at
Jerusalem, both vocal and instrumental, and had their songs and hymns of
praise, which they sung to certain tunes; but the music of these is called a
noise, being very disagreeable to the Lord, as coming from such carnal and
wicked persons; and therefore he desires it might cease, be took away, and he
be no more troubled with it:
for I will not hear the melody of thy viols: which may be
put for all instruments of music used by them, as violins, harps, psalteries,
&c. the sound of which, how melodious soever, the, Lord would turn a deaf
ear unto, and not regard.
Amos 5:24 24 But
let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
YLT
24And roll on as waters doth
judgment, And righteousness as a perennial stream.
But let judgments run down
as waters,.... Or "roll"F15ויגל
"volvatur", Munster, Mercerus, Liveleus, Drusius; "volvat
se", Montanus, Vatablus; "revolvet se", Piscator;
"provolvatur", Cocceius. ; in abundance, with great rapidity, bearing
down all before them, which nothing can resist; signifying the plenty of
justice done in the land, the full and free exercise of it, without any
stoppage or intermission:
and righteousness as a mighty stream; the same
thing expressed in different words; though some think that not the execution of
judgment and justice by men is here exhorted to, but the vindictive justice of
God is threatened; which like a mighty torrent of water should come down,
overwhelm, bear away, and destroy all before it, even all the transgressors in
Israel.
Amos 5:25 25 “Did
you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of
Israel?
YLT
25Sacrifices and offering did
ye bring nigh to Me, In a wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
Have ye offered unto me
sacrifices and offerings,.... No; they were not offered to God, but to devils, to the
golden calf, and to the host of heaven: so their fathers did
in the wilderness forty years; where sacrifices were
omitted during that time, a round number for a broken one, it being about
thirty eight years; and these their children were imitators of them, and
offered sacrifice to idols too, and therefore deserved punishment as they: even
ye,
O house of Israel? the ten tribes, who are here particularly
charged and threatened; See Gill on Acts 7:42.
Amos 5:26 26 You
also carried Sikkuth[a] your king[b] And Chiun,[c] your
idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves.
YLT
26And ye bare Succoth your
king, and Chiun your images, The star of your god, that ye made for yourselves.
But ye have borne the
tabernacle of your Mo,.... The god of the Ammonites; See Gill on Amos 1:13; and See
Gill on Jeremiah 7:31;
called theirs, because they also worshipped it, and caused their seed to pass
through the fire to it; and which was carried by them in a shrine, or portable
tent or chapel. Or it may be rendered, "but ye have borne Siccuth your
king"F16סכות מלככם
"Siccuth regem vestrum", Munster, Montanus, Vatablus, Calvin, Mercerus.
; and so Siccuth may be taken for the name of an idol, as it is by Jarchi,
Kimchi, and Ben Melech, to whom they gave the title of king, as another idol
went by the name of the queen of heaven; perhaps by one was meant the sun, and
by the other the moon;
and Chiun, your images; Mo or Siccuth was one,
and Chiun another image, or rather the same; and this the same with Chevan,
which in the Arabic and Persic languages is the name of Saturn, as Aben Ezra
and Kimchi say; and is so rendered by Montanus here; and who in the Egyptian
tongue was called Revan, or Rephan, or Remphan; as by the Septuagint here, and
in Acts 7:43;
the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves; or the star
"your god"F17כוכב אלהיכם "sidus deum vestrum", Liveleus;
"sidus, vel stellam deos vestros", Calvin. ; meaning the same
with Chiun or Saturn; perhaps the same with the star that fell from the air or
sky, mentioned by SanchoniathoF18Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1.
p. 38. ; which Astarte, the wife of Chronus or Saturn, is said to take and
consecrate in Tyre; this they made for themselves, and worshipped as a deity.
The Targum is,
"ye
have borne the tabernacle of your priests, Chiun your image, the star your God,
which ye have made to yourselves.'
Various
are the senses put upon the word Chiun. Some read it Cavan, and take it to
signify a "cake"; in which sense the word is used in Jeremiah 7:18; and
render it, "the cake of your images"F19כיון
צלמיכם "placentam imagiuum vestrarum",
Pagninus, Tigurine version, Vatablus. ; and supposing that it had the image of
their gods impressed upon it. Calmet interprets it "the pedestal of your
images"F20Dictionary, in the word "Chiun". ; and
indeed the word has the signification of a basis, and is so rendered by someF21"Basim
imaginum vestrarum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator;
"statumen", Burkius. ; and is applicable to Mo their king, a king
being the basis and foundation of the kingdom and people; and to the sun,
intended by that deity, which is the basis of the celestial bodies, and of all
things on earth. Some take Mo and Chiun to be distinct deities, the one to be
the sun, the other the moon; but they seem rather to be the same, and both to
be the Egyptian ox, and the calf of the Israelites in the wilderness, the image
of which was carried in portable tents or tabernacles, in chests or shrines;
such as the Succothbenoth, or tabernacles of Venus, 2 Kings 17:30; and
those of Diana's, Acts 19:24; the
first of these portable temples we read of, is one drawn by oxen in Phoenicia,
mentioned by SanchoniathoF23Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. p.
35. ; not that the Israelites carried such a tent or tabernacle during their
travels through the wilderness, whatever they might do the few days they
worshipped the calf; but this is to be understood of their posterity in later
times, in the times of Amos; and also when Shalmaneser carried them captive
beyond Damascus, as follows. It may be further observed, for the confirmation
and illustration of what has been said concerning Chiun, that the Egyptian
Anubis, which PlutarchF24De Iside. says is the same with Saturn, is
called by him Kyon, which seems to be no other than this word Chiun: and
whereas Stephen calls it Rephan, this is not a corruption of the word, reading
Rephan or Revan for Chevan; nor has he respect to Rimmon, the god of the
Syrians, but it is the Egyptian name for Saturn; which the Septuagint
interpreters might choose to make use of, they interpreting for the king of
Egypt: and Diodorus SiculusF25Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 56. makes mention
of an Egyptian king called Remphis, whom BrauniusF26Selecta Sacra.
l. 4. c. 9. sect. 132. p. 435. takes to be this very Chiun; see Acts 7:43; but
Rephas, or Rephan, was the same with Chronus, or Saturn, from whence came the
RephaimF1Vid. Cumberland's Sanchoniatho, p. 120. , who dwelt in
Ashtaroth Karnaim, a town of Ham or Chronus; see Genesis 14:5. SomeF2Vid.
Scholia Quinquarborei in loc. So Jarchi and Lyra. , who take Siccuth for an
idol, render it in the future, "ye shall carry", &c. and take it
to be a prediction of Amos, that the Israelites should, with great reproach and
ignominy, be obliged by the Assyrians, as they were led captive, to carry on
their shoulders the idols they had worshipped, and in vain had trusted in, as
used to be done in triumphs; See Gill on Amos 1:15.
Amos 5:27 27 Therefore
I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” Says the Lord, whose name is
the God of hosts.
YLT
27And I removed you beyond
Damascus, Said Jehovah, God of Hosts [is] His name.
Therefore will I cause you
to go into captivity beyond Damascus,.... The chief city of
Syria; and which, as Aben Ezra says, lay to the east of the land of Israel, and
was a very strong and fortified place: and Syria being in alliance with Israel,
the Israelites might think of fleeing thither for refuge, in the time of their
distress; but they are here told that they should be taken captive, and be
carried to places far more remote than that: Stephen says, "beyond
Babylon"; as they were, for they were carried into Media, to Halah and
Habor by the river of Gozan, to the cities of the Medes; their way to which lay
through Syria and Babylon; See Gill on Acts 7:43;
saith the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts; and therefore
is able to do what he threatens; and it might be depended upon it would be
certainly done, as it is clear, beyond all contradiction, it has been done; see
2 Kings 17:6.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)