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Amos Chapter Five                            

 

Amos 5 Outlines

A Lament for Israel (v.1~3)

A Call to Repentance (v.4~15)

The Day of the Lord (v.16~27)

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)

Footnotes:

  1. Amos 5:26 A pagan deity
  2. Amos 5:26 Septuagint and Vulgate read tabernacle of Moloch.
  3. Amos 5:26 A pagan deity