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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)