| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Amos Chapter
Nine
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 9
This
chapter contains the fifth and last vision the prophet saw; which represents
the certain desolation of the land
city
and temple
and the slaughter of all
sorts of persons
high and low
none should escape it
Amos 9:1; be they
where they would
they should be found out
whether in hell or heaven
on the
tops of the highest mountains
or in the bottom of the sea
or in a foreign
land
since the eyes of the Lord were upon them for evil
Amos 9:2; nor could
they hope to escape
when they considered his greatness and his power
and what
he could do
and had done; and how they had behaved towards him
even though
they were the people he had brought out of Egypt
Amos 9:5; but
though the sinful kingdom should be destroyed
yet not utterly
a remnant
should be saved
Amos 9:8; and the
chapter is concluded with gracious promises of raising up the tabernacle of
David fallen down
and of the return of the people of Israel to their own land;
and of their settlement and continuance in it
never more to depart from it
Amos 9:11.
Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord
standing by the altar
and He said: “Strike the doorposts
that the thresholds
may shake
And break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of
them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away
And he who escapes
from them shall not be delivered.
YLT
1I have seen the Lord
standing by the altar
and He saith: `Smite the knob
and the thresholds shake
And cut them off by the head -- all of them
And their posterity with a sword I
do slay
Not flee to them doth the fleer
Nor escape to them doth a fugitive.
And I saw the Lord standing upon the altar
.... Either
upon the altar of burnt offerings in the temple of Jerusalem
whither he had
removed from the cherubim; signifying his being about to depart
and that he
was displeased
and would not be appeased by sacrifice: so the Targum
"said
Amos the prophet
I saw the glory of the Lord removing from the cherub
and it
dwelt upon the altar;'
and
the vision may refer to the destruction of the Jews
their city and temple
either by the Chaldeans
or by the Romans: or rather
since the prophecy in
general
and this vision in particular
seems to respect the ten tribes only
it was upon the altar at Bethel the Lord was seen standing
as offended at the
sacrifices there offered
and to hinder them from sacrificing them
as well as
to take vengeance on those that offered them
1 Kings 13:1;
and he said; the Lord said
either to the prophet in vision
or to one of the
angels
as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or to the executioners of his vengeance
the
enemies of the people of Israel:
smite the lintel of the door
that the posts may shake; the upper
lintel
on which pomegranates and flowers were carved
and therefore called
"caphtor"
as Kimchi thinks; this was the lintel of the door
either
of the temple at Jerusalem
as the Jewish writers generally suppose; or rather
of the temple at Bethel
see 1 Kings 12:31;
which was to be smitten with such three
that the posts thereof should shake;
signifying the destruction of the whole building in a short time
and that none
should be able to go in and out thereat:
and cut them in the head
all of them; and I will slay the last of
them with the sword; which shows that the lintel and doorposts are not to be taken
literally
but figuratively; and that the smiting and cutting of them intend
the destruction of men; by the "head"
the king
and the princes
and
nobles
or the priests; and
by "the last of them"
the common
people
the meanest sort
or those that were left of them
as Aben Ezra and
Kimchi:
he that fleeth of them shall not flee away; he that
attempts to make his escape
and shall flee for his life
shall not get clear
but either be stopped
or pursued and taken:
and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered; he that does
get out of the hands of those that destroy with the sword shall not be
delivered from death
but shall die by famine or pestilence. The Targum is
"and
he said
unless the people of the house of Israel return to the law
the
candlestick shall be extinguished
King Josiah shall be killed
and the house
destroyed
and the courts dissipated
and the vessels of the house of the
sanctuary shall go into captivity; and the rest of them I will slay with the
sword
&c.'
referring
the whole to the Jews
and to the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem.
Amos 9:2 2 “Though
they dig into hell
[a] From there
My hand shall take them; Though they climb up to heaven
From there I will
bring them down;
YLT 2If they dig through into
sheol
From thence doth My hand take them
And if they go up the heavens
From
thence I cause them to come down.
Though they dig into hell
thence shall mine hand take them
.... That is
they that endeavour to make their escape from their enemies
though they seek
for places of the greatest secrecy and privacy; not hell
the place of the
damned; nor the grave
the repository of the dead; neither of which they chose
to he in
but rather sought to escape them; but the deepest and darkest
caverns
the utmost recesses of the earth
the very centre of it; which
could
they get into
would not secure them from the power and providence of God
and
from their enemies in pursuit of them
by his permission:
though they climb up to heaven
thence will I bring them down; the summit of
the highest mountains
and get as near to heaven
and at as great a distance
from men
as can be
and yet all in vain. The Targum is
"if
they think to be hid as it were in hell
from thence their enemies shall take
them by my word; and if they ascend the high mountains
to the top of heaven
thence will I bring them;'
see
Psalm 139:8.
Amos 9:3 3 And
though they hide themselves on top of Carmel
From there I will search and take
them; Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea
From there I
will command the serpent
and it shall bite them;
YLT
3And if they be hid in the
top of Carmel
From thence I search out
and have taken them
And if they be
hid from Mine eyes in the bottom of the sea
From thence I command the serpent
And it hath bitten them.
And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel
.... One of
the highest mountains in the land of Israel; in the woods upon it
and caves in
it:
I will search and take them out from thence: by directing
their enemies where to find them: so the Targum
"if
they think to be hid in the tops of the towers of castles
thither will I
command the searchers
and they shall search them:'
and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea; get into
ships
going by sea to distant parts; or make their escape to isles upon the
sea afar off
where they may think themselves safe:
thence will I command the serpent
and he shall bite them; the dragon
that is in the sea
Isaiah 27:1; the
great whale in the sea
or the leviathan
so Aben Ezra
Kimchi
and Ben Melech;
and is that kind of whale which is called the "Zygaena"
as BochartF23Hierozoic.
par. 2. l. 5. c. 13. p. 747. thinks; and which he
from various writers
describes as very monstrous
horrible
and terrible
having five rows of teeth
and very numerous; and which not only devours other large fishes
but men
swimming it meets with; and
having such teeth
with great propriety may be
said to bite. It appears from hence that there are sea serpents
as well as
land ones
to which the allusion is. Erich Pantoppidan
the present bishop of
BergenF24Natural History of Norway
par. 2. p. 198
199
207.
speaks of a "see ormen"
or sea snake
in the northern seas
which he
describes as very monstrous and very terrible to seafaring men
being of seven
or eight folds
each fold a fathom distant; nay
of the length of a cable
a
hundred fathom
or six hundred English feet; yea
of one as thick as a pipe of
wine
with twenty five folds. Some such terrible creature is here respected
though figuratively understood
and designs some crafty
powerful
and cruel
enemy. The Targum paraphrases it
though hid
"in
the isles of the sea
thither will I command the people strong like serpents
and they shall kill them;'
see
Psalm 139:9.
Amos 9:4 4 Though
they go into captivity before their enemies
From there I will command the
sword
And it shall slay them. I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for
good.”
YLT
4And if they go into captivity
before their enemies
From thence I command the sword
And it hath slain them
And I have set Mine eye on them for evil
And not for good.
And though they go into captivity before their enemies
.... Alluding
to the manner in which captives are led
being put before their enemies
and so
carried in triumph; see Lamentations 1:5;
though some think this refers to their going voluntarily into a foreign country
in order to escape danger
as Johanan the son of Kareah with the Jews went into
Egypt
Jeremiah 43:5; in
whom Kimchi instances:
thence will I command the sword
and it shall slay them; or them that
kill with the sword
as the Targum; so that though they thought by going into
another country
or into an enemy's country of their own accord
to escape the
sword of the enemy
or to curry favour with them
yet should not escape:
and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil
and not for good: this is the
true reason
why
let them be where they will
they cannot be safe
because the
eyes of the omniscient God
which are everywhere
in heaven
earth
hell
and
the sea
are set upon them
for their ruin and destruction; and there is no
fleeing from his presence
or getting out of his sight
or escaping his hand.
The Targum is
"my
Word shall be against them.'
Amos 9:5 5 The
Lord God
of hosts
He who touches the earth and it melts
And all who dwell there mourn;
All of it shall swell like the River
[b] And
subside like the River of Egypt.
YLT
5And [it is] the Lord
Jehovah of Hosts
Who is striking against the land
and it melteth
And mourned
have all the inhabitants in it
And come up as a flood hath all of it
And it
hath sunk -- like the flood of Egypt.
And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land
and
it shall melt
.... Which is another reason why it is impossible to escape the
hands of a sin revenging God
because he is omnipotent as well as omniscient;
he is the Lord of all the armies above and below; and if he but touch the land
any particular country
as the land of Israel
it shakes and trembles
and
falls into a flow of water
or melts like wax; as when he toucheth the hills
and mountains they smoke
being like fuel to fire; see Psalm 104:32;
and all that dwell therein shall mourn; their houses
destroyed
their substance consumed
and all that is near and dear to them
swallowed up:
and it shall rise up wholly like a flood
and shall be drowned as by
the flood of Egypt; See Gill on Amos 8:8.
Amos 9:6 6 He
who builds His layers in the sky
And has founded His strata in the earth; Who
calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth— The
Lord is His
name.
YLT
6Who is building in the
heavens His upper chambers; As to His troop
Upon earth He hath founded it
Who
is calling for the waters of the sea
And poureth them out on the face of the
land
Jehovah [is] His name.
It is he that
buildeth his stories in the heaven
.... The three elements
according to Aben Ezra
fire
air
and water; the orbs
as Kimchi
one above
another; a word near akin to this is rendered "his chambers"
which
are the clouds
Psalm 104:3;
perhaps the heaven
and the heaven of heavens
which are three stories high
may be meant; we read of the third heaven
2 Corinthians 12:2;
and particularly the throne of God is in the highest heaven; and the
"ascents"F25מעלותיו
"ascensiones suus"
Pagninus
Montanus
Munster
Tigurine version
"gradus suo"
Vatablus
Drusius
Cocceius. to it
as it may be
rendered. The Targum is
"who
causeth to dwell in a high fortress the Shechinah of his glory:'
and hath founded his troop in the earth; this Kimchi
interprets of the three above elements. So the words are translated in the
Bishops' Bible in Queen Elizabeth's time
"he
buildeth his spheres in the heaven
and hath laid the foundation of his globe
of elements in the earth.'
Aben
Ezra interprets it of animals; it may take in the whole compass of created
beings on earth; so Jarchi explains it of the collection of his creatures;
though he takes notice of another sense given
a collection of the righteous
which are the foundation of the earth
and for whose sake all things stand.
Abarbinel interprets it of the whole of the tribe of Israel; and so the Targum
paraphrases it of his congregation or church on earth: he beautifies his elect
which are "his bundle"F26אגדתו
"fasciculum suum"
Montanus
Munster
Mercerus
Vatablus
Drusius
Burkius.
as it may be rendered; who are bound up in the bundle of life with
the Lord their God
and are closely knit and united
as to God and Christ
so
to one another; and perhaps is the best sense of the wordsF1Schultens
in Observ. ad Genesin
p. 197
198
observes
that "agad"
with the
Arabs
signifies primarily to "bind"
and is by them transferred to a
building firmly bound
and compact together; and so may intend here in Amos the
Lord's building
the church
which he hath founded in the earth; and so with
Golius and Castellus is a building firmly compacted together. אגדת is used for a bunch of hyssop
Exod. xii. 27. and in
the Misnic language for a handful or bundle of anything; see Buxtorf. Lex.
Talmud. rad. אגד. :
he that calleth for the waters of the sea
and poureth them out
upon the face of the earth
the Lord is his name; either to
drown it
as at the general deluge; or to water and refresh it
as he does by
exhaling water from the sea
and then letting it down in plentiful showers upon
the earth; See Gill on Amos 5:8; now all
these things are observed to show the power of God
and that therefore there
can be no hope of escaping out of his hands.
Amos 9:7 7 “Are
you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me
O children of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not
bring up Israel from the land of Egypt
The Philistines from Caphtor
And the
Syrians from Kir?
YLT
7As sons of Cushim are ye
not to Me? O sons of Israel -- an affirmation of Jehovah. Israel did I not
bring up out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor
and Aram
from Kir?
Are ye not as children of the
Ethiopians unto me
O children of Israel? saith the Lord
.... And
therefore had no reason to think they should be delivered because they were the
children of Israel
of Abraham
Isaac
and Jacob; since they were no more to
God than the children of the Ethiopians
having behaved like them; and were
become as black as they through sin
and were idolaters like them; and so
accustomed to sin
and hardened in it
that they could no more change their
course and custom of sinning than the Ethiopian could change his skin
Jeremiah 13:23; The
Ethiopians are represented by Diodorus SiculusF2Bibliothec. l. 3. p.
143
144. as very religious
that is
very idolatrous; and as the first that
worshipped the gods
and offered sacrifice to them; hence they were very
pleasing to them
and in high esteem with them; wherefore HomerF3Ibid.
1. l. 423. speaks of Jupiter
and the other gods
going to Ethiopia to an
anniversary feast
and calls them the blameless Ethiopians; and so LucianF4In
Jupiter Tragaedus. speaks of the gods as gone abroad
perhaps to the other side
of the ocean
to visit the honest Ethiopians; for they are often used to visit
them
and
as he wittily observes
even sometimes without being invited. Jarchi
suggests the sense to be
that they were as creatures upon the same foot
and
of the same descent
with other nations; and paraphrases it thus
"from
the sons of Noah ye came as the rest of the nations.'
Kimchi
takes the meaning to be this
"as
the children of the Ethiopians are servants so should ye be unto me.'
The
Targum is very foreign from the sense
"are
ye not reckoned as beloved children before me
O house of Israel?'
the
first sense is best:
have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and therefore
it was ungrateful in them to behave as they have done; nor can they have any
dependence on this
or argue from hence that they shall be indulged with other
favours
or be continued in their land
since the like has been done for other
nations
as follows:
and the Philistines from Caphtor
and the Syrians from Kir? that is
have
I not brought up the one from the one place
and the other from the other? the
Philistines and Caphtorim are mentioned together as brethren
Genesis 10:14; and
the Avim which dwelt in the land of Palestine in Hazerim unto Azzah were
destroyed by the Caphtorim
who dwelt in their stead
Deuteronomy 2:23;
from whom
it seems by this
the Philistines were delivered
who are called the
remnant of the country of Caphtor
Jeremiah 47:4. Aben
Ezra understands it as if the Israelites were not only brought out of Egypt
but also from the Philistines
and from Caphtor: others take these two places
Caphtor and Kir
to be the original of the Philistines and Syrians
and not
where they had been captives
but now delivered: so Japhet
"ye
are the children of one father
God
who brought you out of Egypt
and not as
the Philistines from Caphtor
and the Syrians from Kir
who were mixed together;'
and
R. Joseph Kimchi thus
"from
Caphtor came destroyers to the Philistines
who destroyed them; and from Kir
came Tiglathpileser
the destroyer
to the Syrians
who carried them captive
there.'
Of
the captivity of the Philistines
and their deliverance from the Caphtorim
we
nowhere read; the captivity of the Syrians in Kir Amos prophesied of
Amos 1:5; and if he
speaks here of their deliverance from it
he must live at least to the times of
Ahaz; for in his times it was they were carried captive thither
2 Kings 16:9.
Caphtor some take to be Cyprus
because it seems to be an island
Jeremiah 47:4; but
by it the Targum
Septuagint
Vulgate Latin
Syriac and Arabic versions
understand Cappadocia; and the Cappadocians used to be called by the Greeks and
Persians Syrians
as HerodotusF5Clio
sive l. 1. 72. Terpsichore
sive l. 5. c. 40. & Polymnia
sive l. 7. c. 72. Vid. Strabo. Geograph. l.
22. p. 374. and others
observe. BochartF6Phaleg. l. 4. c. 32. col.
291
292. is of opinion that that part of Cappadocia is intended which is
called Colchis; and the rather since he finds a city in that country called
Side
which in the Greek tongue signifies a pomegranate
as Caphtor does in
Hebrew; and supposes the richness of the country led the Caphtorim thither
who
having stayed awhile
returned to Palestine
and there settled; which
expedition he thinks is wrapped up in the fable of the Greek poets
concerning
that of Typhon out of Egypt to Colchis and from thence to Palestine; and indeed
the Jewish TargumistsF7Targum Onkelos
Jon. & Jerus. in Gen. x.
4. & Ben Uzziel in Jer. xlvii. 4. & in loc. every where render
Caphtorim by Cappadocians
and Caphtor by Cappadocia
or Caphutkia; but then by
it they understand a place in Egypt
even Pelusium
now called Damiata; for the
Jewish writers sayF8Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Cetubot
c. 13.
sect. 11. Caphutkia is Caphtor
in the Arabic language Damiata; so Benjamin of
Tudela saysF9Itinerarium
p. 125.
in two days I came to Damiata
this
is Caphtor; and no doubt the Caphtorim were in Egypt originally since they
descended from Mizraim; but CalmetF11Dictionary in tile word
"Caphtor". will have it that the island of Crete is meant by Caphtor;
and observes
theft
the Philistines were at first called strangers in
Palestine
their proper name being Cherethites
or Cretians
as in Ezekiel 25:16; as
the Septuagint render that name of theirs; and that the language
manners
arms
religion and gods
of the Philistines and Cretians
are much the same; he
finds a city in Crete called Aptera
which he thinks has a sensible relation to
Caphtor; and that the city of Gaza in Palestine went by the name of Minoa
because of Minos king of Crete
who
coming into that country
called this
ancient city by his own name. The Targum and Vulgate Latin version render Kir
by Cyrene
by which must be meant
not Cyrene in Africa
but in Media; so Kir
is mentioned along with Elam or Persia in Isaiah 22:6;
whither the people of Syria were carried captive by Tiglathpileser
as
predicted in Amos 1:5; and
as
the above writer observesF12Dictionary
in the word
"Cyrene".
not certainly into the country of Cyrene near Egypt
where that prince was possessed of nothing; but to Iberia or Albania
where the
river Kir or Cyrus runs
which discharges itself into the Caspian sea; and
JosephusF13Antiqu. l. 9. c. 12. sect. 3. says they were transported
into Upper Media; and the above author thinks that the Prophet Amos
in this
passage
probably intended to comprehend
under the word "Cyr" or
"Kir"
the people beyond the Euphrates
and those of Mesopotamia
from whence the Aramaeans in reality came
who were descended from Aram the son
of Shem; and he adds
we have no certain knowledge of their coming in particular
out of this country
where the river Cyrus flows; and
upon the whole
it is
difficult to determine whether this is to be understood of the origin of these
people
or of their deliverance from captivity; the latter may seem probable
since it is certain that the prophet speaks of the deliverance of Israel from
the captivity of Egypt; and it is as certain that the Syrians were carried
captive to Kir
and
no doubt
from thence delivered; though we have no account
of the Philistines being captives to Caphtor
and of their deliverance from
thence; however
doubtless these were things well known to Amos
and in his
times
he here speaks of. In some of our English copies it is read Assyrians
instead of Syrians
very wrongly; for "Aram"
and not
"Ashur"
is the word here used.
Amos 9:8 8 “Behold
the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom
And I will destroy it from the face of the
earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob
” Says the Lord.
YLT
8Lo
the eyes of the Lord
Jehovah [are] on the sinful kingdom
And I have destroyed it from off the face
of the ground
Only
I destroy not utterly the house of Jacob
An affirmation
of Jehovah.
Behold
the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful
kingdom
.... God is omniscient
and his eyes are everywhere
and upon all
persons
good and bad
and upon all kingdoms
especially upon a sinful nation:
"the sinning kingdom"F14ממלכה החטאה "hoc regnum peccans"
V. L. Junius &
Tremellius
Drusius
Mercerus; "peccatrix"
Piscator.
or "the
kingdom of sin"F15"Regnum peccati"
Pagninus
Montanus.
as it may be rendered; that is addicted to sin
where it prevails
and reigns; every such kingdom
particularly the kingdom of Israel
Ephraim
or
the ten tribes
given to idolatry
and other sins complained of in this
prophecy; and that not for good
but for evil
as in Amos 9:4; in order
to cut them off from being a people:
and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth: so that it
shall be no more
at least as a kingdom; as the ten tribes have never been
since their captivity by Shalmaneser; though Japhet interprets this of all the
kingdoms of the earth
being sinful
the eyes of God are upon them to destroy
them
excepting the kingdom of Israel; so Abarbinel:
saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob
saith
the Lord; and so it is
that though they have been destroyed as a kingdom
yet not utterly as a people; there were some of the ten tribes that mixed with
the Jews
and others that were scattered about in the world; and a remnant
among them
according to the election of grace
that were met with in the
ministry of the apostles
and in the latter day all Israel shall be saved; see Jeremiah 30:10.
Amos 9:9 9 “For
surely I will command
And will sift the house of Israel among all nations
As grain
is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.
YLT
9For lo
I am commanding
And I have shaken among all the nations the house of Israel
As [one] doth
shake with a sieve
And there falleth not a grain [to] the earth.
For
lo
I will command
.... What follows; which
is expressive of afflictive and trying dispensations of Providence
which are
according to the will of God
by his appointment and order
and overruled for
his glory
and the good of his people:
and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations
as corn
is sifted in a sieve; this is to be understood of spiritual Israel
of those who are
Israelites indeed
who are like to corns of wheat
first die before they live;
die unto sin
and live unto righteousness; grow up gradually
and produce much
fruit; or like to wheat for their choiceness and excellency
being the chosen
of God and precious
and the excellent in the earth; and their whiteness and
purity
as clothed with Christ's righteousness washed in his blood
and
sanctified by his Spirit; and for their substance and fulness
being filled out
of Christ's fulness
and with all the fulness of God
with the Spirit and his
graces
and with all the fruits of righteousness; and for weight and solidity
not as chaff driven to and fro
but are firm and constant
settled and established
in divine things; and yet have the chaff of sin cleaving to them
and have need
of the flail and fan of affliction; and this is the sieve the Lord takes into
his hands
and sifts them with; whereby sometimes they are greatly unsettled
and tossed to and fro
have no rest and ease
but are greatly distressed on all
sides
and are thoroughly searched and tried
and the chaff loosened and
separated from them; and sometimes the Lord suffers them to be sifted by the
temptations of Satan
whereby they are brought into doubts and fears
and are
very wavering and uncomfortable
are sadly harassed and buffeted
and in great
danger
were it not for the grace of God
and the intercession of the Mediator
Luke 22:31;
yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth; or
"the
least stone"F16צרור
"lapillus"
Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Munster
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Cocceius; so Ben Melech. ; which is in the
spiritual building
and laid on the rock and foundation Christ; or the least
corn of wheat
so called because of its weight
solidity
and substance. The
meaning is
that the least true Israelite
or child of God
who is the least in
the kingdom of heaven
and has the least share of grace and spiritual
knowledge
that is even less than the least of all saints
shall not be lost
and perish; though they fall in Adam
yet they are preserved in Christ; though
they fall into actual sins and transgressions
and sometimes into gross ones
and from a degree of steadfastness in the faith
yet not totally and finally
or so as to perish for ever; no
not a hair of their head shall fall to the
ground
or they be hurt and ruined; see 1 Samuel 14:45; for
they are beloved of God with an everlasting love
ordained
by him to eternal
life
adopted into his family
justified by his grace
and are kept by his
power
according to his promise
which never fails; they are Christ's property
given him of his Father
to whom he stands in the relation of Head and Husband;
are the purchase of his blood
closely united to him
and for whom he
intercedes
and makes preparations in heaven. The Spirit of God is their
sanctifier and sealer; he dwells in them as their earnest of heaven; and the
glory of all the divine Persons is concerned in their salvation; hence it is
that not one of them shall ever perish.
Amos 9:10 10 All
the sinners of My people shall die by the sword
Who say
‘The calamity shall
not overtake nor confront us.’
YLT
10By sword die do all sinners
of My people
Who are saying
`Not overtake
or go before
For our sakes
doth
evil.'
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword
.... By the
sword of the Assyrians
and of others
into whose countries they shall flee for
shelter
Amos 9:1; even all
such who are notorious sinners
abandoned to their lusts
obstinate and
incorrigible; live in sin
and continue therein; repent not of sin
disbelieve
the prophets of the Lord
and defy his threatenings
and put away the evil day
far from them:
which say
the evil shall not overtake nor prevent us; the evil
threatened by the prophet
the sword of the enemy
the desolation of their
land
and captivity in a foreign land; these evils
if they came at all
which
they gave little credit to
yet would not in their days; they would never come
so near them
or so close to their heels as to overtake them
and seize them
or to get before them
and stop them fleeing from them; they promised
themselves impunity
and were in no pain about the judgments threatened them;
so daring and impudent
so irreligious and atheistical
were they in their
thoughts
words
and actions; and therefore should all and everyone of them be
destroyed.
Amos 9:11 11 “On
that day I will raise up The tabernacle[c] of David
which has fallen down
And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins
And
rebuild it as in the days of old;
YLT
11In that day I raise the
tabernacle of David
that is fallen
And I have repaired their breaches
And
its ruins I do raise up
And I have built it up as in days of old.
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen
.... Not in
the day of Israel's ruin
but in the famous Gospel day
so often spoken of by
the prophets; and this prophecy is referred to the times of the Messiah by the
ancientF17Zohar in Exod. fol. 96. 2. Jews; and one of the names they
give him is taken from hence
"Barnaphli"F18T. Bab.
Sanhedrin
fol. 96. 2.
the Son of the fallen. R. Nachman said to R. Isaac
hast thou heard when Barnaphli comes? to whom he said
who is Barnaphli? he
replied
the Messiah; you may call the Messiah Barnaphli; for is it not
written
"in that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen
down?" and they call him so
not because the son of Adam; but because he
was the son of David
and was to spring from his family
when fallen into a low
and mean condition; yea
they sometimes seem by the tabernacle of David to
understand the dead body of the Messiah to be raised
whose human nature is by
the New Testament writers called a tabernacle
Hebrews 8:2; see John 1:14; for
having mentionedF19Zohar in Gen. fol. 53. 2. that passage in Jeremiah 30:9;
"they shall serve the Lord their God
and David their King
whom I will
raise up unto them"
add
whom I will raise up out of the dust; as it is
said
"I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen down";
but elsewhereF20Zohar in Exod. fol. 4. 2. it is better interpreted
of the Messiah's raising up Israel his people out of captivity; they say
"her
husband shall come
and raise her out of the dust; as it is said
"I will
raise up the tabernacle of David"
&c. in the day the King Messiah
shall gather the captivity from the ends of the world to the ends of it
according to Deuteronomy 30:4;'
and
which they understand of their present captivity
and deliverance from it
as
in Amos 9:14. TobitF21Ch.
xiii. 10. seems to have reference to this passage
when he thus exhorts Zion
"praise
the everlasting King
that his tabernacle may be built again in thee;'
and
expressesF23Ch. xiv. 7. his faith in it
that so it would be
"afterwards
they (the Jews) shall return from all places of their captivity
and build up
Jerusalem gloriously; and the house of God shall be built in it
as the prophets
have spoken concerning it
for ever;'
agreeably
to which Jarchi paraphrases it
"in
the day appointed for redemption;'
and
so the Apostle James quotes it
and applies it to the first times of the
Gospel
Acts 15:15. The
Targum interprets this "tabernacle" of the kingdom of the house of
David: this was in a low estate and condition when Jesus the Messiah came
he
being the carpenter's son; but it is to be understood of the spiritual kingdom
of Christ
the church; Christ is meant by David
whose son he is
and of whom
David was an eminent type
and is often called by his name
Ezekiel 34:23; and
the church by his "tabernacle"
which is of his building
where he
dwells
and keeps his court; and which in the present state is movable from
place to place: and this at the time of Christ's coming was much fallen
and
greatly decayed
through sad corruption in doctrine by the Pharisees and
Sadducees; through neglect of worship
and formality in it
and the
introduction of things into it God never commanded; through the wicked lives of
professors
and the small number of truly godly persons; but God
according to
this promise and prophecy
raised it up again by the ministry of John the
Baptist
Christ and his apostles
and by the conversion of many of the Jews
and by bringing in great numbers of the Gentiles
who coalesced in one church
state
which made it flourishing
grand
and magnificent; and thus the prophecy
was in part fulfilled
as the apostle has applied it in the above mentioned
place: but it will have a further and greater accomplishment still in the
latter day
both in the spiritual and personal reign of Christ: and though this
tabernacle or church of Christ is fallen to decay again
and is in a very
ruinous condition; the doctrines of the Gospel being greatly departed from; the
ordinances of it changed
or not attended to; great declensions as to the
exercise of grace among the people of God; and many breaches and divisions
among them; the outward conversation of many professors very bad
and few
instances of conversion; yet the Lord will raise it up again
and make it very
glorious: he will
close up the breaches thereof
and will raise up his ruins; the doctrines
of the Gospel will be revived and received; the ordinances of it will be
administered in their purity
as they were first delivered; great numbers will
be converted
both of Jews and Gentiles; and there will be much holiness
spirituality
and brotherly love
among the saints:
and I will build it as in the days of old; religion
shall flourish as in the days of David and Solomon; the Christian church will be
restored to its pristine glory
as in the times of the apostles.
Amos 9:12 12 That
they may possess the remnant of Edom
[d] And all
the Gentiles who are called by My name
” Says the Lord who does this
thing.
YLT
12So that they possess the
remnant of Edom
And all the nations on whom My name is called
An affirmation
of Jehovah -- doer of this.
That they may possess the remnant or Edom
and of all the Heathen
which are called by my name
.... Or that these may be possessed; that
is
by David or Christ
who shall have the Heathen given him for his
inheritance
and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession
Psalm 2:8; when the
remnant
according to the election of grace
in those nations that have been
the greatest enemies to Christ and his Gospel
signified by Edom
shall be
converted
and call upon the name of the Lord
and worship him; and be called
by his name
Christians
and so become his inheritance and possession. The
Targum understands
by the Heathen or people
all the people of the house of
Israel; and Kimchi
Aben Ezra
and Ben Melech
think the words are to be
inverted
thus
"that
all the people on whom my name is called
nay possess the remnant of Edom;'
and
the forager says
that all the Edomites shall be destroyed in the days of the
Messiah
but Israel shall inherit their land; and Aben Ezra says
that if this
prophecy is interpreted of the Messiah
the matter is clear; as it is in the
sense we have given
and as the apostle explains it; See Gill on Acts 15:17. Some
render the words
"that the remnant of Edom
and of all the Heathen
that
are" (that is
shall be) "called by my name
may possess me the
Lord"F24"Ut possideant reliquiae Edom"
De Dieu. See
Bishop Chandler's Defence of Christianity
p. 172. . The truth and certainty of
its performance is expressed in the following clause
saith the Lord
that doeth this: whose word is true
whose power is great
whose grace is efficacious
to accomplish all that is
here promised and foretold.
Amos 9:13 13 “Behold
the days are coming
” says the Lord
“When the plowman shall
overtake the reaper
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains
shall drip with sweet wine
And all the hills shall flow with it.
YLT
13Lo
days are coming -- an
affirmation of Jehovah
And come nigh hath the ploughman to the reaper
And the
treader of grapes to the scatterer of seed
And the mountains have dropt juice
And all the hills do melt.
Behold
the days come
saith the Lord
.... Or
"are coming"F25ימים באים "dies venientes"
Montanus
Burkius. ; and
which will commence upon the accomplishment of the above things
when the
church of Christ is raised up and established
the Jews converted
and the
Gentiles brought in:
that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper; or "meet
the reaper"F26נגש הורש
בקוצר "et vel cum occurret arator
messori"
Vatablus
Drusius; "attingent arator messorem"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; "accedet arator ad
messorem"
Cocceius. ; or come up to him
or touch him
as it may be
rendered; and so the Targum; that is
before the reaper has well cut down the
grain
or it is scarce gathered in
the ploughman shall be ready to plough up
the ground again
that it may be sown
and produce another crop:
and the treaders of grapes him that soweth seed; or
"draweth seed"F1מושך הזרע "trahentem semen"
Montanus
Liveleus
Drusius
Mercerus. ; out of his basket
and scatters it in the land; signifying
that there should he such an abundance of grapes in the vintage
that they
would continue pressing till seedtime; and the whole denotes a great affluence
of temporal good things
as an emblem of spiritual ones; see Leviticus 26:5;
where something of the like nature is promised
and expressed in much the same
manner:
and the mountains shall drop sweet wine; or "new
wine"F2עסיס "mustum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Piscator
Mercerus; "musto"
Drusius
Cocceius. ;
intimating that there shall be abundance of vines grow upon the mountains
which will produce large quantities of wine
so that they shall seem to drop or
flow with it:
and all the hills shall melt; with liquors; either
with wine or honey
or rather with milk
being covered with flocks and herds
which shall yield abundance of milk; by all which
plenty of spiritual things
as the word and ordinances
and rich supplies of grace
as well as of temporal
things
is meant; see Joel 3:18.
Amos 9:14 14 I
will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste
cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from
them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
YLT
14And I have turned back [to]
the captivity of My people Israel
And they have built desolate cities
and
inhabited
And have planted vineyards
and drunk their wine
And made gardens
and eaten their fruit.
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel
.... Which is
not to be understood of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon
and their return
from thence
with whom some of the ten tribes of Israel were mixed; for they
were not then so planted in their own land as no more to be pulled up again
as
is here promised; for they afterwards were dispossessed of it by the Romans
and carried captive
and dispersed among the nations again; but the captivity
both of Judah and Israel is meant
their present captivity
which will be
brought back
and they will be delivered from it
and return to their own land
and possess it as long as it is a land; see Jeremiah 30:3; as
well as be freed from the bondage of sit
Satan
and the law
under which they
have been detained some hundreds of years; but now shall be delivered into the
glorious liberty of the children of God
of Christians
with which Christ has
made them free:
and they shall build the waste cities
and inhabit them; literally the
cities in Judea wasted by the Turks
and others; and mystically the churches of
Christ
of which saints are fellow citizens
and will be in a desolate
condition before the conversion of the Jews
and the gathering in the fulness
of the Gentiles; but by these means will be rebuilt
and be in a flourishing
condition
and fall of inhabitants:
and they shall plant vineyards
and drink the wine thereof; they
shall also make gardens
and eat the fruit of them; which
as
before
will be literally true; and in a spiritual sense may signify the
churches of Christ
compared to vineyards and gardens
which will be planted
everywhere
and be set with pleasant and fruitful plants
and will turn to the
advantage of those who have been instruments in planting them; see Song of Solomon 6:2.
Amos 9:15 15 I
will plant them in their land
And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them
” Says the Lord your God.
YLT
15And I have planted them on
their own ground
And they are not plucked up any more from off their own
ground
That I have given to them
said Jehovah thy God!
And I will plant them upon their land
.... The land
of Israel
as trees are planted; and they shall take root and flourish
and
abound with all good things
temporal and spiritual:
and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have
given them
saith the Lord thy God; by which it appears that
this is a prophecy of things yet to come; since the Jews
upon their return to
their own land after the Babylonish captivity
were pulled up again
and rooted
out of it by the Romans
and remain so to this day; but
when they shall return
again
they will never more be removed from it; and of this they may he
assured; because it is the land the Lord has
"given" them
and it
shall not be taken away from them any more; and
because he will now appear to
be the "Lord their God"
the "loammi"
Hosea 1:9
will he
taken off from them; they will be owned to be the Lords people
and he will be
known by them to be their covenant God; which will ensure all the above
blessings to them
of whatsoever kind; for this is either said to the prophet
"the Lord thy God"
or to Israel; and either way it serves to confirm
the same thing.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)