Reference: Amos
American
1. The fourth of the minor prophets, was a herdsman of Tekoah, a small town of Judah, about twelve miles south of Jerusalem. He prophesied, however, concerning Israel, at Bethel, in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam II, king of Israel, about B. C. 787, and was thus a contemporary of Hosea, Joel, and Isaiah. The first two chapters contain predictions against the surrounding nations, enemies of the people of God. But the ten tribes of Israel were the chief subjects of his prophecies. Their temporary prosperity under Jeroboam led to gross idolatry, injustice, and corruption; for which sins he denounces the judgments of God upon them: but he closes with cheering words of consolation. His holy boldness in reproving sin drew on him the wrath of the priests, who labored to procure his banishment, Am 7:10-17. In regard to style, Amos takes a high rank among the prophets. He is full of imagery, concise, and yet simple and perspicuous.
2. One of the ancestors of our Lord, Lu 3:25.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. Amos said: Jeroboam will die by the sword. Israel will surely be led away captive (in exile) out of his land. read more. Amaziah said to Amos: Go, run away, you seer. Go into the land of Judah. Eat bread and prophesy there. Do not prophesy any more at Bethel for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house. Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs. Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.' Now hear the word of Jehovah: You say, do not prophesy against Israel, and do not speak against the house of Isaac. Jehovah proclaims: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by measuring line. You will die in a land that is unclean. Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.
the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,
Easton
borne; a burden, one of the twelve minor prophets. He was a native of Tekota, the modern Tekua, a town about 12 miles south-east of Bethlehem. He was a man of humble birth, neither a "prophet nor a prophet's son," but "an herdman and a dresser of sycomore trees," R.V. He prophesied in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and was contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea (Am 1:1; 7:14-15; Zec 14:5), who survived him a few years. Under Jeroboam II. the kingdom of Israel rose to the zenith of its prosperity; but that was followed by the prevalence of luxury and vice and idolatry. At this period Amos was called from his obscurity to remind the people of the law of God's retributive justice, and to call them to repentance.
The Book of Amos consists of three parts:
(1.) The nations around are summoned to judgment because of their sins (1:1-2:3). He quotes Joe 3:16.
(2.) The spiritual condition of Judah, and especially of Israel, is described (2:4-6:14).
(3.) In 7:1-9:10 are recorded five prophetic visions. (a) The first two (7:1-6) refer to judgments against the guilty people. (b) The next two (7:7-9; 8:1-3) point out the ripeness of the people for the threatened judgements. 7:10-17 consists of a conversation between the prophet and the priest of Bethel. (c) The fifth describes the overthrow and ruin of Israel (9:1-10); to which is added the promise of the restoration of the kingdom and its final glory in the Messiah's kingdom.
The style is peculiar in the number of the allusions made to natural objects and to agricultural occupations. Other allusions show also that Amos was a student of the law as well as a "child of nature." These phrases are peculiar to him: "Cleanness of teeth" [i.e., want of bread] (Am 4:6); "The excellency of Jacob" (Am 6:8; 8:7); "The high places of Isaac" (Am 7:9); "The house of Isaac" (Am 7:16); "He that createth the wind" (Am 4:13). Quoted, Ac 7:42.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem. The heavens and the earth will shake: but Jehovah will be a refuge to his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.
I also gave you cleanness of teeth (kept food from your teeth) in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah.
Behold he who formed the mountains and created the wind and declared to man his thoughts, also made the morning darkness and treads upon the high places of the Earth: Jehovah, the God of Hosts, is his name.
The Lord Jehovah has sworn by himself. Jehovah, the God of Hosts declares: I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
The high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs. Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.' read more. Now hear the word of Jehovah: You say, do not prophesy against Israel, and do not speak against the house of Isaac.
Jehovah has sworn by the pride of Jacob: I will never forget any of their works.
You will flee by the valley of my mountains. For the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel. Yes you will flee the same as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Jehovah my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven. It is written in the book of the prophets: O you house of Israel, have you offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Fausets
("a burden".) Of Tekoah, in Judah, six miles S.E. of Bethlehem. A shepherd (probably owning flocks) and dresser of sycamore fig trees; specially called of the Lord to prophesy, though not educated in the prophets' schools (Am 1:1; 7:14-15). These personal notices occur only as connected with the discharge of his prophetic function; so entirely is self put in the shade by the inspired men of God, and God is made the one all-absorbing theme. Though of Judah, he exercised his ministry in the northern kingdom, Israel; not later than the 15th year of Uzziah of Judah, when Jeroboam II. (son of Joash) of Israel died (compare 1Ki 14:23 with 1Ki 15:1), in whose reign it is written he prophesied "two years before the earthquake"; compare Zec 14:5. Allusions to the earthquake appear in 5/8/type/nsb'>Am 5:8; 6:11; 8:8; 9:1,5.
The divine sign in his view confirmed his words, which were uttered before, and which now after the earthquake were committed to writing in an orderly summary. The natural world, being from and under the same God, shows a mysterious sympathy with the spiritual world; compare Mt 24:7; 27:50-54. Probably Amos prophesied about the middle of Jeroboam's reign, when his conquests had been achieved (Am 6:13-14; compare 2Ki 14:25-27), just before Assyria's first attack on Israel, for he does not definitely name that power: Am 1:5; 5:27 (Ho 10:6; 11:5). The two forces from God acted simultaneously by His appointment, the invading hosts from without arresting Israel's attention for the prophet's message from God within the land, and the prophets showing the spiritual meaning of those invasions, as designed to lead Israel to repentance.
This accounts for the outburst of prophetic fire in Uzziah's and his successors' reigns. The golden calves, the forbidden representation of Jehovah, not Baal, were the object of worship in Jeroboam's reign, as being the great grandson of Jehu, who had purged out Baal worship, but retained the calves. Israel, as abounding in impostors, needed the more true prophets of God from Judah to warn her. Her prophets often fled to Judah from fear of her kings. Oppression, luxury, weariness of religious ordinances as interrupting worldly pursuits, were rife: Am 8:4-5; 3:15. The king's sanctuary and summer palace were at Bethel (Am 7:13); here Amos was opposed by Amaziah for his faithful reproofs, and informed against to Jeroboam. (See AMAZIAH.) Like the prophet in 1 Kings 13, Amos went up from Judah to Bethel to denounce the idol calf at the risk of his life.
Calf worship prevailed also at Dan, Gilgal, and Beersheba, in Judah (Am 4:4; 5:5; 8:14), blended with Jehovah's worship (Am 5:14,21-26); 2Ki 17:32-33, compare Eze 20:39.
The book is logically connected, and is divisible into four parts. Am 1:1 to Am 2:13; the sins of Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, the neighbors of Israel and Judah Am 2:4 to Am 6:14; Israel's own state and consequent punishment; the same coasts "from the entering in of Hamath," which Jeroboam has just recovered from Syria, shall be "afflicted," and the people carried into "captivity beyond Damascus" (Am 5:27). Am 7:1-9:10; Amos's visions of grasshoppers devouring the grass, and fire the land and deep, both removed by his intercession; the plumb line marking the buildings for destruction; Amaziah's interruption at Bethel, and foretold doom; the basket of summer fruits marking Israel's end by the year's end; the Lord standing upon the altar, and commanding the lintel to be smitten, symbolizing Israel's destruction as a kingdom, but individually not one righteous man shall perish.
Am 9:11-15; David's fallen tabernacle shall be raised, the people re-established in prosperity in their own land, no more to be pulled out, and the conversion of the pagan shall follow the establishment of the theocracy finally; compare Am 9:12 with Ac 15:17. Reference to agricultural life and the phenomena of nature abounds, in consonance with his own former occupation, an undesigned propriety and mark of truth: Am 1:3; 2:13; 3:4-5; 4:2,7,9/type/nsb'>9; 5:18-19/type/nsb'>9; 6:12; 7:1; 9/type/nsb'>9:3,9/type/nsb'>9,13-14. The first six chapters are without figure; the last three symbolical, with the explanation subjoined. He assumes his readers' knowledge of the Pentateuch, and that the people's religious ritual (excepting the golden calves) accords with the Mosaic law, an incidental confirmation of the truth of the Pentateuch.
Stephen (Ac 7:42) quotes Am 5:25-27; and James (Ac 15:16) quotes Am 9:11. Philo, Josephus, the Talmud, Justin Martyr, the catalogues of Melito, Jerome, and the council of Laodicea, confirm the canonicity of Amos. His use of the names Adonai (Lord) and God of hosts marks that Jehovah, Israel's covenant God, is universal Lord. Characteristic and peculiar phrases occur: "cleanness of teeth," i.e., want of bread (Am 4:6); "the excellency of Jacob" (Am 6:8; 8:7); "the high places of Isaac" (Am 7:9), "the house of Isaac" (Am 7:16); "he that createth the wind" (Am 4:13). Hosea, his contemporary, survived him a few years.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
They built places of worship for false gods. They put up stone pillars and symbols of Asherah to worship on the hills and under shady trees.
They built places of worship for false gods. They put up stone pillars and symbols of Asherah to worship on the hills and under shady trees.
In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah.
In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah.
He got back the old limits of Israel from the way into Hamath to the sea of the Arabah. This was what Jehovah said by his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet of Gathhepher.
He got back the old limits of Israel from the way into Hamath to the sea of the Arabah. This was what Jehovah said by his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet of Gathhepher. Jehovah saw the bitter affliction of Israel. There was no one left, bond or free. There was no help for Israel.
Jehovah saw the bitter affliction of Israel. There was no one left, bond or free. There was no help for Israel. Jehovah had not said that the name of Israel was to be taken away from the earth. So he gave them a savior in Jeroboam, the son of Joash.
Jehovah had not said that the name of Israel was to be taken away from the earth. So he gave them a savior in Jeroboam, the son of Joash.
So they worshipped Jehovah. They appointed priests from the people for the high places. The priests were to make offerings for them in the houses of the high places.
So they worshipped Jehovah. They appointed priests from the people for the high places. The priests were to make offerings for them in the houses of the high places. They worshipped Jehovah, but they gave honor to their gods like the nations did from whom they had been taken as prisoners.
They worshipped Jehovah, but they gave honor to their gods like the nations did from whom they had been taken as prisoners.
The Lord Jehovah says: 'The Lord Jehovah tells all you Israelites to suit yourselves! Go on and serve your idols! But I warn you that after this you will have to obey me and stop dishonoring my holy name by offering gifts to your idols.'
The Lord Jehovah says: 'The Lord Jehovah tells all you Israelites to suit yourselves! Go on and serve your idols! But I warn you that after this you will have to obey me and stop dishonoring my holy name by offering gifts to your idols.'
The idol will be carried off to Assyria as tribute to the great emperor. The people of Israel will be disgraced and put to shame because of the advice they followed.
The idol will be carried off to Assyria as tribute to the great emperor. The people of Israel will be disgraced and put to shame because of the advice they followed.
Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?
Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.
I will not hold back punishment, said Jehovah, For the many transgressions of Damascus. This is because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.
I will not hold back punishment, said Jehovah, For the many transgressions of Damascus. This is because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.
I will destroy the lock (bar) at the gate of Damascus, and annihilate the inhabitant from the valley of Aven. He who holds the scepter (imperial authority) from the house of Eden and the people of Syria will go into captivity to Kir, said Jehovah.
I will destroy the lock (bar) at the gate of Damascus, and annihilate the inhabitant from the valley of Aven. He who holds the scepter (imperial authority) from the house of Eden and the people of Syria will go into captivity to Kir, said Jehovah.
Jehovah continued: I will not withdraw punishment for the many transgressions of Judah. For they have rejected the Law of Jehovah! They have not kept his statutes. Their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.
Jehovah continued: I will not withdraw punishment for the many transgressions of Judah. For they have rejected the Law of Jehovah! They have not kept his statutes. Their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.
Consider this, I will weigh you down just as a wagon is weighed down when it is full of grain.
Consider this, I will weigh you down just as a wagon is weighed down when it is full of grain.
Consider this, I will weigh you down just as a wagon is weighed down when it is full of grain.
Consider this, I will weigh you down just as a wagon is weighed down when it is full of grain.
Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out from his den if he has captured nothing?
Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out from his den if he has captured nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where there is no trap for him? Will a trap spring up from the ground when nothing at all sprung it?
Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where there is no trap for him? Will a trap spring up from the ground when nothing at all sprung it?
I will strike (destroy) the winter house and the summer house. The houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will come to an end, said Jehovah.
I will strike (destroy) the winter house and the summer house. The houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will come to an end, said Jehovah.
The Lord Jehovah has sworn by his holiness that the day will come when they will take you away with meat hooks, and those who remain with fish-hooks.
The Lord Jehovah has sworn by his holiness that the day will come when they will take you away with meat hooks, and those who remain with fish-hooks.
Come to Bethel and transgress! Come to Gilgal and multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes every three days.
Come to Bethel and transgress! Come to Gilgal and multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes every three days.
I also gave you cleanness of teeth (kept food from your teeth) in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah.
I also gave you cleanness of teeth (kept food from your teeth) in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah. I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One received rain. The other did not receive rain and it dried up.
I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One received rain. The other did not receive rain and it dried up.
I struck you with scorching and mildew. The caterpillar has devoured the multitudes of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive-trees. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah.
I struck you with scorching and mildew. The caterpillar has devoured the multitudes of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive-trees. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah.
Behold he who formed the mountains and created the wind and declared to man his thoughts, also made the morning darkness and treads upon the high places of the Earth: Jehovah, the God of Hosts, is his name.
Behold he who formed the mountains and created the wind and declared to man his thoughts, also made the morning darkness and treads upon the high places of the Earth: Jehovah, the God of Hosts, is his name.
Do not seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal. Do not pass to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into captivity (exile), and Bethel will come to nothing.
Do not seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal. Do not pass to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into captivity (exile), and Bethel will come to nothing.
seek the creator of the cluster of stars named Pleiades and the star constellation Orion. He turns the shadow of death into morning, and makes the day dark with night. He calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth. Jehovah is his name!
seek the creator of the cluster of stars named Pleiades and the star constellation Orion. He turns the shadow of death into morning, and makes the day dark with night. He calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth. Jehovah is his name!
Seek good and not evil, that you may live. Jehovah, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
Seek good and not evil, that you may live. Jehovah, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
Woe to you who desire the day of Jehovah! What will the day of Jehovah mean to you? It is darkness, and not light.
Woe to you who desire the day of Jehovah! What will the day of Jehovah mean to you? It is darkness, and not light. Like a man who ran from a lion, and a bear met him! So he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Like a man who ran from a lion, and a bear met him! So he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
I hate, I despise (reject) your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
I hate, I despise (reject) your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Yes, even if you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Yes, even if you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take the noise of your songs away from me! I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
Take the noise of your songs away from me! I will not listen to the melody of your harps. Justice should roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Justice should roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream. Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? You have carried the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
You have carried the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
You have carried the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
You have carried the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
The Lord Jehovah has sworn by himself. Jehovah, the God of Hosts declares: I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
The Lord Jehovah has sworn by himself. Jehovah, the God of Hosts declares: I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
For, behold, Jehovah commanded, and the great house will be struck to pieces and the little house to tiny bits.
For, behold, Jehovah commanded, and the great house will be struck to pieces and the little house to tiny bits. Do horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with cattle? You have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (bitterness)!
Do horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with cattle? You have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (bitterness)! You who rejoice in Lodebar, you say, 'have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim?'
You who rejoice in Lodebar, you say, 'have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim?' For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
This is what the Lord Jehovah showed me: Behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop. It was the later growth (second crop) after the king's mowing.
This is what the Lord Jehovah showed me: Behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop. It was the later growth (second crop) after the king's mowing.
This is what the Lord Jehovah showed me: Behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop. It was the later growth (second crop) after the king's mowing.
This is what the Lord Jehovah showed me: Behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop. It was the later growth (second crop) after the king's mowing. It happened when they quit eating the grass of the land. I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I entreat you: how shall Jacob stand? Since he is so small.
It happened when they quit eating the grass of the land. I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I entreat you: how shall Jacob stand? Since he is so small. Jehovah changed his mind about this. It will not be, said Jehovah.
Jehovah changed his mind about this. It will not be, said Jehovah. The Lord Jehovah showed me and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called for judgement (contention) by fire and it devoured the great deep. It would have eaten up the land.
The Lord Jehovah showed me and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called for judgement (contention) by fire and it devoured the great deep. It would have eaten up the land. Then I said, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I plead with you: how can Jacob stand? After all he is small.
Then I said, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I plead with you: how can Jacob stand? After all he is small. Jehovah changed his mind concerning this: This also will not be, said the Lord Jehovah.
Jehovah changed his mind concerning this: This also will not be, said the Lord Jehovah. He showed me: and, behold, Jehovah stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
He showed me: and, behold, Jehovah stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And Jehovah asked me, Amos, what do you see? I said: A plumb line. Then Jehovah said: Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not spare them any more.
And Jehovah asked me, Amos, what do you see? I said: A plumb line. Then Jehovah said: Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not spare them any more. The high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
The high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
The high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
The high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Do not prophesy any more at Bethel for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house.
Do not prophesy any more at Bethel for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house. Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs.
Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs. Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.'
Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.' Now hear the word of Jehovah: You say, do not prophesy against Israel, and do not speak against the house of Isaac.
Now hear the word of Jehovah: You say, do not prophesy against Israel, and do not speak against the house of Isaac.
Hear this, you who would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail.
Hear this, you who would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail. You say: When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit.
You say: When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit.
Jehovah has sworn by the pride of Jacob: I will never forget any of their works.
Jehovah has sworn by the pride of Jacob: I will never forget any of their works. Will the land not tremble for this, and every one who dwells there mourn? I will rise up like the river. It will be troubled and sink again, like the River of Egypt.
Will the land not tremble for this, and every one who dwells there mourn? I will rise up like the river. It will be troubled and sink again, like the River of Egypt.
They who swear by the sin of Samaria. They will say: 'As your god lives, O Dan, the way Beersheba lives.' They will fall and never rise up again.
They who swear by the sin of Samaria. They will say: 'As your god lives, O Dan, the way Beersheba lives.' They will fall and never rise up again.
I saw Jehovah standing beside the altar. He said: Strike the capitals that the thresholds may shake! Break them in pieces on the head of all of them and I will slay the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away. Not one of them will escape!
I saw Jehovah standing beside the altar. He said: Strike the capitals that the thresholds may shake! Break them in pieces on the head of all of them and I will slay the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away. Not one of them will escape!
Though they hide on top of Mount Carmel I will search and find them and take them from there. Though they hide from my sight on the bottom of the sea I will command the serpent to bite them.
Though they hide on top of Mount Carmel I will search and find them and take them from there. Though they hide from my sight on the bottom of the sea I will command the serpent to bite them.
For the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, is he who touches the land and it melts. All who live there will mourn. It will rise up like the River Nile, and will subside again, like the River of Egypt.
For the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, is he who touches the land and it melts. All who live there will mourn. It will rise up like the River Nile, and will subside again, like the River of Egypt.
I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations! Like grain is sifted in a sieve, yet the least kernel will not fall on the earth.
I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations! Like grain is sifted in a sieve, yet the least kernel will not fall on the earth.
In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David and close up the breaches. I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old.
In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David and close up the breaches. I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old.
In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David and close up the breaches. I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old.
In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David and close up the breaches. I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old. They may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, said Jehovah.
They may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, said Jehovah.
They may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, said Jehovah.
They may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, said Jehovah. Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, that the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes by the one who sows seed. The mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will melt.
Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, that the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes by the one who sows seed. The mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will melt.
Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, that the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes by the one who sows seed. The mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will melt.
Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, that the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes by the one who sows seed. The mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will melt. I will bring my people Israel back from captivity. They will rebuild the cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and drink the wine. They will also make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will bring my people Israel back from captivity. They will rebuild the cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and drink the wine. They will also make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will bring my people Israel back from captivity. They will rebuild the cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and drink the wine. They will also make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will bring my people Israel back from captivity. They will rebuild the cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and drink the wine. They will also make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their own land and they will no more be plucked up out of their land that I have given them. Jehovah your God has spoken.
I will plant them upon their own land and they will no more be plucked up out of their land that I have given them. Jehovah your God has spoken.
You will flee by the valley of my mountains. For the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel. Yes you will flee the same as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Jehovah my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
You will flee by the valley of my mountains. For the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel. Yes you will flee the same as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Jehovah my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many places.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many places.
Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. The veil (curtain) of the temple was ripped in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks split.
The veil (curtain) of the temple was ripped in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks split. The tombs were split open and many [dead] bodies were tossed upright [on the ground].
The tombs were split open and many [dead] bodies were tossed upright [on the ground]. [They came out of the tombs after his resurrection.] (Manuscript text unclear.) Many people saw them.
[They came out of the tombs after his resurrection.] (Manuscript text unclear.) Many people saw them. The centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake. Filled with much fear of the things that were done, they proclaimed: Truly, this was the Son of God!
The centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake. Filled with much fear of the things that were done, they proclaimed: Truly, this was the Son of God!
God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven. It is written in the book of the prophets: O you house of Israel, have you offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven. It is written in the book of the prophets: O you house of Israel, have you offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. I will rebuild its ruins. I will restore it. (Amos 9:11,12)
I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. I will rebuild its ruins. I will restore it. (Amos 9:11,12) That the rest of mankind might seek after Jehovah, and all the nations, upon whom my name is called, Jehovah said, who is doing these things. (Amos 9:12)
That the rest of mankind might seek after Jehovah, and all the nations, upon whom my name is called, Jehovah said, who is doing these things. (Amos 9:12)
Hastings
AMOS
1. The man.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then the king of Aram's servants said to him: Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than us. If we attack them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they.
Jehu said to Bidkar, his captain: Pick him up, and put him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. I remember when you and I were riding together after Ahab, his father. Jehovah offered this prophesy against him.
Jehovah began to reduce the size of Israel's territory. King Hazael of Syria conquered all the Israelite territory
Out of all his army, Jehoahaz had only fifty horsemen and ten carriages and ten thousand footmen. The king of Aram had given them up to destruction, crushing them like dust.
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake. He said: Jehovah (YHWH) roars from Zion! He utters his voice from Jerusalem! The pastures of the shepherds mourn for lack of water. The top of Carmel withers.
Jehovah said: I will not withdraw punishment for (three sins of Israel, even for four) the many transgressions of Israel! They sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes. They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of lowly (meek) persons. They reject the humble! A man and his father have sexual relations with the same maiden, to profane my holy name. read more. They lie down beside every altar on clothes taken from indebtedness. In the house of their God they drink the wine they have confiscated.
They lie down beside every altar on clothes taken from indebtedness. In the house of their God they drink the wine they have confiscated.
Flight will perish from the swift! The strong will not increase his strength. The mighty will not save himself. The archer will not stand. The swift of foot will not save himself. The horseman will not deliver himself. read more. The courageous among the mighty will run away naked in that day, said Jehovah.
The courageous among the mighty will run away naked in that day, said Jehovah.
Of all the families of the earth I have chosen (known) only you. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.
The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord Jehovah has spoken! Who will not prophesy?
Those who store up violence and robbery in their dwellings do not know how to do what is right, declared Jehovah.
Jehovah said: As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so the children of Israel will be rescued. They sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.
Jehovah said: As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so the children of Israel will be rescued. They sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed. Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, said the Lord Jehovah, the God of Hosts. read more. The day that I punish Israel because of her sins I will also punish those at the altars of Bethel! The horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground. I will strike (destroy) the winter house and the summer house. The houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will come to an end, said Jehovah.
I will strike (destroy) the winter house and the summer house. The houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will come to an end, said Jehovah.
I will strike (destroy) the winter house and the summer house. The houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will come to an end, said Jehovah.
Hear this word you cows of Bashan who live on the mountain of Samaria. You oppress the poor. You crush the needy. You say to your masters (husbands) (lords), Bring us drink. The Lord Jehovah has sworn by his holiness that the day will come when they will take you away with meat hooks, and those who remain with fish-hooks. read more. You will go out through the holes in the city wall straight before her. You will be thrown into Harmon (a place of exile), said Jehovah. Come to Bethel and transgress! Come to Gilgal and multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes every three days. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened. Proclaim freewill-offerings and make them known. This pleases you, O you children of Israel, said the Lord Jehovah.
Behold he who formed the mountains and created the wind and declared to man his thoughts, also made the morning darkness and treads upon the high places of the Earth: Jehovah, the God of Hosts, is his name.
Do not seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal. Do not pass to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into captivity (exile), and Bethel will come to nothing.
You impose unfair rent on the poor and defraud a tribute of grain from them. You haave built houses of hewn stone yet you will not live in them. You planted pleasant vineyards, but you will not drink the wine from them. I know you have many transgressions and your sins are great. You afflict the righteous. You take bribes. You refuse to help the needy at the gate.
I hate, I despise (reject) your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
I hate, I despise (reject) your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Yes, even if you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Yes, even if you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take the noise of your songs away from me! I will not listen to the melody of your harps. read more. Justice should roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream. Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity (exile) beyond Damascus, said the God of Hosts, whose name is Jehovah.
You drink wine in bowls, and anoint yourselves with the finest oils. But you are not grieved because of the affliction of Joseph.
You drink wine in bowls, and anoint yourselves with the finest oils. But you are not grieved because of the affliction of Joseph. Therefore you will be captured with the first that go captive. Your feasting and lounging will pass away.
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, said Jehovah, the God of Hosts. They will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
This is what the Lord Jehovah showed me: Behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop. It was the later growth (second crop) after the king's mowing. It happened when they quit eating the grass of the land. I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I entreat you: how shall Jacob stand? Since he is so small. read more. Jehovah changed his mind about this. It will not be, said Jehovah. The Lord Jehovah showed me and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called for judgement (contention) by fire and it devoured the great deep. It would have eaten up the land. Then I said, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I plead with you: how can Jacob stand? After all he is small. Jehovah changed his mind concerning this: This also will not be, said the Lord Jehovah. He showed me: and, behold, Jehovah stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And Jehovah asked me, Amos, what do you see? I said: A plumb line. Then Jehovah said: Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not spare them any more. The high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste. I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. Amos said: Jeroboam will die by the sword. Israel will surely be led away captive (in exile) out of his land.
Amos said: Jeroboam will die by the sword. Israel will surely be led away captive (in exile) out of his land. Amaziah said to Amos: Go, run away, you seer. Go into the land of Judah. Eat bread and prophesy there.
Amaziah said to Amos: Go, run away, you seer. Go into the land of Judah. Eat bread and prophesy there.
Amaziah said to Amos: Go, run away, you seer. Go into the land of Judah. Eat bread and prophesy there. Do not prophesy any more at Bethel for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house.
Do not prophesy any more at Bethel for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house. Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs.
Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs. Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.'
Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.' Now hear the word of Jehovah: You say, do not prophesy against Israel, and do not speak against the house of Isaac.
Now hear the word of Jehovah: You say, do not prophesy against Israel, and do not speak against the house of Isaac. Jehovah proclaims: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by measuring line. You will die in a land that is unclean. Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.
Jehovah proclaims: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by measuring line. You will die in a land that is unclean. Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.
Jehovah proclaims: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by measuring line. You will die in a land that is unclean. Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.
The Lord Jehovah showed me a basket of summer fruit. He said: Amos, what do you see? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then Jehovah said to me: The end has come to my people Israel. I will spare them no longer. read more. The songs of the Temple will be weeping in that day, said the Lord Jehovah: the dead bodies shall be many. They will observe silence in every place.
You say: When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit. We may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
Will the land not tremble for this, and every one who dwells there mourn? I will rise up like the river. It will be troubled and sink again, like the River of Egypt.
I saw Jehovah standing beside the altar. He said: Strike the capitals that the thresholds may shake! Break them in pieces on the head of all of them and I will slay the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away. Not one of them will escape!
I saw Jehovah standing beside the altar. He said: Strike the capitals that the thresholds may shake! Break them in pieces on the head of all of them and I will slay the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away. Not one of them will escape! Though they dig into the grave my hand will take them. Though they climb to heaven I will bring them down. read more. Though they hide on top of Mount Carmel I will search and find them and take them from there. Though they hide from my sight on the bottom of the sea I will command the serpent to bite them. Though they go into the captivity of their enemies I will command the sword, and it will slay them. I will set my eyes against them for evil, and not for good. For the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, is he who touches the land and it melts. All who live there will mourn. It will rise up like the River Nile, and will subside again, like the River of Egypt.
For the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, is he who touches the land and it melts. All who live there will mourn. It will rise up like the River Nile, and will subside again, like the River of Egypt. He builds his chambers in the heavens. He founded his dome over the earth. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth. Jehovah is his name. read more. Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? Said Jehovah. Have I not brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? Said Jehovah. Have I not brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? Said Jehovah. Have I not brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom! Yet, I will destroy it from off the face of the earth! I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, said Jehovah. read more. I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations! Like grain is sifted in a sieve, yet the least kernel will not fall on the earth. All the sinners of my people will die by the sword. They say: The evil will not overtake nor meet us. In that day I will raise up the fallen tabernacle of David and close up the breaches. I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old. They may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, said Jehovah. Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, that the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes by the one who sows seed. The mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will melt. I will bring my people Israel back from captivity. They will rebuild the cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and drink the wine. They will also make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their own land and they will no more be plucked up out of their land that I have given them. Jehovah your God has spoken.
Morish
A'mos
One of the minor Prophets, a native of Tekoa in Judah, possibly the father of the prophet Isaiah. He told Amaziah, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdsman and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: and the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel." Am 7:14-15. His language indicates an acquaintance with things that would be familiar to one leading an agricultural life: cf. Am 2:13; 3:12; 4:9; 5:8; 6:12; 7:1-2. He tells us that his prophecy was given in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and of Jeroboam II, son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake; or at least began at that time. Am 1:1. For about 25 years these two kings were contemporaneous: B.C. 810-785.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.
Consider this, I will weigh you down just as a wagon is weighed down when it is full of grain.
Jehovah said: As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so the children of Israel will be rescued. They sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.
I struck you with scorching and mildew. The caterpillar has devoured the multitudes of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive-trees. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah.
seek the creator of the cluster of stars named Pleiades and the star constellation Orion. He turns the shadow of death into morning, and makes the day dark with night. He calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth. Jehovah is his name!
Do horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with cattle? You have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (bitterness)!
This is what the Lord Jehovah showed me: Behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop. It was the later growth (second crop) after the king's mowing. It happened when they quit eating the grass of the land. I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I entreat you: how shall Jacob stand? Since he is so small.
Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs. Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.'
Smith
A'mos
(burden), native of Tekoa in Judah, about six miles south of Bethlehem, originally a shepherd and dresser of sycamore trees, who was called by God s Spirit to be a prophet, although not trained in any of the regular prophetic schools.
He travelled from Judah into the northern kingdom of Israel or Ephraim, and there exercised his ministry, apparently not for any long time. (His date cannot be later than B.C. 808 for he lived in the reigns of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel; but his ministry probably took place at an earlier date, perhaps about the middle of Jeroboam's reign Nothing is known of the time or manner of his death.--ED.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.
Amos told Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son. I was a herdsman, and a grower of sycamore figs. Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said to me: 'Go prophesy to my people Israel.'
Watsons
AMOS, the fourth of the minor prophets, who in his youth had been a herdsman in Tekoa, a small town about four leagues southward of Jerusalem. He was sent to the people of Samaria, to bring them back to God by repentance, and reformation of manners. Hence it is natural to suppose that he must have been born within the territories of Israel, and that he only retired to Tekoa, on being expelled from Bethel by Amaziah, the priest of the calves at Bethel. He frequently complains of the violence offered him by those who endeavoured to impose silence on him. He boldly inveighs against the crying sins of the Israelites, such as idolatry, oppression, wantonness, and obstinacy. Nor does he spare the sins of Judah, such as their carnal security, sensuality, and injustice. He utters frequent threatenings against them both, and predicts their ruin. It is observable in this prophecy, that, as it begins with denunciations of judgment and destruction against the Syrians, Philistines, Tyrians, and other enemies of the Jews, so it concludes with comfortable promises of the restoration of the tabernacle of David, and the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. Amos was called to the prophetic office in the time of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Some writers, in adverting to the condition of Amos, have, with a minute affectation of criticism, pretended to discover a certain rudeness and vulgarity in his style; and even Jerom is of opinion that he is deficient in magnificence and sublimity. He applies to him the words which St. Paul speaks of himself, that he was rude in speech, though not in knowledge; and his authority, says Bishop Lowth, "has influenced many commentators to represent him as entirely rude, and void of elegance; whereas it requires but little attention to be convinced that he is not a whit behind the very chiefest of the prophets;" equal to the greatest in loftiness of sentiment, and scarcely inferior, to any in the splendour of his diction, and in the elegance of his composition. Mr. Locke has observed, that his comparisons are chiefly drawn from lions, and other animals, because he lived among, and was conversant with, such objects. But, indeed, the finest images and allusions, which adorn the poetical parts of Scripture, in general are drawn from scenes of nature, and from the grand objects that range in her walks; and true genius ever delights in considering these as the real sources of beauty and magnificence. The whole book of Amos is animated with a fine and masculine eloquence.