The Prophets · Old Testament
Amos 9
Amos 9: no escape, the sieve, and the tabernacle of David raised up
General context
Amos says, "I saw the Lord standing upon the altar," and the order is given to smite the lintel so the posts shake; none who flee will get away. Though they dig into hell or climb to heaven, hide in the top of Carmel or at the bottom of the sea, or go into captivity, the Lord's hand, the serpent and the sword reach them, "and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good." The Lord God of hosts touches the land and it melts; he "buildeth his stories in the heaven" and pours out the waters of the sea, "The Lord is his name." A question follows: "Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel?" He brought Israel from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir. His eyes are on "the sinful kingdom," which he will destroy, "saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob." He will sift Israel among all nations "like as corn is sifted in a sieve," and not the least grain will fall; the sinners who say "The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us" will die by the sword. Then, in that day, he will raise up "the tabernacle of David that is fallen" and its ruins. The plowman will overtake the reaper, mountains will drop sweet wine, the captivity will be brought again, waste cities built and vineyards planted and drunk, and they will be planted on their land and "no more be pulled up."
Cited passages: Amos 9:1, Amos 9:2, Amos 9:3, Amos 9:4, Amos 9:5, Amos 9:6, Amos 9:7, Amos 9:8, Amos 9:9, Amos 9:10, Amos 9:11, Amos 9:13, Amos 9:14, Amos 9:15
Amos 9 (KJV)
1I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
2Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
3And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
4And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
5And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
6It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
7Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
8Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.
9For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
10All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
11In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
12That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.
13Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.
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Historical context
Which altar Amos sees the Lord standing upon is not said; no place is given in verse 1. Kir, named here as where the Syrians came from, was named at 1:5 as where Syria would go in captivity, and the chapter does not remark on the pairing. Caphtor and Ethiopia are named once each and not described. The phrase "the sinful kingdom" is not identified by name in verse 8, and the same verse limits the destruction, "I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob." The "tabernacle of David that is fallen" is announced as fallen without any account of the fall, and David is not otherwise described here. Acts 15:16 quotes this promise, saying the Lord "will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down," and Acts 15:17 continues with "all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called." The closing verses name no king, no date and no agent of return. "The Lord is his name" in verse 6 repeats the wording of 5:8 and stands beside the longer form at 4:13.
Cited passages: Amos 9:1, Amos 9:7, Amos 1:5, Amos 9:8, Amos 9:11, Acts 15:16, Acts 15:17, Amos 9:6, Amos 5:8, Amos 4:13
Literary context
Verses 2 to 4 are built on "though": hell, heaven, Carmel, the sea floor, captivity, each answered by "thence." The highest and lowest places are set side by side, and captivity, which elsewhere in the book is the sentence, is listed here as one more place that offers no cover. Verse 6 gives the book's last name-statement, matching 5:8 and 4:13, and it arrives in the middle of the threat rather than after it. The sieve at verse 9 keeps two things at once, sifting among all nations and not one grain lost. From verse 11 the chapter reverses images the book has already used: vineyards planted and their wine drunk, after 5:11 said they would plant and not drink; cities built, after the houses of hewn stone they would not live in; planting that cannot be pulled up, after a book of uprooting. The last words are "saith the Lord thy God"; the only other "thy God" in the book is the summons at 4:12, "prepare to meet thy God."
Cited passages: Amos 9:2, Amos 9:3, Amos 9:4, Amos 9:6, Amos 5:8, Amos 9:9, Amos 9:14, Amos 5:11, Amos 9:15, Amos 4:12
Key moments
- Smite the lintel (Amos 9:1). Amos sees the Lord by the altar giving the order to strike, with no escape for any.
- Though they dig into hell (Amos 9:2). Neither the depths nor the heavens put anyone beyond the Lord's reach.
- The Lord is his name (Amos 9:6). The one who builds in heaven and pours out the sea is named in the middle of the threat.
- Children of the Ethiopians (Amos 9:7). Israel is set beside the Ethiopians, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir.
- Sifted in a sieve (Amos 9:9). Israel will be sifted among the nations without the least grain falling to the earth.
- The tabernacle of David (Amos 9:11). In that day the fallen tabernacle of David and its ruins will be raised up.
- Planted and not pulled up (Amos 9:15). The people will be planted on their land and never again pulled out of it.
For reflection
The book that began with fire on city walls ends with vineyards planted and drunk and a people "no more be pulled up." Does the last paragraph answer the eight chapters before it, or stand beside them without explanation?
