Logos Bible Study

Amos 5:4–8

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5:4The Lord says this to the family9 of Israel:

“Seek me10 so you can live!

5:5Do not seek Bethel!11

Do not visit Gilgal!

Do not journey down12 to Beer Sheba!

For the people of Gilgal13 will certainly be carried into exile;14

and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.”15

5:6Seek the Lord so you can live!

Otherwise he will break out16 like fire against Joseph’s17 family;18

the fire19 will consume

and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.20

5:7The Israelites21 turn justice into bitterness;22

they throw what is fair and right23 to the ground.24

5:8(But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;

he can turn the darkness into morning

and daylight25 into night.

He summons the water of the seas

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name!

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Footnotes

  1. 9 Heb “house.”
  2. 10 The following verses explain what it meant to seek the Lord. Israel was to abandon the mere formalism and distorted view of God and reality that characterized religious activity at the worship sites, as well as the social injustice that permeated Israelite society. Instead the people were to repent and promote justice in the land. This call to seek the Lord echoes the challenge in 4:13 to prepare to meet him as he truly is.
  3. 11 Ironically, Israel was to seek after the Lord, but not at Bethel (the name Bethel means “the house of God” in Hebrew). For location see ; ; ; ; .
  4. 12 Heb “cross over.” To worship at Beer Sheba, northern worshipers had to journey down (i.e., cross the border) between Israel and Judah. Apparently, the popular religion of Israel for some included pilgrimage to holy sites in the South.
  5. 13 Heb “For Gilgal.” By metonymy the place name “Gilgal” is used instead of referring directly to the inhabitants. The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  6. 14 In the Hebrew text the statement is emphasized by sound play. The name “Gilgal” sounds like the verb גָּלָה (galah, “to go into exile”), which occurs here in the infinitival + finite verb construction (גָּלֹה יִגְלֶה, galoh yigleh). The repetition of the “ג” (g) and “ל” (l) sounds draws attention to the announcement and suggests that Gilgal’s destiny is inherent in its very name. That the people of Gilgal would be taken into exile is ironic, for Gilgal was Israel’s first campsite when the people entered the land under Joshua and the city became a symbol of Israel’s possession of the promised land.
  7. 15 Heb “disaster,” or “nothing”; “Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” Again there is irony. The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew. How surprising and tragic that Bethel, the “house of God” where Jacob received the inheritance given to Abraham, would be overrun by disaster.
  8. 16 Heb “rush.” The verb depicts swift movement.
  9. 17 Here Joseph (= Ephraim and Manasseh), as the most prominent of the Israelite tribes, represents the entire northern kingdom.
  10. 18 Heb “house.”
  11. 19 Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  12. 20 Heb “to/for Bethel.” The translation assumes that the preposition indicates advantage, “on behalf of.” Another option is to take the preposition as vocative, “O Bethel.”
  13. 21 Heb “Those who”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In light of vv. 11–13, it is also possible that the words are directed at a more limited group within the nation—those with social and economic power.
  14. 22 There is an interesting wordplay here with the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn, turn”). Israel “turns” justice into wormwood (cf. 6:12), while the Lord “turns” darkness into morning (v. 8; cf. 4:11; 8:10). Israel’s turning is for evil, whereas the Lord’s is to demonstrate his absolute power and sovereignty.
  15. 23 Heb “they throw righteousness.”
  16. 24 In v. 7 the prophet begins to describe the guilty Israelites, but then interrupts his word picture with a parenthetical, but powerful, description of the judge they must face (vv. 8–9). He resumes his description of the sinners in v. 10.
  17. 25 Heb “darkens the day into night.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

“Seek me and live;

but do not seek Bethel,

and do not enter into Gilgal

or cross over to Beersheba;

for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,

and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

Seek the Lord and live,

lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,

and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,

O you who turn justice to wormwood

and cast down righteousness to the earth!

He who made the Pleiades and Orion,

and turns deep darkness into the morning

and darkens the day into night,

who calls for the waters of the sea

and pours them out on the surface of the earth,

the Lord is his name;

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

This is what the Lord says to Israel:

“Seek me and live;

do not seek Bethel,

do not go to Gilgal,

do not journey to Beersheba.

For Gilgal will surely go into exile,

and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”

Seek the Lord and live,

or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;

it will devour them,

and Bethel will have no one to quench it.

There are those who turn justice into bitterness

and cast righteousness to the ground.

He who made the Pleiades and Orion,

who turns midnight into dawn

and darkens day into night,

who calls for the waters of the sea

and pours them out over the face of the land—

the Lord is his name.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

For the Lord says to the house of Israel:

Seek me and live!

Do not seek Bethel

or go to Gilgal

or journey to Beer-sheba,

for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,

and Bethel will come to nothing.

Seek the Lord and live,

or he will spread like fire

throughout the house of Joseph;

it will consume everything

with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.

Those who turn justice into wormwood

also throw righteousness to the ground.

The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,

who turns darkness into dawn

and darkens day into night,

who summons the water of the sea

and pours it out over the surface of the earth—

the Lord is his name.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel:

“Come back to me and live!

Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel;

don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba.

For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile,

and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”

Come back to the Lord and live!

Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire,

devouring you completely.

Your gods in Bethel

won’t be able to quench the flames.

You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed.

You treat the righteous like dirt.

It is the Lord who created the stars,

the Pleiades and Orion.

He turns darkness into morning

and day into night.

He draws up water from the oceans

and pours it down as rain on the land.

The Lord is his name!

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel, “Seek me so that you may live.” But do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile and Bethel will come to disaster.” Seek Yahweh so that you may live, so that he will not break out like a fire against the house of Joseph! And it will devour, with none to quench it for Bethel. Ah, you who turn justice into wormwood and hurl righteousness to the ground! The one who made the Pleiades and Orion and who turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens day into night, the one who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name!

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel,

Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal,

And pass not to Beer-sheba:

For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,

And Beth-el shall come to nought.

Seek the Lord, and ye shall live;

Lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,

And devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood,

And leave off righteousness in the earth,

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion,

And turneth the shadow of death into the morning,

And maketh the day dark with night:

That calleth for the waters of the sea,

And poureth them out upon the face of the earth:

The Lord is his name:

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