10 And I will turn H2015 your feasts H2282 into mourning, H60 and all your songs H7892 into lamentation; H7015 and I will bring up H5927 sackcloth H8242 upon all loins, H4975 and baldness H7144 upon every head; H7218 and I will make H7760 it as the mourning H60 of an only H3173 son, and the end H319 thereof as a bitter H4751 day. H3117
And I will pour H8210 upon the house H1004 of David, H1732 and upon the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem, H3389 the spirit H7307 of grace H2580 and of supplications: H8469 and they shall look H5027 upon me whom they have pierced, H1856 and they shall mourn H4553 for him, as one mourneth H5594 for his only H3173 son, and shall be in bitterness H4843 for him, as one that is in bitterness H4843 for his firstborn. H1060
For every head H7218 shall be bald, H7144 and every beard H2206 clipped: H1639 upon all the hands H3027 shall be cuttings, H1417 and upon the loins H4975 sackcloth. H8242
I will also cause all her mirth H4885 to cease, H7673 her feast days, H2282 her new moons, H2320 and her sabbaths, H7676 and all her solemn feasts. H4150
He is gone up H5927 to Bajith, H1006 and to Dibon, H1769 the high places, H1116 to weep: H1065 Moab H4124 shall howl H3213 over Nebo, H5015 and over Medeba: H4311 on all their heads H7218 shall be baldness, H7144 and every beard H2206 cut off. H1438 In their streets H2351 they shall gird H2296 themselves with sackcloth: H8242 on the tops H1406 of their houses, and in their streets, H7339 every one shall howl, H3213 weeping H1065 abundantly. H3381
When he is about to fill H4390 his belly, H990 God shall cast H7971 the fury H2740 of his wrath H639 upon him, and shall rain H4305 it upon him while he is eating. H3894
And the songs H7892 of the temple H1964 shall be howlings H3213 in that day, H3117 saith H5002 the Lord H136 GOD: H3069 there shall be many H7227 dead bodies H6297 in every place; H4725 they shall cast them forth H7993 with silence. H2013
Now G1161 when G5613 he came nigh G1448 to the gate G4439 of the city, G4172 behold, G2532 G2400 there was G1580 a dead man G2348 carried out, G1580 the only G3439 son G5207 of his G846 mother, G3384 and G2532 she G846 was G2258 a widow: G5503 and G2532 much G2425 people G3793 of the city G4172 was G2258 with G4862 her. G846 And G2532 when the Lord G2962 saw G1492 her, G846 he had compassion G4697 on G1909 her, G846 and G2532 said G2036 unto her, G846 Weep G2799 not. G3361
For while they be folden together H5440 as thorns, H5518 and while they are drunken H5433 as drunkards, H5435 they shall be devoured H398 as stubble H7179 fully H4392 dry. H3002
And thou shalt rejoice H8055 in thy feast, H2282 thou, and thy son, H1121 and thy daughter, H1323 and thy manservant, H5650 and thy maidservant, H519 and the Levite, H3881 the stranger, H1616 and the fatherless, H3490 and the widow, H490 that are within thy gates. H8179
That lie H7901 upon beds H4296 of ivory, H8127 and stretch H5628 themselves upon their couches, H6210 and eat H398 the lambs H3733 out of the flock, H6629 and the calves H5695 out of the midst H8432 of the stall; H4770 That chant H6527 to the sound H6310 of the viol, H5035 and invent H2803 to themselves instruments H3627 of musick, H7892 like David; H1732 That drink H8354 wine H3196 in bowls, H4219 and anoint H4886 themselves with the chief H7225 ointments: H8081 but they are not grieved H2470 for the affliction H7667 of Joseph. H3130 Therefore now shall they go captive H1540 with the first H7218 that go captive, H1540 and the banquet H4797 of them that stretched H5628 themselves shall be removed. H5493
Take thou away H5493 from me the noise H1995 of thy songs; H7892 for I will not hear H8085 the melody H2172 of thy viols. H5035
They drank H8355 wine, H2562 and praised H7624 the gods H426 of gold, H1722 and of silver, H3702 of brass, H5174 of iron, H6523 of wood, H636 and of stone. H69 In the same hour H8160 came forth H5312 fingers H677 of a man's H606 hand, H3028 and wrote H3790 over against H6903 the candlestick H5043 upon H5922 the plaister H1528 of the wall H3797 of the king's H4430 palace: H1965 and the king H4430 saw H2370 the part H6447 of the hand H3028 that wrote. H3790 Then H116 the king's H4430 countenance H2122 was changed, H8133 and his thoughts H7476 troubled H927 him, so that the joints H7001 of his loins H2783 were loosed, H8271 and his knees H755 smote H5368 one H1668 against another. H1668
And shall cause their voice H6963 to be heard H8085 against thee, and shall cry H2199 bitterly, H4751 and shall cast up H5927 dust H6083 upon their heads, H7218 they shall wallow H6428 themselves in the ashes: H665 And they shall make themselves utterly H7144 bald H7139 for thee, and gird H2296 them with sackcloth, H8242 and they shall weep H1058 for thee with bitterness H4751 of heart H5315 and bitter H4751 wailing. H4553
And in that day H3117 did the Lord H136 GOD H3069 of hosts H6635 call H7121 to weeping, H1065 and to mourning, H4553 and to baldness, H7144 and to girding H2296 with sackcloth: H8242 And behold joy H8342 and gladness, H8057 slaying H2026 oxen, H1241 and killing H7819 sheep, H6629 eating H398 flesh, H1320 and drinking H8354 wine: H3196 let us eat H398 and drink; H8354 for to morrow H4279 we shall die. H4191 And it was revealed H1540 in mine ears H241 by the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 Surely this iniquity H5771 shall not be purged H3722 from you till ye die, H4191 saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD H3069 of hosts. H6635
Therefore are my loins H4975 filled H4390 with pain: H2479 pangs H6735 have taken hold H270 upon me, as the pangs H6735 of a woman that travaileth: H3205 I was bowed down H5753 at the hearing H8085 of it; I was dismayed H926 at the seeing H7200 of it. My heart H3824 panted, H8582 fearfulness H6427 affrighted H1204 me: the night H5399 of my pleasure H2837 hath he turned H7760 into fear H2731 unto me.
Now Absalom H53 had commanded H6680 his servants, H5288 saying, H559 Mark H7200 ye now when Amnon's H550 heart H3820 is merry H2896 with wine, H3196 and when I say H559 unto you, Smite H5221 Amnon; H550 then kill H4191 him, fear H3372 not: have not I commanded H6680 you? be courageous, H2388 and be valiant. H1121 H2428 And the servants H5288 of Absalom H53 did H6213 unto Amnon H550 as Absalom H53 had commanded. H6680 Then all the king's H4428 sons H1121 arose, H6965 and every man H376 gat him up H7392 upon his mule, H6505 and fled. H5127 And it came to pass, while they were in the way, H1870 that tidings H8052 came H935 to David, H1732 saying, H559 Absalom H53 hath slain H5221 all the king's H4428 sons, H1121 and there is not one H259 of them left. H3498 Then the king H4428 arose, H6965 and tare H7167 his garments, H899 and lay H7901 on the earth; H776 and all his servants H5650 stood H5324 by with their clothes H899 rent. H7167
And Abigail H26 came H935 to Nabal; H5037 and, behold, he held a feast H4960 in his house, H1004 like the feast H4960 of a king; H4428 and Nabal's H5037 heart H3820 was merry H2896 within him, for he was very H3966 drunken: H7910 wherefore she told H5046 him nothing, H1697 less H6996 or more, H1419 until the morning H1242 light. H216 But it came to pass in the morning, H1242 when the wine H3196 was gone out H3318 of Nabal, H5037 and his wife H802 had told H5046 him these things, H1697 that his heart H3820 died H4191 within H7130 him, and he became as a stone. H68 And it came to pass about ten H6235 days H3117 after, that the LORD H3068 smote H5062 Nabal, H5037 that he died. H4191
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Amos 8
Commentary on Amos 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Am 8:1-14. Vision of a Basket of Summer Fruit Symbolical, of Israel's End. Resuming the Series of Symbols Interrupted by Amaziah, Amos Adds a Fourth. The Avarice of the Oppressors of the Poor: The Overthrow of the Nation: The Wish for the Means of Religious Counsel, when There Shall Be a Famine of the Word.
1. summer fruit—Hebrew, kitz. In Am 8:2 "end" is in Hebrew, keetz. The similarity of sounds implies that, as the summer is the end of the year and the time of the ripeness of fruits, so Israel is ripe for her last punishment, ending her national existence. As the fruit is plucked when ripe from the tree, so Israel from her land.
2. end—(Eze 7:2, 6).
3. songs of … temple—(Am 5:23). The joyous hymns in the temple of Judah (or rather, in the Beth-el "royal temple," Am 7:13; for the allusion is to Israel, not Judah, throughout this chapter) shall be changed into "howlings." Grotius translates, "palace"; compare Am 6:5, as to the songs there. But Am 5:23, and Am 7:13, favor English Version.
they shall cast them forth with silence—not as the Margin, "be silent." It is an adverb, "silently." There shall be such great slaughter as even to prevent the bodies being buried [Calvin]. There shall be none of the usual professional mourners (Am 5:16), but the bodies will be cast out in silence. Perhaps also is meant that terror, both of God (compare Am 6:10) and of the foe, shall close their lips.
4. Hear—The nobles needed to be urged thus, as hating to hear reproof.
swallow up the needy—or, "gape after," that is, pant for their goods; so the word is used, Job 7:2, Margin.
to make the poor … to fail—"that they (themselves) may be placed alone in the midst of the earth" (Isa 5:8).
5. So greedy are they of unjust gain that they cannot spare a single day, however sacred, from pursuing it. They are strangers to God and enemies to themselves, who love market days better than sabbath days; and they who have lost piety will not long keep honesty. The new moons (Nu 10:10) and sabbaths were to be kept without working or trading (Ne 10:31).
set forth wheat—literally, "open out" stores of wheat for sale.
ephah—containing three seahs, or above three pecks.
making … small—making it below the just weight to purchasers.
shekel great—taking from purchasers a greater weight of money than was due. Shekels used to be weighed out in payments (Ge 23:16). Thus they committed a double fraud against the law (De 25:13, 14).
6. buy … poor for silver … pair of shoes—that is, that we may compel the needy for money, or any other thing of however little worth, to sell themselves to us as bondmen, in defiance of Le 25:39; the very thing which brings down God's judgment (Am 2:6).
sell the refuse of … wheat—which contains no nutriment, but which the poor eat at a low price, being unable to pay for flour.
7. Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob—that is, by Himself, in whom Jacob's seed glory [Maurer]. Rather, by the spiritual privileges of Israel, the adoption as His peculiar people [Calvin], the temple, and its Shekinah symbol of His presence. Compare Am 6:8, where it means Jehovah's temple (compare Am 4:2).
never forget—not pass by without punishing (Am 8:2; Ho 8:13; 9:9).
8. the land … rise up wholly as a flood—The land will, as it were, be wholly turned into a flooding river (a flood being the image of overwhelming calamity, Da 9:26).
cast out and drowned, &c.—swept away and overwhelmed, as the land adjoining the Nile is by it, when flooding (Am 9:5). The Nile rises generally twenty feet. The waters then "cast out" mire and dirt (Isa 57:20).
9. "Darkness" made to rise "at noon" is the emblem of great calamities (Jer 15:9; Eze 32:7-10).
10. baldness—a sign of mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 48:37; Eze 7:18).
I will make it as … mourning of an only son—"it," that is, "the earth" (Am 8:9). I will reduce the land to such a state that there shall be the same occasion for mourning as when parents mourn for an only son (Jer 6:26; Zec 12:10).
11. famine of … hearing the words of the Lord—a just retribution on those who now will not hear the Lord's prophets, nay even try to drive them away, as Amaziah did (Am 7:12); they shall look in vain, in their distress, for divine counsel, such as the prophets now offer (Eze 7:26; Mic 3:7). Compare as to the Jews' rejection of Messiah, and their consequent rejection by Him (Mt 21:43); and their desire for Messiah too late (Lu 17:22; Joh 7:34; 8:21). So, the prodigal when he had sojourned awhile in the "far-off country, began to be in want" in the "mighty famine" which arose (Lu 15:14; compare 1Sa 3:1; 7:2). It is remarkable that the Jews' religion is almost the only one that could be abolished against the will of the people themselves, on account of its being dependent on a particular place, namely, the temple. When that was destroyed, the Mosaic ritual, which could not exist without it, necessarily ceased. Providence designed it, that, as the law gave way to the Gospel, so all men should perceive it was so, in spite of the Jews' obstinate rejection of the Gospel.
12. they shall wander from sea to sea—that is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west.
from … north … to … east—where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem for religious information. The circuit is traced as in Nu 34:3, &c., except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord" would not be from a sincere desire to obey God, but under the pressure of punishment.
13. faint for thirst—namely, thirst for hearing the words of the Lord, being destitute of all other comfort. If even the young and strong faint, how much more the infirm (Isa 40:30, 31)!
14. swear by the sin of Samaria—namely, the calves (De 9:21; Ho 4:15). "Swear by" means to worship (Ps 63:11).
The manner—that is, as "the way" is used (Ps 139:24; Ac 9:2), the mode of worship.
Thy god, O Dan—the other golden calf at Dan (1Ki 22:26-30).
liveth … liveth—rather, "May thy god … live … may the manner … live." Or, "As (surely as) thy god, O Dan, liveth." This is their formula when they swear; not "May Jehovah live!" or, "As Jehovah liveth!"