Israel has been accused for false religious rituals, preferring religion to God, and oppressing the poor and ignoring justice.
Amos 5:1-2, Never to rise again
Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:
"Fallen is Virgin Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up."
A lament is a funeral dirge. This funeral song laments the fall of Israel. The young bride of YHWH has died, cries the lament.
In the future Israel will be destroyed, never again to get up, says the prophet. And indeed, later, when the northern kingdom is overrun by Sennacherib in 722 BC, the people are dispersed. The nation does not return although some of its descendants do.
Amos 5:3, Tenfold destruction
This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"The city that marches out a thousand strong for Israel
will have only a hundred left;
the town that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left."
Israel's attempts at power lead to a tenfold reduction; a thousand turn into a hundred; a hundred turn into ten.
Amos 5:4-7, Seek YHWH and live!
This is what the LORD says to the house of 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 house of Joseph like a fire;
it will devour, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.
As earlier, Bethel and Gilgal are used as representatives of worship centers of Israel. McComiskey points out alliteration in verse 5, the Hebrew of "Gilgal will surely go into exile" is hag·gil·gāl gā·lōh yiḡ·leh, a stream of "guh" sounds.
Amos 5:7-10, Hate justice and the court
You who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground
(he who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns blackness 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--
he flashes destruction on the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin),
you hate the one who reproves in court
and despise him who tells the truth.
This long sentence has a parenthetical interlude. The main part of the sentence is
"You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground
you hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth"
but as in the previous chapter, Amos offers an interlude of praise. He, Amos, is representing the one who made the Pleiades and Orion, who controls the chaotic waters of the sea and who can destroy fortresses.
A direct translation of the Hebrew text of verse 10 begins with "They hate the one who rebukes in the gate." The city gate was the place where decisions were made (for example Ruth 4:1-12) and so the NIV provides the translation "in court." The leaders of the nation despise justice and do not want to be called to the city gates to be reproved.
Amos 5:10-12, Trample the poor
You trample on the poor
and force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
You oppress the righteous and take bribes
and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
What is evidence of the false worship of these people? Their leaders hate justice and truth. They oppress the poor and build beautiful mansions and gardens. But their luxuries will be worthless.
Amos 5:13-15, The times are evil
Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.
Seek good, not evil, that you may live.
Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy
on the remnant of Joseph.
So what does the prudent man do but keep his head down and stay quiet! He is to seek good and hate evil. And maintain justice. Perhaps he will be part of the remnant.
Amos 5:16-17, Wailing
Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says:
Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says:
"There will be wailing in all the streets
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through your midst," says the LORD.
Niehaus says that a funeral dirge should end with a "summons to mourning" and that that summons occurs here. The people are to weep and wail at the death of Virgin Israel, a young bride cut down too soon.
Amos 5:18-19, Woe
Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD!
Why do you long for the day of the LORD?
That day will be darkness, not light.
It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
Verse 18 begins with the prophetic "Woe!", a warning to those who naively think that the day of the Lord will be good for them. Here that future Day comes with darkness. (See Isaiah 5:8, 11, 20-23 for a series of these. Another "Woe" will come in verse 6:1.) That Day will be a shock to these people of Israel. Just as when they think they are safe from the lion, they will meet a bear. Just when they think they are safe in their home, a snake will bite.
Amos 5:20, Darkness
Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light--
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
Other prophets speak about the darkness that comes in the Day of the Lord, often using the same words. In Joel 2:2 this darkness is described with four words, darkness, gloom, clouds, blackness. Various combinations of these words appear in the scenes at Mount Sinai in Deuteronomy 4:11 and in the plague of darkness in Exodus 10:21-22. All four words, emphasizing deep darkness, occur in the prophecy of Zephaniah 1:14-16 more than a century later.
Amos 5:21-23, False rituals
"I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
The prophecy of Amos returns to the frustration of false, ritualistic religion. The people follow the rules for sacrifices and sing songs, but their hearts are not worshiping YHWH. The prophet Isaiah says something similar in Isaiah 1:13-15.
Amos 5:24, But instead justice
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
In place of religious ritual, God calls for justice. If the people truly worshiped YHWH, justice would be a natural result, flowing out of their worship. In Martin Luther King's speech, I Have a Dream, he quotes this verse, saying to the American nation,
"No, no, we are not satisfied,
and we will not be satisfied
until 'justice rolls down like waters,
and righteousness like a mighty stream.' "
Amos 5:25-27, Pedestals and stars
"Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,
the star of your god--
which you made for yourselves.
Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,"
says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.
In their religious ritual, the people worships idols, and the shrine of their king. Once again there is a warning of an enemy approaching from the north, who will take them into exile "beyond Damascus."
It was common in the ANE for people to carry their idols with them. Some commentators believe "star of your god" describes worship of Saturn. In the New Testament, Stephen, on trial in Acts 7:42-43, quotes the Septuagint version of this verse.
First published July 1, 2025; updated July 1, 2025
