Amos 4:5 kjv
And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
Amos 4:5 nkjv
Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; For this you love, You children of Israel!" Says the Lord GOD.
Amos 4:5 niv
Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings? boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do," declares the Sovereign LORD.
Amos 4:5 esv
offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!" declares the Lord GOD.
Amos 4:5 nlt
Present your bread made with yeast
as an offering of thanksgiving.
Then give your extra voluntary offerings
so you can brag about it everywhere!
This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do,"
says the Sovereign LORD.
Amos 4 5 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Amos 4:5 | "Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven..." | Theme: False worship |
| Isaiah 1:11 | "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams..." | Critiques insincere worship |
| Jeremiah 7:22-23 | "For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people..." | Emphasizes obedience over rituals |
| Psalms 50:14 | "Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:" | True worship involves thanksgiving |
| Proverbs 15:8 | "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination: much more, when it is brought with a wicked mind." | Links sacrifice with a wicked mindset |
| Matthew 5:23-24 | "If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." | Stresses reconciliation before worship |
| Romans 12:1 | "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." | Calls for a living sacrifice of obedience |
| 1 Samuel 15:22 | "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." | Obedience is superior to ritual |
| Amos 5:21 | "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell your solemn assemblies." | God rejects their religious festivals |
| Amos 5:22 | "Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts." | Reiterates rejection of their sacrifices |
| Psalm 40:6 | "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required." | God's desire is for obedience |
| Isaiah 66:3 | "He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered blood of a swine; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations." | Contrasts acceptable worship with abominations |
| Hebrews 13:15 | "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." | True praise is acceptable to God |
| 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 | "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are leavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." | Links leaven with wickedness |
| Mark 8:15 | "And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod." | Leaven symbolizes corrupting influence |
| Luke 12:1 | "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he said unto first his disciples, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." | Identifies leaven with hypocrisy |
| Acts 20:28 | "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." | Leaders should shepherd the church |
| Revelation 2:24 | "But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden." | Warns against false teachings |
Amos 4 verses
Amos 4 5 Meaning
This verse sarcastically commands the people of Israel, particularly the Northern Kingdom of Samaria, to continue their persistent acts of sin and disobedience. It highlights their hypocrisy in offering sacrifices and offerings while their hearts remain far from God, reinforcing God's judgment against them.
Amos 4 5 Context
Amos 4:5 is part of a larger oracle of judgment against Israel (primarily the Northern Kingdom, Samaria). The preceding verses (Amos 4:1-3) describe how God has dealt with Israel in various ways to bring them back, including oppression and exile, yet they have not returned to Him. This verse, delivered with biting sarcasm, highlights the futility of their outward religious observances in light of their continued unfaithfulness and oppressive practices. The people were offering sacrifices, a commanded act of worship, but their hearts were not in it, and their lives were characterized by injustice. This verse is a powerful denunciation of superficial religiosity.
Amos 4 5 Word Analysis
"Offer" (Hebrew: קִרְבּוּ qirbu) - Imperative verb, "bring near" or "present." It’s a call to action for sacrifices.
"sacrifice" (Hebrew: זִבְחַח zivcha) - Refers to a peace offering or thank offering, a communal meal often associated with fellowship with God and others.
"of thanksgiving" (Hebrew: תּוֹדָה todah) - Specifically the type of offering. It expresses gratitude to God.
"with leaven" (Hebrew: מַחְמֶצֶת machmetzet) - This is the crucial element. Leaven was forbidden in offerings of the LORD that were to be burned on the altar (Lev 7:13, 23:17). Unleavened bread was prescribed. The use of leaven in a sacrifice, especially a thanksgiving offering, would render it unacceptable and even polluting, mirroring the corrupt nature of their worship and society.
"publish" (Hebrew: הַגִּידוּ haggīdu) - Imperative, "proclaim," "announce," or "report." It implies making their actions known, flaunting their "piety."
"voluntary offerings" (Hebrew: נְדָבָה n'davah) - Gifts freely given, above and beyond prescribed offerings. The sarcasm is sharp here – they are freely giving what is tainted.
"for this" (Hebrew: כִּי־כֵן kī-chēn) - Indicates "for this is how," or "because." It links their actions to their inner disposition and to God's perception.
"ye love" (Hebrew: אֲהַבְתֶּם ahahavtem) - Expresses their preference or inclination. They love doing these things in this manner.
"saith the LORD God" (Hebrew: נְאֻם־יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים n'um-YHWH Elohim) - A strong formula emphasizing divine authority and pronouncement.
Group analysis:
- "Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, publish your voluntary offerings" - This phrase is saturated with irony. The people were to bring offerings of thanksgiving, but the inclusion of leaven disqualified them. Then they were to "publish" or boast about these invalid offerings, highlighting their spiritual blindness and arrogance.
- "for this you love, O house of Israel, saith the LORD God" - This clause directly points to their chosen preference for their flawed religious practices, revealing the root of their problem was their love for sin and hypocrisy rather than a genuine love for God and obedience.
Amos 4 5 Bonus Section
The concept of "leaven" in the Bible often symbolizes sin, corruption, and false doctrine that spreads. In the Old Testament, leaven was typically excluded from Passover offerings to signify purity and sincerity, contrasting with the new life bought by Christ. The New Testament frequently uses leaven as a metaphor for the pervasive and corrupting influence of sin and false teachings (1 Cor 5:7-8; Matt 16:6, 11-12). Amos uses it here with sharp, ironic intent to demonstrate how Israel’s corrupt practices had infiltrated even their acts of worship, rendering them abominable to God. Their outward performance was a mockery of true devotion, a deliberate defilement of sacred things.
Amos 4 5 Commentary
Amos condemns the people of Israel not for ceasing their sacrifices, but for performing them with the wrong heart and in the wrong way. Their religious practices, including thank offerings, were to be performed without leaven, symbolizing purity and sincerity. By deliberately offering sacrifices "with leaven," they were intentionally corrupting their worship. The command to "publish" these tainted offerings further emphasizes their pride and deception. They enjoyed the outward show of piety while their hearts remained unchanged, estranged from God by their sins of injustice and oppression. God's statement, "for this you love," cuts to the core, revealing that their embrace of these false rituals stemmed from a deep-seated affection for their sinful ways. This verse is a stark warning against a religion of ritual without righteousness, a practice that only incites God's wrath.