Amos 4 9

Amos 4:9 kjv

I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Amos 4:9 nkjv

"I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.

Amos 4:9 niv

"Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.

Amos 4:9 esv

"I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.

Amos 4:9 nlt

"I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew.
Locusts devoured all your fig and olive trees.
But still you would not return to me,"
says the LORD.

Amos 4 verses

Amos 4 9 Meaning

Amos 4:9 declares that God afflicted His people with agricultural plagues—blight, mildew, and locust infestations—which destroyed their abundant crops like gardens, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. Despite these successive and severe judgments aimed at capturing their attention and prompting a change of heart, Israel consistently failed to return to Him, signifying a profound spiritual stubbornness and refusal to repent. This verse is part of a series detailing divine disciplinary actions, each concluding with the lament that Israel did not turn back to their God.

Amos 4 9 Context

Amos chapter 4 presents a severe rebuke to the women of Samaria (the "cows of Bashan") for their oppressive luxury, then shifts to a powerful indictment of Israel's spiritual deadness despite repeated divine interventions. Verses 6 through 11 detail a series of five distinct, increasing judgments—famine (v. 6), drought (v. 7-8), agricultural plagues (v. 9), pestilence and warfare (v. 10), and ultimate destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 11). Each of these divine acts of discipline, including the blight, mildew, and locusts of verse 9, served as a call for repentance. However, Israel stubbornly failed to heed these warnings, always concluding with the somber refrain, "yet you have not returned to me," demonstrating their hardened hearts and their misinterpretation of God's disciplinary hand. The prophet Amos speaks directly to the Northern Kingdom (Israel) in the 8th century BC, a time of prosperity and spiritual apostasy, forewarning them of impending exile due to their idolatry, social injustice, and failure to honor the covenant.

Amos 4 9 Word analysis

• I smote (Hebrew: הִכֵּיתִי, hikkeiti): This is the first person singular perfect form of the verb נָכָה (nakah), meaning "to strike," "to hit," "to smite." It signifies direct divine action, indicating God's purposeful and active hand in bringing about these judgments, not merely passive allowance. It emphasizes His sovereignty over creation and events.
• you (Hebrew: אֶתְכֶם, 'etchem): Refers directly to the people of Israel, the audience of Amos's prophecy. It underscores the personal nature of God's engagement with His covenant people, even in judgment.
• with blight (Hebrew: בַּשִׁדָּפוֹן, bashiddafón): "Blight" or "blasting." This refers to crops withering or burning, typically due to excessive heat or drought, turning them yellow. It represents a pervasive agricultural destruction, ruining harvest before maturity.
• and mildew (Hebrew: וּבַיֵּרָקוֹן, u'vayyerakon): "Mildew" or "yellow blight." This denotes a pale green or yellowish hue on plants caused by a fungus or excessive dampness. It attacks leaves and stalks, indicating spoilage and reduction in crop yield. Together, blight and mildew cover a comprehensive spectrum of crop diseases, familiar curses in the Mosaic Law.
• your many gardens (Hebrew: גַּנּוֹתֵיכֶם הָרַבּוֹת, gannotêkem hāravvôth): "Gardens" (gannot) refer to cultivated plots, implying an organized and deliberate effort to grow produce, often near homes or cities. "Many" (rabot) emphasizes their abundance and, by implication, the wealth and prosperity that was now being stripped away.
• and your vineyards (Hebrew: וְכַרְמֵיכֶם, vəkharmeiḵem): Vineyards were crucial agricultural assets in Israel, symbolizing prosperity and blessing. The destruction of vineyards represented a significant economic and cultural blow, affecting wine, grapes, and livelihood.
• your fig trees (Hebrew: תְּאֵנֵיכֶם, t'êneichem): Fig trees were highly valued for their fruit, providing sustenance and shade. Their destruction spoke to a loss of basic provision and comfort.
• and your olive trees (Hebrew: וְזֵיתֵיכֶם, v'zêthêḵem): Olive trees were another staple, yielding oil for food, light, and anointing. Their loss was devastating, impacting dietary needs, trade, and even religious practices.
• the locust (Hebrew: הַגָּזָם, haggazām): Specifically refers to a type of locust or "cutter worm" that gnaws and strips plants bare, representing a different phase or species in a locust plague (as seen in Joel). This detail indicates a progression or varied nature of the insect plagues.
• devoured (Hebrew: אָכַל, akal): Literally "ate" or "consumed." It describes the total destruction by the locusts, leaving nothing behind.
• yet you have not returned to me (Hebrew: וְלֹא שַׁבְתֶּם עָדָי, vəlō shavtem 'adayi): This is the repeated refrain throughout Amos 4 (v. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11).
  • Not returned (lō shavtem): Shavtem is from שׁוּב (shuv), meaning "to turn," "to return," "to repent." The negation "not" (lō) highlights their refusal to turn. This return is not merely physical, but spiritual: a turning from sin and idolatry back to Yahweh.
  • to me ('adayi): Emphasizes that God is the specific object of this desired turning. It signifies a call for renewed relationship, obedience, and heartfelt devotion to Him alone. This phrase underscores God's persistent longing for reconciliation, even amidst judgment.

Words-group by Words-group Analysis:

• "I smote you with blight and mildew": This phrase conveys a dual judgment related to agricultural disease, indicating widespread and diverse plant destruction directly orchestrated by God. It shows that both internal plant maladies and external conditions contribute to the ruin.
• "your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees": This listing emphasizes the comprehensiveness of the agricultural disaster, affecting all primary food sources and cash crops. The use of "many gardens" highlights the irony that their abundant prosperity was precisely what God targeted.
• "the locust devoured them": This introduces a different and perhaps more visually destructive agent of judgment. Locusts are known for leaving behind barren landscapes, representing complete obliteration of food sources and reinforcing the totality of the devastation. This specifies yet another severe affliction, often a sign of covenant curse.
• "yet you have not returned to me": This climactic phrase encapsulates the core tragedy of the chapter. Despite clear and repeated divine discipline, Israel's spiritual obstinacy remains unbroken. This highlights the severe indictment of their unrepentant hearts and illustrates the failure of judgment to achieve its intended goal of spiritual transformation. It expresses God's grief over their stubbornness and implies the inevitable continuation of judgment.

Amos 4 9 Bonus section

The concept of God's "smiting" through agricultural plagues aligns with the covenant blessings and curses outlined in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. In those texts, agricultural prosperity (abundance in gardens, vineyards, trees) is promised for obedience, while blight, mildew, and locusts are specifically listed as curses for disobedience and rebellion against God's commands. Amos demonstrates God upholding these covenant terms. The repeated "yet you have not returned to me" emphasizes that God's purpose in these judgments was not mere destruction but remedial, intended to bring about teshuvah (repentance, turning back to God). This reflects God's profound patience and desire for His people to repent, even sending increasing levels of hardship before ultimate and irreversible judgment. It underlines a timeless principle: God's disciplinary actions are designed to lead to a restoration of relationship, not merely punishment.

Amos 4 9 Commentary

Amos 4:9 illustrates God's persistent and varied disciplinary actions against Israel, specifically targeting their material prosperity through agricultural destruction. He intentionally sent blight, mildew, and locusts—plagues familiar from covenant curses—to decimate their gardens, vineyards, fig, and olive trees. These were not random natural disasters, but purposeful divine interventions aimed at disrupting their complacent reliance on worldly comforts and reminding them of their dependence on the God of the covenant. The consistent and heartbreaking refrain, "yet you have not returned to me," reveals Israel's spiritual blindness and hardened hearts. They failed to connect their suffering with their sin, mistaking God's disciplinary hand for mere misfortune. This shows that God's desire is always restoration, even through judgment, but He respects the free will of humanity.

Practical usage example:

• A persistent, unresolved problem in one's life or a church community might be an opportunity to prayerfully consider if there are areas of unaddressed sin or a need to draw closer to God, akin to God using hardship to call for spiritual return.
• Acknowledging setbacks or failures not just as bad luck, but as potential divine nudges toward repentance and deeper dependence on Christ.