Amos 7:11 kjv
For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
Amos 7:11 nkjv
For thus Amos has said: 'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away captive From their own land.' "
Amos 7:11 niv
For this is what Amos is saying: "?'Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.'?"
Amos 7:11 esv
For thus Amos has said, "'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'"
Amos 7:11 nlt
He is saying, 'Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.'"
Amos 7 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Amos 7:10 | Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you within the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. | Contextual buildup |
| Amos 7:12 | And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat your bread, and there do your prophesying, | Amaziah's counter-accusation |
| Amos 7:13 | but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a national temple.” | Amaziah's attempt to ban Amos |
| Amos 7:17 | therefore thus says the LORD: “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by measuring line; you yourself shall die in a contaminated land. And Israel shall surely be exiled, leaving his land.’” | God's judgment on Amaziah |
| 1 Kings 12:28 | So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, “You have gone up long enough to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” | Jeroboam's establishment of idolatry |
| Hosea 4:15 | Though you play the harlot, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty! And come not to Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-aven, nor swear, “As the LORD lives!” | Warning against Israel's apostasy |
| Jeremiah 7:4 | But do not rely on these deceptive words: “‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’" | Critiquing false security in the temple |
| 2 Chronicles 36:16 | but they constantly mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, till there was no remedy. | Rejection of prophetic warnings |
| Acts 7:51 | “You stiffnecked people! with uncircumcised heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. | Resistance to God's messengers |
| John 15:20 | Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. | Persecution of Jesus' followers |
| 2 Timothy 3:12 | Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, | Universal promise of persecution |
| 2 Kings 17:21 | for when he tore Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin. | Jeroboam's foundational sin |
| Isaiah 5:11 | Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink, who linger late into the evening as the wine inflames them! | Judgment on self-indulgence |
| Proverbs 19:3 | When people's folly carries them away, their heart reviles the LORD. | Repercussions of sin |
| 2 Corinthians 10:4 | For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, | Spiritual nature of spiritual warfare |
| Revelation 18:4 | Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, and lest you share in her plagues…” | Call to separate from corrupt systems |
| Ezekiel 33:15 | If a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. | Hope of repentance |
| Amos 5:24 | But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. | God's desire for justice |
| 1 Corinthians 5:5 | you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. | Dealing with sin within the community |
| Psalm 11:4 | The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. | God's sovereignty and watchfulness |
| Amos 3:7 | Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. | Prophets as God's communicators |
| Isaiah 30:10 | who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right, but speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions,” | Desire for comforting falsehoods |
Amos 7 verses
Amos 7 11 Meaning
The verse states that Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel, claiming that Amos's prophecy and actions were a conspiracy against the king and that the land could not bear his words. It highlights Amos's indictment of Israel's sins, specifically their prosperity built on injustice, and Amaziah's attempt to silence him by framing him as a threat to the state.
Amos 7 11 Context
This verse appears in Amos chapter 7, which details a series of visions given to Amos about judgment on Israel. Following visions of locusts and fire, Amos intercedes. In this section, Amaziah, the priest at the royal sanctuary in Bethel, confronts Amos. Bethel was one of the two centers of worship established by King Jeroboam I to divert people from the temple in Jerusalem, as recorded in 1 Kings 12. This act by Jeroboam was a significant move towards idolatry and division in the kingdom. Amaziah's words to Jeroboam indicate the severity and disruption of Amos's prophecy. Amos's message was directly challenging the religious and political establishment of Israel, exposing their superficial piety and the injustice underlying their prosperity, particularly during the reign of Jeroboam II, a time of apparent peace and wealth but spiritual decay. Amaziah, as a representative of the state-sponsored religion, felt threatened by Amos's pronouncements, which undermined the king's authority and the established order by declaring God's impending judgment.
Amos 7 11 Word Analysis
- "Then": Connects this event chronologically to Amos's prior prophecies and confrontations.
- "Amaziah": A Hebrew name, meaning "Yahweh is strong." He is identified as the "priest of Bethel," indicating his official religious role within the corrupt system of worship established by Jeroboam.
- "the priest": Specifically points to his official capacity, suggesting he represents the religious hierarchy.
- "of Bethel": Bethel was a prominent cultic center associated with calf worship (1 Kings 12:28-29), established by Jeroboam to compete with the Jerusalem temple. It symbolized the religious apostasy of the Northern Kingdom.
- "sent": A deliberate act, not a chance encounter, implying a formal report or accusation.
- "to Jeroboam": The king of Israel, reinforcing the political nature of Amaziah's accusation. Jeroboam II was a powerful king, and Israel was enjoying a period of prosperity and expansion, making Amos's message particularly inconvenient and threatening.
- "king of Israel": Clarifies the recipient of the accusation, emphasizing the political dimension and the attempt to use royal authority against Amos.
- "saying": Introduces the direct quote of Amaziah's message.
- "Amos": The prophet's name, meaning "burden." His name itself signifies the weighty message he carried.
- "has conspired": The Hebrew word implies plotting, planning mischief, or contriving against someone. Amaziah portrays Amos not as a true prophet, but as a political agitator and rebel.
- "against you": Direct accusation aimed at undermining the king's power and security.
- "within the house of Israel": Suggests that the threat is internal and widespread, emanating from within the nation.
- "The land": Refers to the territory of Israel.
- "cannot bear": Implies the unbearable weight and divisiveness of Amos's words; they are too disruptive to the existing social and political fabric.
- "all his words": Emphasizes the totality of Amos's prophecy as problematic.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "Amaziah the priest of Bethel": This identifies Amaziah as an official representative of the compromised religious system in the Northern Kingdom, firmly aligned with the king and the state-sanctioned idolatry at Bethel. His position underscores the clash between true prophecy and established religious authority.
- "Amos has conspired against you": This is a politically charged accusation. Amaziah frames Amos's prophetic critique of Israel's social injustices and impending judgment as a treasonous plot aimed directly at King Jeroboam. This tactic sought to discredit Amos by portraying him as a dangerous dissident rather than a messenger of God.
- "The land cannot bear all his words": This phrase conveys the idea that Amos's message is fundamentally destabilizing. It is perceived as a threat to the national identity, the economic prosperity enjoyed under Jeroboam II, and the religious norms (or rather, religious deviations) of the time. It signifies the immense discomfort and outrage Amos's unwelcome truths provoked within the ruling class.
Amos 7 11 Bonus Section
The situation depicted in Amos 7:11 mirrors recurring themes throughout biblical history where prophets were often persecuted and misunderstood by the religious and political establishment they were meant to correct. This adversarial relationship between true prophecy and compromised institutions is a significant thread. Amaziah's specific actions of reporting Amos to the king and attempting to ban him from prophesying at Bethel highlight the concept of religious institutions becoming instruments of political oppression rather than true conduits of God's will. Bethel itself, as a center of false worship, underscores the spiritual apostasy that often accompanies political and social decay. The fact that Amaziah sought to silence Amos by telling him to "go, flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat your bread, and there do your prophesying" (Amos 7:12) demonstrates a desire to remove the prophetic voice from the sphere of national life, suggesting that societal well-being was seen as dependent on maintaining the status quo, not on heeding divine warnings.
Amos 7 11 Commentary
Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, falsely accused Amos of treason. He framed Amos's divine pronouncements as a political conspiracy aimed at King Jeroboam. Amaziah's accusation reflects the elite's deep discomfort with the prophet's message, which challenged the established religious and political order and exposed the nation's sin and impending doom. By labeling Amos a conspirator, Amaziah attempted to neutralize the prophetic voice by discrediting it as seditious rather than divine. His words reveal the tendency of corrupt systems to suppress truth by accusing truth-tellers of rebellion. Amaziah's opposition is a classic example of religious authority aligning with political power to silence prophetic critique. The response he received from God (Amos 7:17) indicates that God saw through this deflection and pronounced judgment upon Amaziah for his actions and his alignment with national sin.