Amos 8:13 kjv
In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
Amos 8:13 nkjv
"In that day the fair virgins And strong young men Shall faint from thirst.
Amos 8:13 niv
"In that day "the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.
Amos 8:13 esv
"In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst.
Amos 8:13 nlt
Beautiful girls and strong young men
will grow faint in that day,
thirsting for the LORD's word.
Amos 8 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Amos 8:13 | "They shall faint, they shall fall, none to raise them up." | (Self-referential) - Describes the severity of judgment. |
| Isa 24:4 | "The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish with the clouds." | General judgment on the land. |
| Jer 4:24-26 | "I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins..." | Desolation as a result of God's wrath. |
| Joel 1:10-12 | "The fields are ruined, the land mourns; for the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. Be dismayed, O farmers; wail, O vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranates, palm trees, and apples, all the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the children of man." | Drought and agricultural collapse due to judgment. |
| Ezek 47:11 | "But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt." | A future state of barrenness. |
| Hosea 4:1-3 | "Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel, for the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. For there is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land... therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who lives in it will faint, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea will be carried away." | Societal collapse and fainting due to lack of knowledge of God. |
| Psalm 107:34 | "He turns a fruitful land into a barren waste, and its fruitful places into a desert." | God's power to change fertile land to desert. |
| Rev 17:15 | "And the angel said to me, 'The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.'" | Water as symbolic of people or populations. |
| John 7:37 | "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.'" | Spiritual thirst that Christ satisfies. |
| John 4:14 | "but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." | Jesus as the source of living water for eternal life. |
| Jer 2:13 | "for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and hewed out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water." | Apostasy leading to spiritual emptiness. |
| Zech 11:10 | "I took my staff, Flint, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant that I had made with all the peoples." | Breaking of covenants, leading to brokenness. |
| Matt 25:8 | "And the foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'" | Inability to sustain oneself in a time of need. |
| Rom 1:21 | "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." | Consequences of not honoring God. |
| Isa 5:11-12 | "Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink, who tarry late into the night, till wine inflames them! They have the harp and the lyre, the tambourine and the flute, and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or have regard for the works of his hands." | Seeking earthly pleasures instead of God. |
| Amos 5:21-23 | "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not look on your peace offerings of fat pastures. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the unwilling of your lyre I will not listen." | God rejecting worship when disconnected from justice and righteousness. |
| Ps 32:3 | "For when I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning that came upon me all day long." | Internal suffering due to unconfessed sin. |
| Prov 18:14 | "A man's spirit will endure his infirmities, but a broken spirit who can bear?" | The debilitating effect of a broken spirit. |
| 1 Sam 2:3 | "Talk no more so very proudly, let arrogance not come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed." | God's awareness and judgment of human actions. |
| Jer 10:14 | "Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idol, for his molten images are false, and there is no breath in them." | The futility of idols. |
| Rev 9:20 | "The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, nor did they stop worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk." | Persistent sin and idolatry even after judgment. |
| John 15:5 | "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." | Dependency on Christ for spiritual life. |
| Prov 20:1 | "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise." | The folly of drunkenness. |
Amos 8 verses
Amos 8 13 Meaning
In that day the beautiful young women and the young men shall faint from thirst. This verse vividly portrays a future time of severe judgment, specifically drought and spiritual thirst, that will afflict both the righteous and the unrighteous in Israel due to their collective sin and disobedience. It emphasizes the universality of God's judgment when His people turn away from Him, affecting all segments of society.
Amos 8 13 Context
Amos 8:13 is part of a prophecy concerning the coming judgment upon Israel. In the preceding verses (Amos 8:11-12), God declares that He will send a famine not of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. This spiritual famine will result from Israel's deliberate rejection of God's prophets and His message of repentance. The people have actively ignored or silenced the divine pronouncements, prioritizing their comfort and corrupt practices over righteousness. Chapter 8 as a whole outlines specific acts of injustice and oppression committed by the Israelites, particularly targeting the poor and vulnerable, and sets the stage for the inevitable divine retribution. The prophetic message culminates in this verse with a depiction of the dire consequences: utter collapse and inability to sustain oneself, highlighting the widespread desolation that will result from this profound spiritual and physical thirst.
Amos 8 13 Word Analysis
"In that day": (Hebrew: בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, bayyom hahû) This phrase marks a specific, future time when God's pronouncements will be executed. It is a recurring theme in prophetic literature, signifying eschatological or imminent divine action and judgment.
"the beautiful": (Hebrew: יְפֵה, yəp̄ēh) Refers to pleasing appearance, attractiveness, and well-formedness. In this context, it extends to encompassing the entirety of what is considered valuable or cherished, especially the finest, most attractive young men and women.
"young women": (Hebrew: בְּתוּלֹת, bətûlōt) Literally "virgins" or "young maidens." It highlights the youth and perhaps the innocence or potential that is threatened by the judgment.
"and the young men": (Hebrew: וּגְבוּרִים, ūḡəḇûrim) "And the strong ones" or "young men." This phrase, along with "young women," represents the prime of life and the future generations of Israel. The pairing emphasizes the encompassing nature of the judgment.
"shall faint": (Hebrew: יָעִילוּ, yā‘îlû) Means to swoon, be exhausted, or fail. It describes a state of weakness and incapacitation due to extreme suffering.
"from thirst": (Hebrew: מִצָּמָא, miṣṣāmā‘) From thirst. This can be literal thirst due to drought, or it can be metaphorical for a desperate longing for spiritual nourishment that they have refused to seek.
"and the wine": (Hebrew: וְיַיִן, wəyaẏin) Refers to intoxicating drink. In Israelite society, wine was a common beverage and a symbol of prosperity and joy. Its presence here underscores that even those who might typically find solace or celebration in it will be utterly defeated.
"shall be poured out": (Hebrew: יִשָּׁפֵךְ, yiššāp̄ēḵ) Shall be spilled, poured out. This emphasizes a state of utter waste or dissipation, suggesting the loss and undoing of God's provision for them, which they have perverted.
"they shall fall": (Hebrew: יִפֹּלוּ, yippōlû) Shall fall, perish. Reinforces the completeness of their downfall.
"none to raise them up": (Hebrew: אֵין מֵקִים, ’ên mēqîm) No one to lift them up or to help them. This signifies a complete abandonment, a state of utter helplessness without any recourse or deliverer.
Group Analysis: "the beautiful young women and the young men": This grouping represents the entire populace of Israel, the precious and the strong. The judgment will affect all, signifying a complete societal breakdown.
Group Analysis: "faint from thirst... shall fall, none to raise them up": This pair of phrases describes the devastating consequences. Thirst symbolizes a lack of essential spiritual nourishment and God's presence, leading to a total inability to recover from their fallen state.
Group Analysis: "and the wine shall be poured out": This image conveys the destruction or loss of something once valued and considered essential for celebration or sustenance, highlighting the pervasive nature of God's judgment even upon the typical sources of human comfort.
Amos 8 13 Bonus Section
The concept of "thirst" in the Bible carries significant dual meaning: physical thirst due to drought and spiritual thirst, a deep longing for God and His truth. In Amos, the "famine of hearing the words of the Lord" is the ultimate thirst. Those who refuse to drink from the "fountain of living water" (Jeremiah 2:13) will eventually face literal and metaphorical emptiness. Jesus Himself declared, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37), offering a spiritual sustenance that quenches this deepest thirst. The inability for anyone to raise them up speaks to the sovereignty of God in judgment; no human effort can avert His pronouncements when His people forsake Him. This verse starkly contrasts with the provisions found in Christ, highlighting the consequences of turning away from the divine source of life and strength. The specific mention of "wine poured out" might also allude to the misuse of God-given blessings. Instead of using prosperity and joy to glorify God, they turned these gifts into occasions for further sin and rebellion, thus turning the very means of blessing into a measure of their judgment.
Amos 8 13 Commentary
Amos 8:13 paints a grim picture of a nation brought to its knees. The prophecy highlights a severe spiritual and physical drought resulting from the people's rejection of God's word. They have actively stifled the prophetic voice and chosen instead the shallow pleasures and corrupt practices described elsewhere in Amos. This willful ignorance and rebellion leave them spiritually famished, a condition that manifests physically as extreme thirst and inability to recover. The judgment affects everyone, from the most attractive young women, symbolizing the nation's beauty and future, to the strongest young men, representing its strength and defense. The outpouring of wine signifies the ruin of their prosperity and celebrations, all of which are now meaningless in the face of God's wrath. Their inability to stand, coupled with the absence of any help, underscores their utter defeat and the totality of God's judgment. This serves as a stark warning that rejecting divine truth leads to spiritual emptiness, societal collapse, and profound helplessness. It points to a spiritual thirst that only God can satisfy, a truth amplified in the New Testament.