Amos 2:13
in Amos 2Behold, I am about to crush you in your place as with a cart full of grain.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves.
KJV
Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
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This verse in Amos 2
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Verse 13 onwards) Behold, I will roar underneath you, like a heavily loaded wagon roars with hay, and the fleet warrior shall perish, and the strong shall not retain his strength, and the mighty shall not save his soul, and the archer shall not stand, and the swift-footed one shall not be saved, and the rider of the horse shall not save his soul, and the strong of heart among the strong ones, shall flee naked on that day, says the Lord.
This site's exposition
ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink
on Amos 2:12-16
The grace just recited is answered with its own rejection, wine given to Nazarites to break the very vow of Numbers 6 that set them apart, and prophets commanded outright, prophesy not, the silencing of the voice Amos himself will meet again at Amaziah's mouth in chapter 7. The judgment that follows is the covenant curse of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 enacted as a battlefield collapse rather than described in the abstract, the swift unable to flee, the strong stripped of strength, the archer and the horseman both failing, until the most courageous man in the army runs away naked, having thrown down even his weapons to survive. Amos closes the whole opening section on that image, courage itself unable to save when the Lord himself is the adversary.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He sometimes compares himself with deep condescension, on account of our infirmity, to objects without sense, as he says by the prophet, "Behold, I will shriek over you as a cart creaks when laden with hay." For since the life of the carnal is hay (as it is written, all flesh is hay), in that the Lord endures the life of the carnal he declares that he carries hay as a cart. And to creak under the weight of the hay is for him to bear with murmuring the burdens and iniquities of sinners. When therefore he applies to himself very unlike resemblances, we must carefully observe that some things of this kind are sometimes spoken of concerning God, on account of the effect of his doings, but sometimes to indicate the substance of his majesty.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Behold, I are pressed under you,.... With the weight of their sins, with which they had made him to serve, and had wearied him; his patience was quite wore out, he could bear them no longer: as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves; as a cart in harvest time, in which the sheaves of corn are carried home; when one sheaf is laid upon another, till they can lay no more, and the cart is loaded and overloaded with them, and ready to break, or be pressed into the earth with them: thus.
I am pressed under you and the load of your sins as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves, is loaded with corn, in the midst of the joy of harvest, as long as any will lie on." Note, The great God complains of sin, especially the sins of his professing people, as a burden to him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And it is here threatened in the last three verses that, when God comes forth to contend with this provoking people, they shall not be able to stand before him, to flee from him, nor to make their part good with him; for when God judges he will overcome. Though his patience be tired out, his power is not, and so the sinner shall find, to his cost.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Behold, I am pressed under you - God bore His people, as the wain bears the sheaves. “Ye yourselves have seen,” He said to them by Moses, “how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto Myself” Exo 19:4. “Thou hast seen how the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place” Deu 1:
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
I am pressed under you--so CALVIN (Compare Isa 1:14). The Margin translates actively, "I will depress your place," that is, "I will make it narrow," a metaphor for afflicting a people; the opposite of enlarging, that is, relieving (Ps 4:1; MAURER translates, "I will press you down" (not as Margin, "your place"; so the Hebrew, Job 40:12; or Am 2:7 in Hebrew text).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
THE other Sunday morning we went into the corn fields to glean with Boaz and Ruth. And I trust that many of the timid and faint-hearted were encouraged to partake of the handfuls which are let fall on purpose for them by the order of our generous Lord. We go, today, to the gate of the harvest field with another object—to see the wagon piled up aloft with many sheaves, come creaking forth—making ruts as the toiling horses drag it from the field.
THE other Sunday morning we went into the corn fields to glean with Boaz and Ruth. And I trust that many of the timid and faint-hearted were encouraged to partake of the handfuls which are let fall on purpose for them by the order of our generous Lord. We go, today, to the gate of the harvest field with another object—to see the wagon piled up aloft with many sheaves, come creaking forth—making ruts as the toiling horses drag it from the field. We come with gratitude to God, thanking Him for the harvest, blessing Him for so much of favorable weather and praying Him to continue the same till the last shock of corn shall be brought in and the farmers everywhere shall shout the "Harvest Home." What a picture is a wagon loaded with corn for you and of me, as loaded with God's mercies! From our cradle up till now, every day has added a sheaf. What more could He do for us than He has done? He has daily loaded us with benefits. Despite the sad affliction in the North, we are nationally a favored people. Both in Providence and in gracious privilege, He has blessed us above all people that are upon the face of the earth. While other countries have been crushed by tyrants, ravaged by war, or left in the thick darkness of superstition, we are free—we are blessed with the light of Heaven—we have the Gospel in our streets, the Bible in our houses, and the Sunday as our choicest heritage. O England! You are like a farm wagon creaking under the mercies of God! Brothers and Sisters, we are each of us like the cart that is pressed down because it is full of sheaves. The innumerable mercies of God are piled upon us high as the mountains, nor can our memory recount the tokens of the tenderness and loving kindness of the Most High. Let us adore His goodness and yield Him our cheerful gratitude.
Behold, I am pressed under you - The marginal reading is better: “Behold, I will press your place, as a cart full of sheaves presseth.” I will bring over you the wheel of destruction; and it shall grind your place - your city and temple, as the wheel of a cart laden with sheaves presses down the ground, gravel, and stones over which it rolls.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And you gave the Nazirites to drink wine —lest they instruct you, for a drunken man is forbidden to instruct. And you gave the Nazirites to drink wine — Jonathan renders: And you misled your teachers with wine.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֛ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֥י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מֵעִ֖יק | meik | [am] about to make totter | H5781 → | |
| תַּחְתֵּיכֶ֑ם | tachteikhem | under you | H8478 → | |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תָּעִיק֙ | taik | it totters | H5781 → | |
| הָעֲגָלָ֔ה | haagalah | the cart | H5699 → | |
| הַֽמְלֵאָ֥ה | hamleah | <the> full | H4392 → | |
| לָ֖הּ | lah | <for> itself | ||
| עָמִֽיר׃ | ʾamir | cut grain | H5995 → |
הִנֵּ֛הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֥יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מֵעִ֖יק[am] about to make totter
meikH5781 →
תַּחְתֵּיכֶ֑םunder you
tachteikhemH8478 →
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
תָּעִיק֙it totters
taikH5781 →
הָעֲגָלָ֔הthe cart
haagalahH5699 →
הַֽמְלֵאָ֥ה<the> full
hamleahH4392 →
לָ֖הּ<for> itself
lah
עָמִֽיר׃cut grain
ʾamirH5995 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 7:13Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
it leads to
- Isaiah 43:24
You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Malachi 2:17
You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 43:24
Through
Isaiah 1:14I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.
it leads to
- Amos 5:21
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Amos 5:21
Through
Psalms 78:40How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
it leads to
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Isaiah 63:10
Through
Ezekiel 16:43Because you did not remember the days of your youth, but enraged Me with all these things, I will surely bring your deeds down upon your own head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 16:22
And in all your abominations and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your own blood.
- Ezekiel 16:22
Through
Malachi 2:17You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He…
it leads to
- 2 Peter 3:3–4
Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
- Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- 2 Peter 3:3–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Amos
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 466: “The Loaded Wagon” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory the Dialogist, MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 6:32.7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.