Amos 2:15
in Amos 2The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself;
KJV
Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
⋯
This verse in Amos 2
Commentary
6 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 Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow,....
The judgment of Moab, another of the nations that bordered upon Israel. They are reckoned with and shall be punished for three transgressions and for four, as those before. Moab's fourth transgression, as theirs who were before set to the bar, was cruelty.
And the mighty, whose should protect and deliver others, shall not be able to deliver himself, to deliver his soul (so the word is), shall not save his life. Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, nor trust in it, but strengthen himself in the Lord his God, for in him is everlasting strength.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself - I believe all these sayings, Amo 2:13-16, are proverbs, to show the inutility of all attempts, even in the best circumstances, to escape the doom now decreed, because the cup of their iniquity was full.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְתֹפֵ֤שׂ | vetofes | and [the] handler of | H8610 → | |
| הַקֶּ֙שֶׁת֙ | hakeshet | the bow | H7198 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲמֹ֔ד | yaamod | he will stand | H5975 → | |
| וְקַ֥ל | vekal | and a [person] swift | H7031 → | |
| בְּרַגְלָ֖יו | beraglav | on feet his | H7272 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְמַלֵּ֑ט | yemalet | he will save | H4422 → | 95 times |
| וְרֹכֵ֣ב | verokhev | and [the] rider of | H7392 → | |
| הַסּ֔וּס | hasus | the horse | H5483 → | 140 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְמַלֵּ֖ט | yemalet | he will save | H4422 → | 95 times |
| נַפְשֽׁוֹ׃ | nafsho | life his | H5315 → | 754 times |
וְתֹפֵ֤שׂand [the] handler of
vetofesH8610 →
הַקֶּ֙שֶׁת֙the bow
hakeshetH7198 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲמֹ֔דhe will stand
yaamodH5975 →
וְקַ֥לand a [person] swift
vekalH7031 →
בְּרַגְלָ֖יוon feet his
beraglavH7272 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְמַלֵּ֑טhe will save
yemaletH4422 →95 times
וְרֹכֵ֣בand [the] rider of
verokhevH7392 →
הַסּ֔וּסthe horse
hasusH5483 →140 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְמַלֵּ֖טhe will save
yemaletH4422 →95 times
נַפְשֽׁוֹ׃life his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Ezekiel 39:3Then I will strike the bow from your left hand and dash down the arrows from your right hand.
it leads to
- Psalms 76:3
There He shattered the flaming arrows, the shield and sword and weapons of war. Selah
- Hosea 1:5
And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
- Jeremiah 21:4–5
this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans…
- Psalms 46:9
He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
- Ezekiel 20:21–24
But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I…
- Psalms 76:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Amos
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.