Amos 2:7
in Amos 2They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name:
KJV
That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
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This verse in Amos 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBecause the example of the patriarch seemed injurious to many who indulged their flesh so far as to live with sisters in their life time. What ought to be my course? To quote the Scriptures, or to work out what they leave unsaid? In these laws it is not written that a father and son ought not to have the same concubine, but, in the prophet, it is thought deserving of the most extreme condemnation, "A man and his father" it is said "will go in unto the same maid."
This site's exposition
they sold the righteous for silver
on Amos 2:6-8
Israel's oracle, the seventh and longest, is the one the whole chapter has been building toward, and its charges are social rather than military, a righteous man sold for silver and a poor man for the price of a pair of sandals, judges and creditors turning small debts into slavery. The pledge garments kept overnight against Exodus 22:26-27's own law and laid beside every altar, and wine bought with money exacted as fines drunk in the house of their god, describe a religious life financed by the very oppression the law forbids, worship and injustice sharing one roof. A father and his son going in unto the same maid to profane the Lord's holy name is read by the bench as either cultic prostitution attached to the shrines or a plain abuse of a household servant, the readings named without a verdict pressed on the reader.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Vers. 6 seqq.) Thus says the Lord: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word: Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and they force the lowly off the path. Son and father go to the same prostitute, profaning my holy name. Upon garments taken in pledge, they recline beside every altar; and the wine of those who have been fined, they drink in the house of their God.
In these laws it is not written that a father and son ought not to have the same concubine, but, in the prophet, it is thought deserving of the most extreme condemnation, "A man and his father" it is said "will go in unto the same maid." And how many other forms of unclean lust have been found out in the devils' school, while divine scripture is silent about them, not choosing to befoul its dignity with the names of filthy things and condemning their uncleanness in general terms! As the apostle Paul says, "Fornication and all uncleanness ... let it not be once named among you as becometh saints," thus including the unspeakable doings of both males and females under the name of uncleanness. It follows that silence certainly does not give license to voluptuaries.
They so multiplied their ill-gotten gains as to betray the rights of the needy for the basest profit (the meaning of the phrase "sandals trampling the dust of the earth," which was clear proof of their setting no store by justice, especially as they easily …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
That pant after the dust of the earth - Literally, “the panters!” with indignation. Not content with having rent from him the little hereditary property which belonged to each Israelite, these creditors grudged him even the “dust,” which, as a mourner, he strewed on his head Job 2:12, since it too was “earth.” Covetousness, when it has nothing to feed it, craves for what is absurd or impossible. What was Naboth’s vineyard to a king of Israel with his “ivory palace?” What was Mordecai’s refusal to bow to one in honor like Haman? What a trivial gain to a millionaire?
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
When God's people sin in the face of light, they often fall lower than even those who know not God. go in unto the same maid--from Am 2:8 it seems likely "the damsel" meant is one of the prostitutes attached to the idol Astarte's temple: prostitution being part of her filthy worship. to profane my . . . name--Israel in such abominations, as it were, designedly seeks to insult God.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַשֹּׁאֲפִ֤ים | hashoafim | those [who] trample | H7602 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֲפַר־ | ʾafar- | [the] dust of | H6083 → | |
| אֶ֙רֶץ֙ | ʾeretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּרֹ֣אשׁ | berosh | on [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| דַּלִּ֔ים | dalim | poor [people] | H1800 → | 47 times |
| וְדֶ֥רֶךְ | vederekh | and [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| עֲנָוִ֖ים | ʾanavim | humble [people] | H6035 → | |
| יַטּ֑וּ | yatu | they turn aside | H5186 → | 214 times |
| וְאִ֣ישׁ | veish | and a man | H376 → | |
| וְאָבִ֗יו | veaviv | and father his | H1 → | |
| יֵֽלְכוּ֙ | yelekhu | they go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ה | hanaarah | the young woman | H5291 → | |
| לְמַ֥עַן | lemaan | so as | H4616 → | 272 times |
| חַלֵּ֖ל | chalel | to profane | H2490 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵׁ֥ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| קָדְשִֽׁי׃ | kodshi | holiness my | H6944 → |
הַשֹּׁאֲפִ֤יםthose [who] trample
hashoafimH7602 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עֲפַר־[the] dust of
ʾafar-H6083 →
אֶ֙רֶץ֙[the] earth
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
בְּרֹ֣אשׁon [the] head of
beroshH7218 →599 times
דַּלִּ֔יםpoor [people]
dalimH1800 →47 times
וְדֶ֥רֶךְand [the] way of
vederekhH1870 →707 times
עֲנָוִ֖יםhumble [people]
ʾanavimH6035 →
יַטּ֑וּthey turn aside
yatuH5186 →214 times
וְאִ֣ישׁand a man
veishH376 →
וְאָבִ֗יוand father his
veavivH1 →
יֵֽלְכוּ֙they go
yelekhuH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔הthe young woman
hanaarahH5291 →
לְמַ֥עַןso as
lemaanH4616 →272 times
חַלֵּ֖לto profane
chalelH2490 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵׁ֥ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
קָדְשִֽׁי׃holiness my
kodshiH6944 →
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 10:2to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.
it leads to
- Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Malachi 3:5
Through
Micah 2:2They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:8
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.
- Amos 8:4
Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land,
- Jeremiah 22:17
“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
- Isaiah 5:8
Through
Amos 5:12For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
it leads to
- Amos 2:6–7
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 5:10
There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- Amos 2:6–7
Through
Ezekiel 22:11One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:15
You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.
- 2 Samuel 13:14
But Amnon refused to listen to her, and being stronger, he violated her and lay with her.
- Leviticus 18:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Amos
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Basil of Caesarea, Letter CLX; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON AMOS 2:6–8.