Amos 2:9
in Amos 2Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
KJV
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
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This verse in Amos 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 9 and following) But I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of cedar trees, and he was strong like an oak tree. And I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from below. I am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you into the wilderness for forty years, so that you could possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men.
This site's exposition
whose height was like the height of the cedars
on Amos 2:9-11
The Lord's own recital of grace interrupts the charge sheet, and the bench reads the interruption as the argument's real hinge, since the sins just listed are set against benefits Israel could never claim to have earned. The Amorite destroyed before them, his height like the cedars and his roots and fruit both cut off, recalls the giant peoples of Numbers 13:33 whose land Israel simply received; the exodus from Egypt and forty years in the wilderness are named as gift rather than achievement, and prophets and Nazarites raised up from Israel's own sons as a further unearned mercy. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel presses the recital home as a question no honest hearer could answer no to.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They were of great stature ( whose height was like the height of the cedars ) and the people of Israel were as shrubs to them; and they were also of great strength, not only tall, but well-set: He was strong as the oaks. Their kingdom was eminent among the nations, and over-topped all its neighbours.
With tumult - Such as soldiers in fight or assaults make, when they carry all by force. The judge - The governor that is, every one of them. To err - Their idolatry blinded them, partly from the natural tendency of this sin, and partly from the just judgment of God.
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Yet - (and I) I (Emphatic) destroyed Such were “their” doings; such their worship of “their God.” And what had “God” done? what was it, which they thus requited? The Amorite - These, as one of the mightiest of the Canaanite tribes, stand in Moses for all.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Yet--My former benefits to you heighten your ingratitude. the Amorite--the most powerful of all the Canaanite nations, and therefore put for them all (Ge 15:16; Jos 7:7). height . . . like . . . cedars-- (Nu 13:32, 33). destroyed his fruit . . . above . . . roots . . . beneath--that is, destroyed him utterly (Job 18:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Yet destroyed I the Amorite - Here follow general heads of God’s mercies to them, and the great things he had done for them. 1. Bringing them out of Egypt. 2. Miraculously sustaining them in the wilderness forty years. 3. Driving out the Canaanites before them, and giving them possession of the promised land. 4. Raising up prophets among them to declare the Divine will. 5. And forming the holy institution of the Nazarites among them, to show the spiritual nature of his holy religion, Amo 2:9-11.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָ֨נֹכִ֜י | veanokhi | and I | H595 → | 359 times |
| הִשְׁמַ֤דְתִּי | hishmadti | I destroyed | H8045 → | 90 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | |
| מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם | mipeneihem | from before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כְּגֹ֤בַהּ | kegoah | [was] like [the] height of | H1363 → | |
| אֲרָזִים֙ | ʾarazim | cedars | H730 → | |
| גָּבְה֔וֹ | gaveho | height his | H1363 → | |
| וְחָסֹ֥ן | vechason | and [is] strong | H2634 → | |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כָּֽאַלּוֹנִ֑ים | kaalonim | like <the> oaks | H437 → | |
| וָאַשְׁמִ֤יד | vaashmid | and I destroyed | H8045 → | 90 times |
| פִּרְיוֹ֙ | piryo | fruit his | H6529 → | 119 times |
| מִמַּ֔עַל | mimaal | <from> above | H4605 → | |
| וְשָׁרָשָׁ֖יו | vesharashav | and roots his | H8328 → | |
| מִתָּֽחַת׃ | mitachat | <from> beneath | H8478 → |
וְאָ֨נֹכִ֜יand I
veanokhiH595 →359 times
הִשְׁמַ֤דְתִּיI destroyed
hishmadtiH8045 →90 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָֽאֱמֹרִי֙the Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →
מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔םfrom before them
mipeneihemH6440 →2123 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כְּגֹ֤בַהּ[was] like [the] height of
kegoahH1363 →
אֲרָזִים֙cedars
ʾarazimH730 →
גָּבְה֔וֹheight his
gavehoH1363 →
וְחָסֹ֥ןand [is] strong
vechasonH2634 →
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
כָּֽאַלּוֹנִ֑יםlike <the> oaks
kaalonimH437 →
וָאַשְׁמִ֤ידand I destroyed
vaashmidH8045 →90 times
פִּרְיוֹ֙fruit his
piryoH6529 →119 times
מִמַּ֔עַל<from> above
mimaalH4605 →
וְשָׁרָשָׁ֖יוand roots his
vesharashavH8328 →
מִתָּֽחַת׃<from> beneath
mitachatH8478 →
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
Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of…
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:24
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- 2 Peter 3:7
And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- Malachi 3:2
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Isaiah 47:14
Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.
- Isaiah 5:24
Through
Job 18:16The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
it leads to
- Hosea 9:16
Ephraim is struck down; their root is withered; they cannot bear fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs.
- Hosea 9:16
Through
Exodus 34:11Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
it leads to
- Exodus 33:2
And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Exodus 33:2
Through
Deuteronomy 3:11(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
it leads to
- Genesis 14:5
In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
- Genesis 14:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.