Amos 3:13
in Amos 3Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hear ye, and testify against the house of Jacob, saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts.
KJV
Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts,
⋯
This verse in Amos 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hear ye and testify ye in - (Rather unto or against ) the house of Israel; first “hear” yourselves, then “testify,” that is, solemnly “protest,” in the Name of God; and “bear witness unto” and “against” them, so that the solemn words may sink into them. It is of little avail to “testfy,” unless we first “hear;” nor can man “bear witness” to what he doth not know; nor will words make an “impression,” that is, leave a trace of themselves, be stamped in or on people’s souls, unless the soul which utters them have first hearkened unto them.
This site's exposition
testify in the house of Jacob
on Amos 3:13-15
The chapter's last oracle names Bethel by its function rather than its fame, the horns of the altar cut off and fallen to the ground, stripping the very place of asylum and atonement the northern kingdom had built to rival Jerusalem's own temple since Jeroboam I. Winter house and summer house together with the houses of ivory recall Ahab's ivory house named at 1 Kings 22:39, and the bench reads the list as evidence that the wealth financing Bethel's calves and Samaria's luxury was the same wealth taken from the poor named two chapters earlier. The great houses shall have an end closes chapter 3 on the same note chapter 1 opened with, judgment reaching from the surrounding nations' palaces to Israel's own, with no exemption left standing.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON THE SON, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 4(30).19 · Written before 390.
proposed
God's other titles fall into two distinct groups. The first group belongs to his power, the second to his providential ordering of the world, a twofold providential ordering—involving, and not involving, incarnation. Clear cases of titles that belong to his power are "Almighty" and "King"—whether it be of "glory," "the ages," "of the forces," or "of the beloved" or the "rulers"16—"Lord Sabbaoth," which means "lord of the armies," "forces" or "masters."
(Vers. 12, 13.) Thus says the Lord: Just as a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion two legs or the tip of an ear, so will the sons of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, on the corner of a bed and in Damascus on the sheets. LXX: Thus says the Lord: Just as a shepherd tears away from the mouth of a lion two legs or the tip of an ear, so will the sons of Israel who dwell in Samaria be torn away, in front of the tribe and in Damascus. In the beginning of Amos, where we discussed those verses: The Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem He will give His voice; and the beautiful pastures will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither, we said that He was using his art of speaking so that, since as a shepherd of sheep He knew nothing more terrifying than a lion, He would compare the anger of the Lord to lions. According to this meaning, he now also takes an example from what he had often seen, and thus describes that the small remaining remnants of the Assyrians must be extracted by hand: just as if a shepherd, with all the other parts devoured, were to snatch two legs or the outermost part of the ear from the jaws of a lion. And with the example of comparison set aside, he says that the sons of Israel, specifically the ten tribes who dwell in Samaria, will be extracted in the same way, from the edge of the bed and from the grab at Damascus. What seems to me to be explained in this way: we read in Isaiah that Rezin king of Aram, that is, the Syrians, who reigned in Damascus, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, with the intention of fighting against Judah, came (Isa. VII): concerning whom the Lord directs Achaz king of Judah and Jerusalem not to be afraid of the two half-burnt torches: because as a sign of complete liberation, the Virgin's conception and childbirth are shown to him. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob,....
8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord G OD hath spoken, who can but prophesy? The scope of these verses is to convince the people of Israel that God had a controversy with them. That which the prophet has to say to them is to let them know that the Lord has something to say against them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
testify in the house, &c.--that is, against the house of Jacob. God calls on the same persons as in Am 3:9, namely, the heathen Philistines and the Egyptians to witness with their own eyes Samaria's corruptions above described, so that none may be able to deny the justice of Samaria's punishment [MAURER].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Hear ye - This is an address to the prophet.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׁמְע֥וּ | shimu | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְהָעִ֖ידוּ | vehaidu | and warn | H5749 → | |
| בְּבֵ֣ית | beveit | <in> [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יַֽעֲקֹ֑ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֥י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַצְּבָאֽוֹת׃ | hatzevaot | <the> hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
שִׁמְע֥וּhear
shimuH8085 →1159 times
וְהָעִ֖ידוּand warn
vehaiduH5749 →
בְּבֵ֣ית<in> [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
יַֽעֲקֹ֑בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
אֲדֹנָ֥י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
הַצְּבָאֽוֹת׃<the> hosts
hatzevaotH6635 →485 times
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
Acts 20:21testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- 1 John 5:11–13
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- Acts 11:18
When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
- 2 Timothy 2:25–26
He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- Luke 24:47
and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
- Acts 2:38
Through
2 Kings 17:15They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and themselves became worthless, going after the surrounding…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:30–31
be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
- Deuteronomy 32:21
They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
- Romans 1:21–23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- Deuteronomy 12:30–31
About Amos
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON THE SON, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 4(30).19; 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.