Amos 7:9
in Amos 7The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with My sword.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
KJV
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
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This verse in Amos 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 7 and following) This is what was shown to me: And behold, the Lord stood (in the Latin Vulgate, 'standing') on a wall made of stones, and in his hand was a trowel of a mason. And the Lord said to me, 'What do you see, Amos?' And I said, 'A trowel of a mason.' And the Lord said, 'Behold, I will set a trowel in the midst of my people Israel.
This site's exposition
a plumbline in his hand
on Amos 7:7-9
The Lord stands upon a wall built by a plumbline, plumbline still in hand, and asks Amos what he sees; the answer is the simplest word in the book, a plumbline. Verified: the tool that tests a wall against true vertical now tests Israel against the standard it was built to meet, and this time there is no plea for Jacob's smallness, because the wall itself is the issue, not the storm against it. I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more names the shift from probation to sentence, and the high places of Isaac and the house of Jeroboam are named as the specific ruin, the sanctuary and the throne both measured and found short.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
2 ) to put them to death. And, when God is coming to the ruin of a people, he is said to lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet; for when he punishes it is with exactness. It is now determined: " I will not again pass by them any more; they shall not be spared and reprieved as they have been; their punishment shall not be turned away, " ch. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
(1.) The body of the people shall be destroyed, with all those things that were their ornament and defence. They are here called Isaac as well as Israel, the house of Isaac (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The high places of Isaac - He probably calls the ten tribes by the name of Isaac, as well as of Israel, in order to contrast their deeds with the blameless, gentle piety of Isaac, as well as the much-tried faithfulness of Israel. It has been thought too that he alludes to the first meaning of the name of Isaac. His name was given from the joyous laughter at the unheard-of promise of God, to give children to those past age; their high places should be a laughter, but the laughter of mockery .
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the Hebrew here "Isaac" is written with s, instead of the usual ts; both forms mean "laughter"; the change of spelling perhaps expresses that their "high places of Isaac" may be well so called, but not as they meant by the name; for they are only fit to be laughed at in scorn.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate - Their total destruction is at hand. The high place of Isaac was Beer-sheba, where Isaac had built an altar to the Lord, Gen 26:25. This high place, which had been abused to idolatrous uses, was demolished by Josiah, king of Judah, as we read in 2Ki 23:8, for he defiled all the high places from Geba to Beersheba. I will rise against the house of Jeroboam - The Lord had promised to Jehu, the ancestor of Jeroboam, that his family should sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam, was the fourth in order after Jehu; and on him the threatening in this verse fell; for he was murdered by Shallum after he had reigned six months, and in him the family became extinct. See 2Ki 10:30; 2Ki 15:8-10.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙ | venashamu | and they will be made desolate | H8074 → | |
| בָּמ֣וֹת | bamot | [the] high places of | H1116 → | |
| יִשְׂחָ֔ק | yischak | Isaac | H3446 → | |
| וּמִקְדְּשֵׁ֥י | umikdeshei | and [the] sanctuaries of | H4720 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| יֶחֱרָ֑בוּ | yecheravu | they will be waste | H2717 → | |
| וְקַמְתִּ֛י | vekamti | and I will arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יָרָבְעָ֖ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| בֶּחָֽרֶב׃ פ | becharev | with the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
וְנָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙and they will be made desolate
venashamuH8074 →
בָּמ֣וֹת[the] high places of
bamotH1116 →
יִשְׂחָ֔קIsaac
yischakH3446 →
וּמִקְדְּשֵׁ֥יand [the] sanctuaries of
umikdesheiH4720 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
יֶחֱרָ֑בוּthey will be waste
yecheravuH2717 →
וְקַמְתִּ֛יand I will arise
vekamtiH6965 →628 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יָרָבְעָ֖םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
בֶּחָֽרֶב׃ פwith the sword
becharevH2719 →413 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
Genesis 46:1So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
it leads to
- Genesis 21:33
And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 28:10
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
- Genesis 21:33
Through
Amos 3:14On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:15
He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder,…
- Hosea 10:5–8
The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn with its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced in its glory— for it has been taken from them into…
- 2 Kings 23:15
Through
Amos 5:5Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
it leads to
- Hosea 4:15
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
- Amos 8:14
Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”
- Amos 4:4
“Go to Bethel and transgress; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
- Hosea 4:15
Through
Amos 8:14Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”
it leads to
- Amos 5:5
Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
- Amos 5:5
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; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
