Amos 9:5
in Amos 9The Lord GOD of Hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all its dwellers mourn—all the land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, is he that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like the River, and shall sink again, like the River of Egypt;
KJV
And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
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This verse in Amos 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And who is He who should do this? God, at whose command are all creatures. This is the hope of His servants; from where Hezekiah begins his prayer, “Lord of hosts, God of Israel” Isa 37:16. This is the hopelessness of His enemies. “That toucheth the land” or “earth, and it shall melt,” rather, “hath melted.” His Will and its fulfillment are one. “He spake, and it was; He commanded and it stood fast” Psa 33:9. His Will is first, as the cause of what is done; in time they co-exist.
This site's exposition
toucheth the land
on Amos 9:5-6
The third of the book's three doxologies closes the judgment section (after 4:13 and 5:8-9), the Lord who touches the land until it melts and rises like the flood of Egypt, the same image 8:8 already used, now paired with the Lord who builds his stories in the heaven and calls for the waters of the sea. The bench reads the repeated hymn form as the book's own signature, naming the Creator at every hinge so the reader cannot mistake the coming judgment for anything less than the world's own maker acting in it, closed by the same anchor the whole book repeats, The Lord is his name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 2 seqq.) If they descend to the depths, my hand will bring them up from there. And if they ascend to heaven, I will bring them down from there. And if they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, I will search and take them from there. And if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, I will command the serpent to bite them. And if they go into captivity before their enemies, I will command the sword to kill them. I will set my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt,....
Very miserable is the case of those who have the Lord of hosts against them, for they have hosts against them, the whole creation at war with them. (2.) He is the Creator and governor of the upper world: It is he that builds his stories in the heavens, the celestial orbs, or spheres, one over another, as so many stories in a high and stately palace.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
As Amos had threatened that nowhere should the Israelites be safe from the divine judgments, he here shows God's omnipotent ability to execute His threats. So in the case of the threat in Am 8:8, God is here stated to be the first cause of the mourning of "all that dwell" in the land, and of its rising "like a flood, and of its being "drowned, as by the flood of Egypt."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The Lord God of hosts is he - So powerful is he that a touch of his hand shall melt or dissolve the land, and cause all its inhabitants to mourn. Here is still a reference to the earthquake. See the note Amo 8:8, where the same images are used.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאדֹנָ֨י | vadonai | and [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| הַצְּבָא֗וֹת | hatzevaot | of <the> hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| הַנּוֹגֵ֤עַ | hanogea' | who touches | H5060 → | |
| בָּאָ֙רֶץ֙ | baaretz | <in> the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַתָּמ֔וֹג | vatamog | and it melted | H4127 → | |
| וְאָבְל֖וּ | veavelu | and they mourn | H56 → | 39 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| י֣וֹשְׁבֵי | yooshevei | [the] inhabitants | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָ֑הּ | vah | in it | ||
| וְעָלְתָ֤ה | vealtah | and it rises | H5927 → | 890 times |
| כַיְאֹר֙ | khayor | like the River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| כֻּלָּ֔הּ | kulah | all of it | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| וְשָׁקְעָ֖ה | veshakeah | and it sinks | H8257 → | |
| כִּיאֹ֥ר | kior | like [the] River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם | mitzrayim | of Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַאדֹנָ֨יand [the] Lord
vadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
הַצְּבָא֗וֹתof <the> hosts
hatzevaotH6635 →485 times
הַנּוֹגֵ֤עַwho touches
hanogea'H5060 →
בָּאָ֙רֶץ֙<in> the earth
baaretzH776 →2504 times
וַתָּמ֔וֹגand it melted
vatamogH4127 →
וְאָבְל֖וּand they mourn
veaveluH56 →39 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
י֣וֹשְׁבֵי[the] inhabitants
yoosheveiH3427 →1079 times
בָ֑הּin it
vah
וְעָלְתָ֤הand it rises
vealtahH5927 →890 times
כַיְאֹר֙like the River
khayorH2975 →65 times
כֻּלָּ֔הּall of it
kulahH3605 →5413 times
וְשָׁקְעָ֖הand it sinks
veshakeahH8257 →
כִּיאֹ֥רlike [the] River
kiorH2975 →65 times
מִצְרָֽיִםof Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 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
Revelation 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
- 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.
- Matthew 25:31
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
- Daniel 2:35
Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found.…
- Romans 2:5
But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
- Revelation 21:1
Through
Isaiah 64:1If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence,
it leads to
- Micah 1:3–4
For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
- Exodus 19:18–19
Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.
- Revelation 20:11
Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Micah 1:3–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
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; Jamieson, Fausset & 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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.