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Amos 2:8

in Amos 2

They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. And in the house of their God, they drink wine obtained through fines.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined.

KJV

And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

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This verse in Amos 2

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Amos · Written before 420.

(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.

This site's exposition

they sell the righteous for silver

on Amos 2:6-8

Israel's last oracle brings social charges: "they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals," debt slavery for a trifle. Garments "taken in pledge" are spread "beside every altar," and "wine obtained through fines" is drunk in the house of their God.

This site's exposition

garments taken in pledge

The garment taken in pledge was the cloak, which Albert Barnes notes was a poor man's bedding, the reason Exodus 22:26-27 ordered it returned. The creditors lay on it beside the altars. Barnes says they condensed sin, blending idolatry, sensuality, cruelty and the breach of God's commandments into one act.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Cyril of Jerusalem

CATECHETICAL LECTURE 12:6 · Written before 386.

proposed

Cain was the first murderer. Afterwards a deluge engulfed the earth because of the exceeding wickedness of humanity. Fire came down from heaven upon the people of Sodom because of their corruption. Subsequently God elected Israel, but even Israel became perverse, and the chosen people were wounded. For while Moses stood on the mountain before God, the people worshiped a calf in the place of God. In the days of their lawgiver Moses, who said, "You shall not commit adultery," a man dared to enter a brothel and be wanton.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the L ORD . 12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v11-13

And they laid themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

They lay themselves down - They condensed sin. By a sort of economy in the toil of sinning, they blended many sins in one; idolatry, sensuality, cruelty, and, in all, the express breach of God’s commandments. The “clothes” here are doubtless the same as the “raiment” in the law, the large enfolding cloak, which by day was wrapped over the long loose shirt , the poor man’s only dress besides, and by night was his only bedding Exo 22:26-

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְעַל־and on

    veal-H5921 →5755 times

  • בְּגָדִ֤יםgarments

    begadimH899 →

  • חֲבֻלִים֙taken in pledge

    chavulimH2254 →

  • יַטּ֔וּthey stretch out

    yatuH5186 →214 times

  • אֵ֖צֶלbeside

    ʾetzelH681 →

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • מִזְבֵּ֑חַaltar

    mizbeachH4196 →401 times

  • וְיֵ֤יןand [the] wine of

    veyeinH3196 →141 times

  • עֲנוּשִׁים֙fines

    ʾanushimH6064 →

  • יִשְׁתּ֔וּthey drink

    yishtuH8354 →217 times

  • בֵּ֖ית[the] house of

    beitH1004 →2046 times

  • אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃god their

    ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Deuteronomy 24:12–17If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession;9 worksExodus 22:26–27If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset,8 worksAmos 6:6You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.4 worksHosea 7:14They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.4 worksEzekiel 18:7He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.3 works1 Corinthians 10:7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.”2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Amos 4:1Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”2 worksJudges 9:27And after they had gone out into the fields, gathered grapes from their vineyards, and trodden them, they held a festival and went into the house of their god; and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.2 works1 Corinthians 8:10For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols?2 works1 Corinthians 10:21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.2 worksEzekiel 23:41You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,2 worksEzekiel 18:12He oppresses the poor and needy; he commits robbery and does not restore a pledge. He lifts his eyes to idols; he commits abominations.2 worksHosea 4:8They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.2 worksAmos 6:4You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.2 worksEsther 1:6Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones.2 worksExodus 32:6So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.2 worksEzekiel 33:15if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—then he will surely live; he will not die.2 worksHosea 3:1Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and offer raisin cakes to idols.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Corinthians 10:7

    Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.”

    it leads to

    • Exodus 32:6–8

      So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.

    • Psalms 106:19–20

      At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image.

    • 1 Corinthians 6:9

      Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…

    • Deuteronomy 9:12

      And the LORD said to me, “Get up and go down from here at once, for your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned aside from…

    • 1 Corinthians 10:14

      Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

  • Through

    Ezekiel 18:7

    He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 18:16

      He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.

    • Ezekiel 18:12

      He oppresses the poor and needy; he commits robbery and does not restore a pledge. He lifts his eyes to idols; he commits abominations.

    • Exodus 22:26

      If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset,

Where this verse is studied

About Amos

The Prophet Amos, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Amos, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Amos: the study guide →Read Amos 2 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Jerusalem, CATECHETICAL LECTURE 12:6; 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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Amos 2 →