Amos 3:1
in Amos 3Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hear this word that Jehovah hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying,
KJV
Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
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This verse in Amos 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Amos, like Hosea, rebukes Israel directly, Judah indirectly. He had warned each nation separately. Now, ere he concentrates himself on Israel, he sums up what he had before said to Judah and in the Person of God. “Ye have been alike in My gifts to you, alike in your waste of them and your sins; alike ye shall be in your punishment.” What was said to Israel was said also to Judah: what was directed first to the former people, belongs to us, the later.
This site's exposition
the LORD has spoken against you
on Amos 3:1-2
The book's argument turns on "Only you have I known from all the families of the earth." The Hebrew verb yada, to know, is the word of covenant intimacy. The conclusion follows, "therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities," so privilege is the ground of a heavier reckoning.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
The word might be understood as having come against all of Israel, no longer taking Judah and Ephraim in part, but with the whole race gathered as if into one; for every tribe of Israel was brought up from Egypt. Therefore, with none being left out, he commands them to hear the things from God. And what were these things? For there are countless, he says, cities and countries throughout the whole world under heaven, and those in them are beyond number, but you from Israel out of all I have made chosen, I made myself manifest through many wonders, I delivered you from bitter and unbearable slavery, I declared you enviable and thrice-blessed, I have instructed you by law for what is pleasing to me, I have fortified you with my assistance, and I have brought you into the land promised to the fathers. But since you alone, he says, out of all who have been deemed worthy of so conspicuous a grace have not ceased grieving and have offended in many ways, for this reason I will henceforth demand of you an account of your folly, I will no longer tolerate those who sin and have an unreproved inclination for this. Therefore, to despise God and to disregard the master's will is a cause of destruction for anyone henceforth who has known him, or has been known by him, in the manner of spiritual kinship.
(Chapter 3, verses 1-2) Listen to the word that the Lord spoke against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought out of the land of Egypt, saying: You alone have I known out of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Let them know that the gracious cognizance God has taken of them, and the favours he has bestowed upon them, should not exempt them from the punishment due to them for their sins. Israel is a family that God brought up out of the land of Egypt, (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel,....
Of the sins that were found among them, by which God was provoked thus to threaten, thus to punish, that they might justify God in his controversy with them, and, unless they repented and reformed, might expect no other than that God should proceed in his controversy,
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In Judah is God known, and therefore Judah is more than any people known of God. God has known them, that is, he has chosen them, covenanted with them, and conversed with them as his acquaintance. Now, one would think, it should follow, "Therefore I will spare you, will connive at your faults, and excuse you." No: Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Compare Jer 8:3, and Mic 2:3, on "family" for the nation. However, as the prophecy following refers to the ten tribes, they must be chiefly, if not solely, meant: they were the majority of the nation; and so Amos concedes what they so often boasted, that they were the elect people of God [CALVIN], but implies that this only heightens their sins.
Against the whole family - That is, all, both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In this all the twelve tribes are included.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׁמְע֞וּ | shimu | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֣ר | hadavar | the word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֗ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֧ר | diber | he has spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | O people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמִּשְׁפָּחָ֔ה | hamishpachah | the clan | H4940 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֶעֱלֵ֛יתִי | heeleiti | I brought up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
שִׁמְע֞וּhear
shimuH8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֣רthe word
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֗ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֧רhe has spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֲלֵיכֶ֖םon you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
בְּנֵ֣יO people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַ֚לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַמִּשְׁפָּחָ֔הthe clan
hamishpachahH4940 →
אֲשֶׁ֧רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֶעֱלֵ֛יתִיI brought up
heeleitiH5927 →890 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 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
2 Chronicles 20:15And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Exodus 14:13–14
But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never…
- 1 Samuel 17:47
And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our…
- Deuteronomy 1:29–30
So I said to you: “Do not be terrified or afraid of them!
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
Through
Jeremiah 8:3And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- Revelation 9:6
In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.
- Revelation 9:6
Through
Jeremiah 31:1“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 30:22
“And you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
- Jeremiah 30:22
Through
Amos 2:10And I brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, that you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:7
Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these…
- Deuteronomy 2:7
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; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Amos; 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.