Amos 5:24
But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
BSB
ASV
But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
KJV
But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
one of the theme's most-quoted lines — justice as a mighty, unstoppable stream, set against Israel's hollow fe…
Commentary on Amos (420)
(Verse 24) And judgment will be revealed like water, and justice like a strong torrent. LXX: And it will roll like water, and justice like an impassable torrent. Just as water, when it flows downhill, uncovers what it previously covered and exposes it to the eyes of all, so will the judgment and justice of God, which once judged His own people, be revealed to all, and it will be carried like the strongest torrent. Whatever it seizes, it drags along with it, and it does not allow anything to stand in its way.
Let judgment run down - Let the execution of justice be everywhere like the showers that fall upon the land to render it fertile; and let righteousness in heart and life be like a mighty river, or the Jordan, that shall wind its course through the whole nation, and carry every abomination into the Dead Sea. Let justice and righteousness prevail everywhere, and sweep their contraries out of the land.
The sin of Israel in Amos' time is the very sin of their forefathers, mocking God with worship, while at the same time worshipping idols (compare Eze 20:39). It was clandestine in Moses' time, else he would have put it down; he was aware generally of their unfaithfulness, though not knowing the particulars (De 31:21, 27).
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Micah 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
leads to
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your…
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.…
Through
Hosea 6:6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
leads to
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of…
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
