Amos 8:2
in Amos 8“Amos, what do you see?” He asked. “A basket of summer fruit,” I replied. So the LORD said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel; I will no longer spare them.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said Jehovah unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
KJV
And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
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This verse in Amos 8
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA basket of summer fruit - כלוב קיץ kelub kayits, the end is come - בא הקץ ba hakkets: here is a paronomasia or play upon the words kayits, summer fruit, and kets, the end, both coming from similar roots. See the note on Eze 7:2 (note), where there is a similar play on the same word. I will not again pass by them any more - I will be no longer their Guardian.
This site's exposition
a basket of summer fruit
on Amos 8:1-3
The fourth vision is "a basket of summer fruit," and its meaning rests on a play: qayits, summer fruit, sounds like qets, the end. The basket pronounces "The end has come for My people Israel; I will no longer spare them," the plumb line's refusal, now with no plea.
This site's exposition
The end has come for My people Israel
The vision turns on a play of sound. John Calvin and Adam Clarke explain that the Hebrew for summer fruit, kayits, and the end, kets, differ by a single letter. Matthew Henry comments that if sinners do not make an end of sin, God will make an end of them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 8, verses 1 and following) This is what the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, 'Amos, what do you see?' And I said, 'A basket of summer fruit.' Then the Lord said to me, 'The end has come upon my people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,' declares the Lord God. 'Many shall be the dead bodies, cast out in every place. Silence!' LXX: This is what the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit.
The Reformation1 voice
But there is a similarity in the Hebrew words, which cannot be expressed either in Greek or Latin. qyts, kits means a summer-fruit, qts, kots, signifies an end: one letter only is inserted in the word, summer-fruit, which God showed in a basket; and then he adds that qts, kots, the end had come.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, If sinners do not make an end of sin, God will make an end of them, yea though they be his people Israel. 8 is here repeated as God's determined resolution, I will not again pass by them any more; they shall not be connived at as they have been, nor the judgment coming turned away.
) and that shall change their note. Oppressors are here called to an account for their abusing the poor; and their destruction is foretold, which will set them a mourning,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The end - Of God's patience towards Israel, the end of their ripening, they are now fully ripe, fit to be gathered. Pass by them - God had with admirable patience spared, but now he will no more pardon or spare.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he said, Amos, what seest thou?....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
N READING THROUGH THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS, you must have been struck at their singular variety. On looking a little more closely, you have at once perceived that every prophet has a manner and style peculiarly his own. Although God speaketh through them all, yet they lose not their individuality or originality of character. The breath which causes the music is the same, but no two of the instruments give forth precisely the same sound.
N READING THROUGH THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS, you must have been struck at their singular variety. On looking a little more closely, you have at once perceived that every prophet has a manner and style peculiarly his own. Although God speaketh through them all, yet they lose not their individuality or originality of character. The breath which causes the music is the same, but no two of the instruments give forth precisely the same sound. It is true they all utter the words of God; but each voice has its own special cry, so that though God is pre-eminently seen, yet the man is not lost. You do not find in searching through the prophets that Jeremiah copies the language of Isaiah. The herdsman Amos writes not like the wise counsellor Daniel; nor does Jonah borrow the notes of Malachi. Every man speaks after his own order. Whatever he was when God called him to be a prophet, that he remains. God consecrates what is already there, and doth not re-cast the man into a new mould. I believe this is an excellent lesson to all the ministers of Christ in these times. How much more useful might many men be if they would speak according to their own character, after their own style. But instead thereof, the young minister attaches himself to some eminent model, and copies, not only the expressions, but the very tones, the action, nay the whims and absurdities of the master whom he venerates. But if each man, instead of seeking to be another, would be himself; if he would consecrate his powers and talents to God as they are, and bring them out in their native simplicity whether they be polished or rough, the world would be conscious that a man had arisen who was in earnest, and not a mere player, an imitator of another.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
a basket of late figs Heb. כְּלוּב. A basket full of late figs, which are not good
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מָֽה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אַתָּ֤ה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| רֹאֶה֙ | roeh | seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| עָמ֔וֹס | amos | O Amos | H5986 → | 7 times |
| וָאֹמַ֖ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כְּל֣וּב | keluv | a basket of | H3619 → | |
| קָ֑יִץ | kayitz | summer fruit | H7019 → | 20 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלַ֗י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּ֤א | ba' | it has come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַקֵּץ֙ | haketz | the end | H7093 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַמִּ֣י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אוֹסִ֥יף | ʾosif | I will repeat | H3254 → | 212 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| עֲב֥וֹר | avor | to pass by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | <to> it |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מָֽה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
אַתָּ֤ה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
רֹאֶה֙seeing
roehH7200 →1300 times
עָמ֔וֹסO Amos
amosH5986 →7 times
וָאֹמַ֖רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
כְּל֣וּבa basket of
keluvH3619 →
קָ֑יִץsummer fruit
kayitzH7019 →20 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלַ֗יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
בָּ֤אit has come
ba'H935 →2568 times
הַקֵּץ֙the end
haketzH7093 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עַמִּ֣יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אוֹסִ֥יףI will repeat
ʾosifH3254 →212 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
עֲב֥וֹרto pass by
avorH5674 →556 times
לֽוֹ׃<to> it
lo
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
Micah 7:1Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.
it leads to
- Isaiah 28:4
The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest: Whoever sees it will take it in his hand…
- Isaiah 24:13
So will it be on the earth and among the nations, like a harvested olive tree, like a gleaning after a grape harvest.
- Hosea 9:10
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so…
- Isaiah 28:4
Through
Amos 7:8“Amos, what do you see?” asked the LORD. “A plumb line,” I replied. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will no longer spare them:
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:8
The LORD determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withdraw His hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls lament; together…
- Jeremiah 15:6
You have forsaken Me, declares the LORD. You have turned your back. So I will stretch out My hand against you and I will destroy you; I am weary of showing compassion.
- Ezekiel 7:2–9
“O son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says to the land of Israel: ‘The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
- Lamentations 2:8
Through
Ezekiel 3:7But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.
it leads to
- Luke 10:16
Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
- Luke 10:16
Through
Lamentations 4:18They stalked our every step, so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end drew near, our time ran out, for our end had come!
it leads to
- Psalms 140:11
May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
- Psalms 140:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
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; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 343: “A Basket of Summer Fruit” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.