Amos 9:9
in Amos 9“For surely I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve; but not a pebble will reach the ground.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth.
KJV
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
⋯
This verse in Amos 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verses 9, 10.) Behold, I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will fall to the ground. All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, those who say: 'No disaster will come near or overtake us.' LXX: For behold, I will command and sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as one sifts with a sieve, and no fragment shall fall to the ground.
This site's exposition
the sinful kingdom
on Amos 9:8-10
The "eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom," to destroy it. "Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," judging the kingdom and sparing the people. Israel is shaken "as grain is sifted in a sieve; but not a pebble will reach the ground."
This site's exposition
as grain is sifted in a sieve
The Lord shakes Israel among the nations. Albert Barnes notes that Amos enlarges the word of Hosea that they would be wanderers among the nations, adding the violence of the shaking. Matthew Henry reads the pebble that never reaches the ground as the righteous, of whom none will be lost.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(1.) The righteous ones among them, that are as the solid wheat, shall none of them perish; they shall be delivered either from or through the common calamities of the kingdom; not the least grain shall fall on the earth, so as to be lost and forgotten--not the least stone (so the word is), for the good corn is weighty as a stone in comparison with that which we call light corn.
For, lo, I will command,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For lo! I will command! - Literally, “lo! see, I am commanding.” He draws their attention to it, as something which shall shortly be; and inculcates that He is the secret disposer of all which shall befall them. “And I will sift the house of Israel among all nations.” Amos enlarges the prophecy of Hosea, “they shall be wanderers among the nations.” He adds two thoughts; the violence with which they shall be shaken, and that this their unsettled life, to and fro, shall be not “among the nations” only, but “in all” nations.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
sift--I will cause the Israelites to be tossed about through all nations as corn is shaken about in a sieve, in such a way, however, that while the chaff and dust (the wicked) fall through (perish), all the solid grains (the godly elect) remain (are preserved), (Ro 11:26; compare Note, see on Jer 3:14). So spiritual Israel's final safety is ensured (Lu 22:32;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
We are led to make that remark by the text opening thus—"I will command, and I will sift"—as if the mere command were enough to effect the sifting. God has but to speak and it is done! And at His will His children shall be chastened with innumerable trials, or delivered in abundant mercies. The rills of comfort and the streams of woe, alike, flow at His bidding, or at His word are dried up. This prophecy is no doubt originally applicable to the long-afflicted seed of Israel. How terribly has it been fulfilled!
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
We are led to make that remark by the text opening thus—"I will command, and I will sift"—as if the mere command were enough to effect the sifting. God has but to speak and it is done! And at His will His children shall be chastened with innumerable trials, or delivered in abundant mercies. The rills of comfort and the streams of woe, alike, flow at His bidding, or at His word are dried up. This prophecy is no doubt originally applicable to the long-afflicted seed of Israel. How terribly has it been fulfilled! Have not the sons of Jacob been sifted among all nations? They have been removed to and fro as a shepherd's tent. They have known no abiding dwelling place. Since the day when, in answer to their cry, "His blood be on us, and on our children," the firebrand of the Roman soldier set their Temple on a blaze, and the plow of the Roman conqueror went over the bloodstained foundations of the beloved city—since that day they have been a nation scattered and peeled— sons of the weary foot—a nation without a land—a people without a language! The sufferings of the Jews are almost unparalleled. From the time of the famous siege of Jerusalem down to days almost within memory they have been a proscribed and persecuted people. Their name has been a word of scorn and their race a byword and a proverb. In almost every land they have been hunted like the partridges upon the mountain—he that killed them thought he did God service. The followers of that greatest of Jews, the meek and lowly Jesus, thought they displayed their Christianity by hounding to the death His Brethren according to the flesh! Perhaps no chapter in human history shows more how near akin man may be to a devil than the history of the Jews in Spain. But why instance one nation—all have been barbarous and inhuman—England had her share in their murder.
I will sift the house of Israel among all nations - I will disperse them over the face of the earth; and yet I will so order it that the good shall not be lost; for though they shall be mixed among distant nations, yet there shall be a general restoration of them to their own land. The least grain - צרור tseror, little stone, pebble, or gravel. Not one of them, howsoever little or contemptible, when the time comes, shall be left behind. All shall be collected in Christ, and brought into their own land.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“The evil shall not soon come upon us.” —Because of our iniquities, the evil shall not hasten to approach and to come.
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. 4 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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָֽנֹכִי֙ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מְצַוֶּ֔ה | metzaveh | [am] about to command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| וַהֲנִע֥וֹתִי | vahanioti | and I will shake | H5128 → | 40 times |
| בְכָֽל־ | vekhal- | among all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֖ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִנּ֙וֹעַ֙ | yinoa' | it is shaken | H5128 → | 40 times |
| בַּכְּבָרָ֔ה | bakevarah | in <the> sieve | H3531 → | |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִפּ֥וֹל | yipol | it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| צְר֖וֹר | tzeror | a pebble | H6872 → | |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | ʾaretz | [the] ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִנֵּ֤הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָֽנֹכִי֙I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מְצַוֶּ֔ה[am] about to command
metzavehH6680 →494 times
וַהֲנִע֥וֹתִיand I will shake
vahaniotiH5128 →40 times
בְכָֽל־among all
vekhal-H3605 →5413 times
הַגּוֹיִ֖םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יִנּ֙וֹעַ֙it is shaken
yinoa'H5128 →40 times
בַּכְּבָרָ֔הin <the> sieve
bakevarahH3531 →
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִפּ֥וֹלit will fall
yipolH5307 →435 times
צְר֖וֹרa pebble
tzerorH6872 →
אָֽרֶץ׃[the] ground
ʾaretzH776 →2504 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
Luke 22:31Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Zechariah 3:1
Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
- Job 1:6–12
One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
- Job 2:1–6
On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.
- Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our…
- 1 Peter 5:8
Through
Deuteronomy 28:64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:27–28
Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Leviticus 26:33
But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Jeremiah 16:13
So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you…
- Deuteronomy 4:27–28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
On this chapter
About Amos
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 825: “The Sieve” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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.