In this chapter the prophet exhorts Israel to hear his lamentation over them for their impending ruin, Amos 5:1–3; nevertheless to seek the Lord, and all that is good; to forsake their idols, and repent of their sins, in hopes of finding mercy, and living comfortably; or otherwise they must expect…

Hear ye the word which I take up against you And which was not his own word, but the word of the Lord; and which he took up, by his direction as a heavy burden as some prophecies are called, and this was; and which, though against them, a reproof for their sins, and denunciation of punishment for…

The virgin of Israel is fallen The kingdom of Israel, so called, because it had never been subdued, or become subject to a foreign power, since it was a kingdom; or because, considered in its ecclesiastic state, it had been espoused to the Lord as a chaste virgin; and perhaps this may be ironically…

For thus saith the Lord God This is a reason why there were none to raise her up: since the city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred; that is, the city in which there were a thousand constantly going in and out; or which sent, caused to go out, or furnished, a thousand men upon…

For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel Or “yet” [[0]], notwithstanding all this, though such judgments were threatened and denounced, and such desolations should certainly come, in case of impenitence, and an obstinate continuance in a course of sin; yet hopes are given of finding mercy…

But seek not Bethel Do not go to Bethel, the place where one of Jeroboam’s calves was set up and worshipped, to consult the oracle, idols, and priests there; or to perform religious worship, which will be your ruin, if not prevented by another course of living: nor enter into Gilgal; another place…

Seek the Lord, and ye shall live This is, repeated to stir up unto it, because of their backwardness and slothfulness, and to show the importance and necessity of it.

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood This seems to be spoken to kings and judges, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe; in whose hands is the administration of justice, and who often pervert it, as these did here addressed and complained of; that which was the most useful and salubrious, and so the most…

Seek him that maketh the seven stars Which some connect with the preceding words, without a supplement, “they leave righteousness on the ground, who maketh the seven stars”; understanding it of Christ, the Lord our righteousness, who is made unto us righteousness, whom the Jews rejected and…

That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong Such as have been taken by an enemy, who have been stripped of their armour, and spoiled of all their goods and substance, and have no friends nor allies, nor anything to help themselves with; the Lord can supply them with strength, furnish them…

They hate him that rebuketh in the gate Openly and publicly in the courts of judicature: wicked judges hated the prophets of the Lord, such as Amos, who faithfully reproved them for the perversion of justice, even when they were upon the bench: or the people were so corrupt and degenerate, that…

Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor This seems to be spoken to the princes, judges, and civil magistrates, as Kimchi observes; who oppressed the poor and needy, and crushed them to the ground, trampled upon them, stripped them of the little substance they had, and left them…

For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins, &c.] Their sins were numerous, and of the first magnitude, attended with very heavy aggravations; and these with all their circumstances were well known to the omniscient God, and therefore he determined to punish them as he had…

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence at that time Not the prophets of the Lord, whose business it was at all times to reprove, and not hold their peace, let the consequence be what it would; though the Targum calls them teachers; but private persons, whose wisdom it would be to say nothing;…

Seek good, and not evil Seek not unto, or after, evil persons and evil things; not the company and conversation of evil men, which is infectious and dangerous; nor anything that is evil, or has the appearance of it, especially the evil of evils, sin; which is hateful to God, contrary to his nature…

Hate the evil, and love the good Evil is not only not to be sought, but to be hated, especially the evil of sin, because of its evil nature, and pernicious effects and consequences; and, if it was for no other reason but because it is hateful and abominable unto God, therefore they that love him…

Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus, &c.] The connection of these words is not with those that immediately precede, but with the whole context; seeing neither promises nor threats, exhortations, good advice, and intimations of grace and mercy, had no effect, at least upon the…

And in all vineyards shall be wailing The vines being destroyed, and no grapes to be gathered, and put into the press; when there used to be great shoutings, and large expressions of joy, at the gathering in of the vintage, and pressing the grapes; but now there shall be a different tone; see (Jer.

Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord Either the day of Christ’s coming in the flesh, as Cocceius interprets it; and which was desired by the people of Israel, not on account of spiritual and eternal salvation, but that they might be delivered by him from outward troubles and enemies, and…

As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him That is, should the day of the Lord come as they desired, they would not be the better for it; it would be only going from one trouble to another, like escaping Scylla, and falling into Charybdis: or as if a man, upon the sight of a lion, and at…

Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? &c.] The design of such a question is strongly to affirm, that, in this day of the Lord spoken of, there should be nothing but misery and distress, and no prosperity and happiness, at least to the wicked Israelites, or the unbelieving Jews:…

I hate, I despise your feast days Kimchi thinks this is said, and what follows, with respect to the kingdom of the house of Judah, which kept the feast the Lord commanded; but it is not necessary so to understand it; for doubtless the ten tribes imitated the worship at Jerusalem, and kept the…

Though ye offer me burnt offerings, and your meat offerings, I will not accept them The daily burnt offerings, morning and night, and others which were wholly the Lord’s; and the “minchah”, or bread offering, which went along with them; in which they thought to do God service, and to merit his…

Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs The ten tribes, very probably, imitated the, temple music at Jerusalem, both vocal and instrumental, and had their songs and hymns of praise, which they sung to certain tunes; but the music of these is called a noise, being very disagreeable to the…

But let judgments run down as waters Or “roll” [[13]]; in abundance, with great rapidity, bearing down all before them, which nothing can resist; signifying the plenty of justice done in the land, the full and free exercise of it, without any stoppage or intermission: and righteousness as a mighty…

Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings No; they were not offered to God, but to devils, to the golden calf, and to the host of heaven: so their fathers did in the wilderness forty years; where sacrifices were omitted during that time, a round number for a broken one, it being about thirty…

But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch The god of the Ammonites; (See Gill on Amos 1:13); and (See Gill on Jer. 7:31); called theirs, because they also worshipped it, and caused their seed to pass through the fire to it; and which was carried by them in a shrine, or portable tent or…

Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus The chief city of Syria; and which, as Aben Ezra says, lay to the east of the land of Israel, and was a very strong and fortified place: and Syria being in alliance with Israel, the Israelites might think of fleeing thither for refuge,…