This chapter contains the fifth and last vision the prophet saw; which represents the certain desolation of the land, city, and temple, and the slaughter of all sorts of persons, high and low, none should escape it, Amos 9:1; be they where they would, they should be found out, whether in hell or…

And I saw the Lord standing upon the altar Either upon the altar of burnt offerings in the temple of Jerusalem, whither he had removed from the cherubim; signifying his being about to depart, and that he was displeased, and would not be appeased by sacrifice: so the Targum, “said Amos the prophet,…

Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them, &c.] That is, they that endeavour to make their escape from their enemies, though they seek for places of the greatest secrecy and privacy; not hell, the place of the damned; nor the grave, the repository of the dead; neither of which…

And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel One of the highest mountains in the land of Israel; in the woods upon it, and caves in it: I will search and take them out from thence: by directing their enemies where to find them: so the Targum, “if they think to be hid in the tops of the…

And though they go into captivity before their enemies Alluding to the manner in which captives are led, being put before their enemies, and so carried in triumph; see ; though some think this refers to their going voluntarily into a foreign country, in order to escape danger, as Johanan the son of…

And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt Which is another reason why it is impossible to escape the hands of a sin revenging God, because he is omnipotent as well as omniscient; he is the Lord of all the armies above and below; and if he but touch the land, any…

It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven The three elements, according to Aben Ezra, fire, air, and water; the orbs, as Kimchi, one above another; a word near akin to this is rendered “his chambers”, which are the clouds, (Ps. 104:3, Ps.

Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord And therefore had no reason to think they should be delivered because they were the children of Israel, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; since they were no more to God than the children of the Ethiopians, having…

Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, &c.] God is omniscient, and his eyes are everywhere, and upon all persons, good and bad, and upon all kingdoms, especially upon a sinful nation: “the sinning kingdom” [[12]], or “the kingdom of sin” [[13]], as it may be rendered; that is…

For, lo, I will command What follows; which is expressive of afflictive and trying dispensations of Providence, which are according to the will of God, by his appointment and order, and overruled for his glory, and the good of his people: and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as…

All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword By the sword of the Assyrians, and of others, into whose countries they shall flee for shelter, (Amos 9:1, Amos 9:4) ; even all such who are notorious sinners, abandoned to their lusts, obstinate and incorrigible; live in sin, and continue…

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen Not in the day of Israel’s ruin, but in the famous Gospel day, so often spoken of by the prophets; and this prophecy is referred to the times of the Messiah by the ancient [[15]] Jews; and one of the names they give him is taken…

That they may possess the remnant or Edom, and of all the Heathen, which are called by my name Or that these may be possessed; that is, by David or Christ, who shall have the Heathen given him for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, ; when the remnant,…

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord Or “are coming” [[23]]; and which will commence upon the accomplishment of the above things, when the church of Christ is raised up and established, the Jews converted, and the Gentiles brought in: that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper; or “meet the…

And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, &c.] Which is not to be understood of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and their return from thence, with whom some of the ten tribes of Israel were mixed; for they were not then so planted in their own land as no more to be pulled…

And I will plant them upon their land The land of Israel, as trees are planted; and they shall take root and flourish, and abound with all good things, temporal and spiritual: and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God; by which it appears…