The Meaning of Amos 2:9 Explained

Amos 2:9

KJV: Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

YLT: And I -- I have destroyed the Amorite from before them, Whose height is as the height of cedars, And strong he is as the oaks, And I destroy his fruit from above, And his roots from beneath.

Darby: But I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was as the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; but I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

ASV: Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet destroyed  I the Amorite  before  them, whose height  [was] like the height  of the cedars,  and he [was] strong  as the oaks;  yet I destroyed  his fruit  from above,  and his roots  from beneath. 

What does Amos 2:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Israelites had committed the previous breaches of covenant in spite of God having driven the giant Amorites out of the Promised Land for them (cf. Numbers 13:22-33). These enemies had been as strong and tall as cedar or oak trees (cf. Numbers 13:28-33; Deuteronomy 1:26-28), but the Lord destroyed them completely, from fruit above to root below.
"Destruction of "his fruit" left no possibility of future life from seed. Destruction of "roots" left no possibility of future life from the tree. God is able to deal decisively with the enemies of his people." [1]
Here the Amorites, the most formidable of the native inhabitants, represent all of them, by metonymy (cf. Genesis 15:16). The defeat of these giants demonstrated Yahweh"s superior power as well as His love for His people. By implication, if God drove the Amorites out of the land, He might also drive the Israelites out.

Context Summary

Amos 2:6-16 - Neither Shall Israel Escape
First the prophet enumerates Israel's sins. They were unjust to the poor, carrying their extortions to such lengths as to goad the poor to desperation. They were unchaste. They held their idolatrous festivities in idol shrines while they unjustly detained and confiscated the pledges of the poor. They perpetrated shamelessly the enormous crimes for which the Amorites were dispossessed by Joshua and their fathers. But notice nothing is said of that great general and his valiant soldiers; our mind is carried beyond all human agency to the Eternal. I destroyed, etc. Amos 2:9.
The ripple of the ocean on the beach which you hear and see is due to the action of the sun or moon; so the changes that men attribute to political combinations must ultimately be traced back to the divine will in its permissive or decretive energy. One of the most graphic pictures is in Amos 2:13. We can almost see the heavily laden wagon dragged from the harvest field. The wheels creak and groan; the oxen advance with difficulty; the timbers threaten to succumb. So God bears up the world; and thus did Jesus stoop and sweat great drops of blood under the sins of the whole world. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 2

1  God's judgments upon Moab,
4  upon Judah,
6  and upon Israel
9  God complains of their ingratitude

What do the individual words in Amos 2:9 mean?

And yet [it was] I [who] destroyed - the Amorite before them Whose like height [was] the cedars the height and [as] strong he [was] as the oaks and yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath
וְאָ֨נֹכִ֜י הִשְׁמַ֤דְתִּי אֶת־ הָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר כְּגֹ֤בַהּ אֲרָזִים֙ גָּבְה֔וֹ וְחָסֹ֥ן ה֖וּא כָּֽאַלּוֹנִ֑ים וָאַשְׁמִ֤יד פִּרְיוֹ֙ מִמַּ֔עַל וְשָׁרָשָׁ֖יו מִתָּֽחַת

וְאָ֨נֹכִ֜י  And  yet  [it  was]  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אָנׄכִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
הִשְׁמַ֤דְתִּי  [who]  destroyed 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הָֽאֱמֹרִי֙  the  Amorite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱמֹרִי  
Sense: one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt.
מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם  before  them 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
אֲשֶׁ֨ר  Whose 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
כְּגֹ֤בַהּ  like  height  [was] 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: גֹּבַהּ  
Sense: height, exaltation.
אֲרָזִים֙  the  cedars 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֶרֶז  
Sense: cedar.
גָּבְה֔וֹ  the  height 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: גֹּבַהּ  
Sense: height, exaltation.
וְחָסֹ֥ן  and  [as]  strong 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָסׄן  
Sense: strong.
ה֖וּא  he  [was] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
כָּֽאַלּוֹנִ֑ים  as  the  oaks 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אַלֹּון  
Sense: oak, great tree.
וָאַשְׁמִ֤יד  and  yet  I  destroyed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
פִּרְיוֹ֙  his  fruit 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פְּרִי  
Sense: fruit.
מִמַּ֔עַל  above 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: מַעַל 
Sense: higher part, upper part adv.
וְשָׁרָשָׁ֖יו  and  his  roots 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שֹׁרֶשׁ  
Sense: root.
מִתָּֽחַת  beneath 
Parse: Preposition-m
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.