The Meaning of Amos 4:11 Explained

Amos 4:11

KJV: I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

YLT: I have overturned among you, Like the overturn by God of Sodom and Gomorrah, And ye are as a brand delivered from a burning, And ye have not turned back unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Darby: I have overthrown among you, like God's overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.

ASV: I have overthrown cities among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.

Discover Amos 4:11

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Amos 4:11?

MEANING: What does Amos 4:11 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Amos 4:11 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Amos 4:11?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I have overthrown  [some] of you, as God  overthrew  Sodom  and Gomorrah,  and ye were as a firebrand  plucked out  of the burning:  yet have ye not returned  unto me, saith  the LORD. 

What does Amos 4:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Even the overthrow of some Israelite cities did not move the Israelites to repent (cf. Deuteronomy 28:62). Comparing these overthrown cities to Sodom and Gomorrah indicates their proverbial complete destruction (cf. Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 13:19; Jeremiah 50:40; Zephaniah 2:9), not necessarily the method of their destruction. God had rescued His people like burning sticks from a conflagration, as He had formerly extracted Lot and his daughters from Sodom ( Genesis 19). The Assyrian kings customarily sowed the ground of a conquered area with salt so nothing would grow there. [1]
In all, Amos mentioned seven disciplinary judgments that God had brought on the Israelites: famine ( Amos 4:6), drought, ( Amos 4:7-8), plant diseases ( Amos 4:9), insects ( Amos 4:9), plague ( Amos 4:10), warfare ( Amos 4:10), and military defeat ( Amos 4:11). God sometimes permits His people to suffer so they will turn back to Him (cf. Hebrews 12:6), but the Israelites had not done that.

Context Summary

Amos 4:1-11 - Calamities Are God's Warnings
Speaking after the imagery of his vocation, Amos the herdsman compares the rich and powerful of Samaria, who were living in luxury and wantonness, to the kine of Bashan, a breed of cattle notorious for strength and stubbornness. They broke through hedges, threw down fences, trespassed on neighboring pastures, and gored lesser cattle. The judges and magistrates were in cruel collusion with the masters who oppressed the serfs, and were willing to condone breaches of the law for drink. Sacrifices and tithes were rigorously maintained, but the entire religious system was rotten.
Already heavy judgment had fallen upon the degenerate people. There had been famine, the intermission of the rainy seasons, blasting and mildew, pestilence and murrain-but all in vain. That God was behind these phenomena was obvious from the fact that rain showers had fallen in one place and not in another. There had been a method in God's dealings that indicated a personal agency. The worst cities had suffered the most. But the people had refused to lay it to heart. Note the sorrowful refrain-yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. It may be that some reader of these lines may find herein a clue to the mysterious succession of strokes that have befallen himself and his household. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 4

1  He reproves Israel for oppression,
4  for idolatry,
6  and for their incorrigibleness

What do the individual words in Amos 4:11 mean?

I overthrew [some] of you as overthrew God - Sodom and Gomorrah and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning and yet not you have returned to Me says Yahweh -
הָפַ֣כְתִּי בָכֶ֗ם כְּמַהְפֵּכַ֤ת אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־ סְדֹ֣ם וְאֶת־ עֲמֹרָ֔ה וַתִּהְי֕וּ כְּא֖וּד מֻצָּ֣ל מִשְׂרֵפָ֑ה‪‬‪‬ וְלֹֽא־ שַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָדַ֖י נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה ס

הָפַ֣כְתִּי  I  overthrew 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: הָפַךְ  
Sense: to turn, overthrow, overturn.
בָכֶ֗ם  [some]  of  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
כְּמַהְפֵּכַ֤ת  as  overthrew 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מַהְפֵּכָה  
Sense: overthrow, destruction.
אֱלֹהִים֙  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
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.
סְדֹ֣ם  Sodom 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סְדֹם  
Sense: a Canaanite city, usually paired with Gomorrah, located in the area of the Dead Sea and the Jordan river; both cities destroyed by God in judgment.
עֲמֹרָ֔ה  Gomorrah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲמֹרָה  
Sense: the twin-city in evil with Sodom, both destroyed in judgment by God with fire from heaven.
וַתִּהְי֕וּ  and  you  were 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כְּא֖וּד  like  a  firebrand 
Parse: Preposition, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אוּד  
Sense: brand, fire brand.
מֻצָּ֣ל  plucked 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
מִשְׂרֵפָ֑ה‪‬‪‬  from  the  burning 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׂרֵפָה  
Sense: burning.
וְלֹֽא־  and  yet  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
שַׁבְתֶּ֥ם  you  have  returned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
עָדַ֖י  to  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to Amos 4:11?

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