The Meaning of Amos 5:1 Explained

Amos 5:1

KJV: Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

YLT: Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:

Darby: Hear this word, a lamentation, which I take up against you, O house of Israel.

ASV: Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

Discover Amos 5:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Amos 5:1?

MEANING: What does Amos 5:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Amos 5:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Amos 5:1?

What is the context of Amos 5:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hear ye this word which I take up against you, [even] a lamentation, O house of Israel.

What does Amos 5:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This message begins as the previous two did, with a call to hear the Lord"s word. However here Amos announced that what follows is a dirge (Heb. qinah) against the house of Israel. A dirge was a lament that was sung at the funeral of a friend, relative, or prominent person (e.g, 2 Samuel 1:17-27; 2 Samuel 3:33-34; 2 Chronicles 35:25). The prophets used the dirge genre to prophesy the death of a city, people, or nation (cf. Jeremiah 7:29; Jeremiah 9:10-11; Jeremiah 9:17-22; Lam.; Ezekiel 19; Ezekiel 26:17-18; Ezekiel 27:2-32; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Ezekiel 32:2). Amos announced Israel"s death, the fall of the Northern Kingdom, at the height of its prosperity under Jeroboam II.

"To his listeners, hearing this lament would be as jarring as reading one"s own obituary in the newspaper." ^[1]

Context Summary

Amos 5:1-15 - "prepare To Meet Thy God"

Worse judgments than those mentioned in the previous verses were in store but before they are inflicted, the entire nation is summoned to the divine bar. Whether we choose or not, "we must all appear before the judgment seat of God." Prepare, my soul, to meet Him! Note the sublimity of that last verse of Amos 4:1-13. How great is God, who made the mountains! How mysterious, who made the wind! How sublime, who calls to the dawn! How mighty, to whom mountains and peaks are stepping-stones!

But great and holy though God is, we are invited to seek Him. He desires to bless, but He must be sought. Were we more diligent in seeking, as the miner for gold, or the scientific man for nature's secrets, we should be marvelously repaid. "Eye hath not seen," etc. Amos speaks as nature's child. Often as he had tended his flocks, he had watched the Pleiades with their gentle radiance, and Orion, the herald of storm. He had listened to God calling across the waters, and had drawn life from Him. "Seek and live!" O soul, what a God is thine! Thy springs and storms await His word of command. He can turn thy darkness into the morning. Be of good cheer! [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 5

¹ A lamentation for Israel
⁴ An exhortation to repentance
²¹ God rejects their hypocritical service

What do the individual words in Amos 5:1 mean?

Hear - word this which I take up against you a lamentation house of Israel

שִׁמְע֞וּ אֶת־ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֜י נֹשֵׂ֧א עֲלֵיכֶ֛ם קִינָ֖ה בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

שִׁמְע֞וּ	Hear
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural Root: שָׁמַע Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
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.
הַדָּבָ֣ר	word
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: דָּבָר Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
הַזֶּ֗ה	this
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular Root: זֶה Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
נֹשֵׂ֧א	take up
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular Root: נָשָׂא Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
עֲלֵיכֶ֛ם	against you
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural Root: עַל Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
קִינָ֖ה	a lamentation
Parse: Noun, feminine singular Root: קִינָה Sense: lamentation, dirge, elegy.
בֵּ֥ית	house
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: בַּיִת Sense: house.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל	of Israel
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.

What are the major concepts related to Amos 5:1?

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Similar Scriptures for Amos 5:1

		Ezekiel 19:1 [5]
		Jeremiah 9:17 [3]
		Jeremiah 7:29 [3]
		Jeremiah 9:10 [3]
		Amos 4:1 [2]
		Ezekiel 32:16 [2]
		Ezekiel 26:17 [2]
		Jeremiah 9:20 [2]
		Amos 5:16 [2]
		Amos 3:1 [2]
		Ezekiel 28:12 [2]
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