The Meaning of Amos 5:10 Explained

Amos 5:10

KJV: They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

YLT: They have hated a reprover in the gate, And a plain speaker they abominate.

Darby: They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

ASV: They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They hate  him that rebuketh  in the gate,  and they abhor  him that speaketh  uprightly. 

What does Amos 5:10 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Amos cited other reasons for the coming judgment. The Israelites hated judges who reproved evildoers in the city gate, where the court convened, and witnesses who spoke the truth. When influential people in a society despise the truth, there is little hope that it will remain stable and secure.

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 5:10 mean?

They hate in the gate the one who rebukes and the one who speaks uprightly they abhor
שָׂנְא֥וּ בַשַּׁ֖עַר מוֹכִ֑יחַ וְדֹבֵ֥ר תָּמִ֖ים יְתָעֵֽבוּ

שָׂנְא֥וּ  They  hate 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׂנֵא  
Sense: to hate, be hateful.
בַשַּׁ֖עַר  in  the  gate 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
מוֹכִ֑יחַ  the  one  who  rebukes 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָכַח  
Sense: to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, be right.
וְדֹבֵ֥ר  and  the  one  who  speaks 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
תָּמִ֖ים  uprightly 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: תָּמִים  
Sense: complete, whole, entire, sound.
יְתָעֵֽבוּ  they  abhor 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: תָּעַב  
Sense: to abhor, be abominable, do abominably.