The Meaning of Amos 5:15 Explained

Amos 5:15

KJV: Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

YLT: Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be Jehovah, God of Hosts, doth pity the remnant of Joseph.

Darby: Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

ASV: Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hate  the evil,  and love  the good,  and establish  judgment  in the gate:  it may be that the LORD  God  of hosts  will be gracious  unto the remnant  of Joseph. 

What does Amos 5:15 Mean?

Study Notes

remnant
.
thee Remnant.
Jeremiah 15:11-21 ; Jeremiah 23:3-8 ; Jeremiah 31:7 ; Jeremiah 31:14 ; Isaiah 1:9 ; Ezekiel 6:8 ; Ezekiel 8:11-14 ; Ezekiel 9:4 ; Ezekiel 11:16-21 ; Joel 2:32 ; Amos 5:15 ; Micah 2:12 ; Micah 4:1 ; Micah 5:3 ; Micah 7:18 ; Zephaniah 2:7 ; Zephaniah 3:13 ; Haggai 1:14 ; Zechariah 8:6 ; Malachi 3:16-18 ; Romans 11:5 . (See Scofield " Romans 11:5 ") .
redeem (See Scofield " Isaiah 59:20 ") See Scofield " Exodus 14:30 ".
thee Marg
redeem
thee Remnant.
Jeremiah 15:11-21 ; Jeremiah 23:3-8 ; Jeremiah 31:7 ; Jeremiah 31:14 ; Isaiah 1:9 ; Ezekiel 6:8 ; Ezekiel 8:11-14 ; Ezekiel 9:4 ; Ezekiel 11:16-21 ; Joel 2:32 ; Amos 5:15 ; Micah 2:12 ; Micah 4:1 ; Micah 5:3 ; Micah 7:18 ; Zephaniah 2:7 ; Zephaniah 3:13 ; Haggai 1:14 ; Zechariah 8:6 ; Malachi 3:16-18 ; Romans 11:5 . (See Scofield " Romans 11:5 ") .
redeem (See Scofield " Isaiah 59:20 ") See Scofield " Exodus 14:30 ".
redeem
thee Remnant.
Jeremiah 15:11-21 ; Jeremiah 23:3-8 ; Jeremiah 31:7 ; Jeremiah 31:14 ; Isaiah 1:9 ; Ezekiel 6:8 ; Ezekiel 8:11-14 ; Ezekiel 9:4 ; Ezekiel 11:16-21 ; Joel 2:32 ; Amos 5:15 ; Micah 2:12 ; Micah 4:1 ; Micah 5:3 ; Micah 7:18 ; Zephaniah 2:7 ; Zephaniah 3:13 ; Haggai 1:14 ; Zechariah 8:6 ; Malachi 3:16-18 ; Romans 11:5 . (See Scofield " Romans 11:5 ") .
redeem (See Scofield " Isaiah 59:20 ") See Scofield " Exodus 14:30 ".

Verse Meaning

They should hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate (a metonym for the courts). Perhaps then sovereign, almighty Yahweh would be gracious to the faithful remnant in the Northern Kingdom and deliver them.

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 5:15 mean?

Hate evil and love good and Establish in the gate justice it may be that will be gracious Yahweh God of hosts to the remnant of Joseph -
שִׂנְאוּ־ רָע֙ וְאֶ֣הֱבוּ ט֔וֹב וְהַצִּ֥יגוּ ! בַשַּׁ֖עַר מִשְׁפָּ֑ט אוּלַ֗י יֶֽחֱנַ֛ן יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵֽי־ צְבָא֖וֹת שְׁאֵרִ֥ית יוֹסֵֽף ס

שִׂנְאוּ־  Hate 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׂנֵא  
Sense: to hate, be hateful.
רָע֙  evil 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
וְאֶ֣הֱבוּ  and  love 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: אָהַב  
Sense: to love.
ט֔וֹב  good 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
וְהַצִּ֥יגוּ  and  Establish 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָצַג  
Sense: to place, set, establish.
! בַשַּׁ֖עַר  in  the  gate 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
מִשְׁפָּ֑ט  justice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁפָּט  
Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
אוּלַ֗י  it  may  be  that 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אוּלַי  
Sense: perhaps, peradventure.
יֶֽחֱנַ֛ן  will  be  gracious 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָנַן 
Sense: to be gracious, show favour, pity.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵֽי־  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
צְבָא֖וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
שְׁאֵרִ֥ית  to  the  remnant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שְׁאֵרִית  
Sense: rest, residue, remainder, remnant.
יוֹסֵֽף  of  Joseph 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄוסֵף  
Sense: the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation