The Meaning of Amos 5:24 Explained

Amos 5:24

KJV: But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

YLT: And roll on as waters doth judgment, And righteousness as a perennial stream.

Darby: but let judgment roll down as waters, and righteousness as an ever-flowing stream.

ASV: But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But let judgment  run down  as waters,  and righteousness  as a mighty  stream. 

What does Amos 5:24 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Instead of feasts and fasts, instead of offerings and sacrifices, instead of singing and playing musical instruments, the Lord said He wanted justice and righteousness (cf. Amos 5:7). Instead of a constant stream of blood flowing from sacrifices, and an endless torrent of verbal and ritual praise from His people, He wanted these ethical qualities to flow without ceasing from them. The Israelites were inundating Him with rivers of religiosity, but He wanted rivers of righteousness.
"Only when the personal concern of the law is incorporated into their social structure and "rightness" characterizes their dealings with others will their worship be acceptable. A token practice of justice and righteousness will not do." [1]
This is the key verse in the book since it expresses so clearly what God wanted from His people. It is a clear statement of the importance of moral and ethical righteousness over mere ritual worship.
"With Hosea 6:6 and Micah 6:8 this text stands as one of the great themes in prophetic literature with regard to the nature of sacrifices and true religion. God is not pleased by acts of pomp and grandeur but by wholehearted devotion and complete loyalty." [2]

Context Summary

Amos 5:16-27 - A Dark Day For Hypocrites
Mighty sins had been committed, and mighty judgments were at hand. The oppression of the poor, Amos 5:11; the erection of elegant dwellings from unrighteous exactions, Amos 5:11; the acceptance of bribes to betray the needy, Amos 5:12 all these must be reckoned with. But if the guilty nation would not seek God and establish judgment in the gate, where magistrates sat to dispense justice, the streets would be filled with wailing, and the husbandmen and vine-dressers would be equally affected by the widespread desolation as the dwellers in the cities.
Moreover, bad as Israel's present condition was, it would become infinitely worse, as though a man fleeing from a lion rushed into the arms of a bear, or, taking refuge in a house, was stung by a serpent that lay hid in a cranny of the wall. Of what avail are religious rites, when the heart is alienated from God, Amos 5:21, etc.? Let us heed well the exhortation of Amos 5:23-24. The martyr Stephen quoted Amos 5:25-27, which accuse the people of carrying about little shrines and pocket-idols, to serve as amulets averting disaster, Acts 7:43. But they might as well have built a bank of sand to arrest an overflowing flood! The one thing which is going to help us is repentance toward God and faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. [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 5:24 mean?

But let run down like water justice and righteousness like an stream enduring
וְיִגַּ֥ל כַּמַּ֖יִם מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה כְּנַ֥חַל אֵיתָֽן

וְיִגַּ֥ל  But  let  run  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּלַל 
Sense: to roll, roll away, roll down, roll together.
כַּמַּ֖יִם  like  water 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
מִשְׁפָּ֑ט  justice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁפָּט  
Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
וּצְדָקָ֖ה  and  righteousness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
כְּנַ֥חַל  like  an  stream 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נַחַל 
Sense: torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley.
אֵיתָֽן  enduring 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: אֵיתָן  
Sense: perpetual, constant, perennial, ever-flowing.