The Meaning of Amos 7:15 Explained

Amos 7:15

KJV: And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

YLT: and Jehovah taketh me from after the flock, and Jehovah saith unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.

Darby: And Jehovah took me as I followed the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

ASV: and Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the LORD  took  me as I followed  the flock,  and the LORD  said  unto me, Go,  prophesy  unto my people  Israel. 

What does Amos 7:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Amos had come to Israel having been sent there by Yahweh to prophesy (cf, Numbers 18:6; 2 Samuel 7:8; Psalm 78:70). The Hebrew text repeated the words "the LORD" for emphasis. God had given him a definite commission, and Amos had left his former occupation to obey that divine calling (cf. Acts 5:27-29). Amos" ministry and his location were God"s choosing.

Context Summary

Amos 7:1-17 - The Herdsman's Message
The king's mowings were the earliest yield of the grasslands, which were exacted by him. Our King also has His mowings, when He takes to Himself our dearest and best while the dew of youth is still upon them-but He is only claiming His own.
Three disasters threatened the guilty land-locusts, fire, and plague; but the prophet's intercessions warded off the blow. The Bible often tells a similar story of the power of intercession. If only the Church were united and prayed with one voice, she would be able to secure deliverance for the smitten earth. When God is said to repent, we must not attribute to Him changeableness of purpose, but He seems to repent, because man has changed his attitude. If you walk against the wind, it resists you; but if you turn and walk in the opposite direction, it helps you. The plumbline, Amos 7:7, is used to discover the extent of the mischief, before the order, for destruction is issued.
Amaziah, the chief priest of the national idolatry, found the stalwart witness of the herdsman-prophet extremely inconvenient and wanted to get rid of him. There was great simplicity and dignity in the reply. Like Luther in after years, Amos could "do no other." [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 7

1  The judgments of the grasshoppers,
4  and of the fire are diverted by the prayer of Amos
7  By the wall of a plumb line is signified the rejection of Israel
10  Amaziah complains of Amos
14  Amos shows his calling
16  and Amaziah's judgment

What do the individual words in Amos 7:15 mean?

and took me Yahweh as I followed the flock and said to me go prophesy to My people Israel
וַיִּקָּחֵ֣נִי יְהוָ֔ה מֵאַחֲרֵ֖י הַצֹּ֑אן וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלַי֙ לֵ֥ךְ הִנָּבֵ֖א אֶל־ עַמִּ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

וַיִּקָּחֵ֣נִי  and  took  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מֵאַחֲרֵ֖י  as  I  followed 
Parse: Preposition-m
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
הַצֹּ֑אן  the  flock 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלַי֙  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
לֵ֥ךְ  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
הִנָּבֵ֖א  prophesy 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: נָבָא  
Sense: to prophesy.
עַמִּ֥י  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל  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.