The Meaning of Amos 7:2 Explained

Amos 7:2

KJV: And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

YLT: and it hath come to pass, when it hath finished to consume the herb of the land, that I say: 'Lord Jehovah, forgive, I pray Thee, How doth Jacob arise -- for he is small?'

Darby: And it came to pass, when they had wholly eaten the grass of the land, that I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee! How shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

ASV: And it came to pass that, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass, [that] when they had made an end  of eating  the grass  of the land,  then I said,  O Lord  GOD,  forgive,  I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob  arise?  for he [is] small. 

What does Amos 7:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

In his vision Amos saw the locusts strip the land of its vegetation. Then he prayed and asked the sovereign Lord to pardon Jacob (Israel) for its covenant unfaithfulness. Jacob was only a small nation and could not survive such a devastating judgment if the Lord allowed it to happen as Amos had seen in his vision.
Amos" view of Israel as small and weak stands in contrast to that of Israel"s leaders who believed it was strong and invincible (cf. Amos 6:1-3; Amos 6:8; Amos 6:13; Amos 9:10). Israel occupied a large territory under Jeroboam II, second only in its history to what Solomon controlled, but it was still small in relation to the larger empires of the ancient Near East. Amos may have meant that Israel was small in the sense of helpless. God had promised to take care of Jacob when that patriarch encountered Yahweh at Bethel, now a center of apostate worship in Israel (cf. Genesis 28:10-22). Perhaps that is why Amos appealed to God with the name of Jacob (cf. Amos 3:13; Amos 6:8; Amos 7:5; Amos 8:7; Amos 9:8).

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 7:2 mean?

And so it was when they had finished eating - the grass of the land that I said Lord GOD forgive I pray [By] whom may stand Jacob for small he [is]
וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־ כִּלָּה֙ לֶֽאֱכוֹל֙ אֶת־ עֵ֣שֶׂב הָאָ֔רֶץ וָאֹמַ֗ר אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ סְֽלַֽח־ נָ֔א מִ֥י ؟ יָק֖וּם יַֽעֲקֹ֑ב כִּ֥י קָטֹ֖ן הֽוּא

וְהָיָ֗ה  And  so  it  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כִּלָּה֙  they  had  finished 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
לֶֽאֱכוֹל֙  eating 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
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.
עֵ֣שֶׂב  the  grass 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵשֶׂב  
Sense: herb, herbage, grass, green plants.
הָאָ֔רֶץ  of  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וָאֹמַ֗ר  that  I  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲדֹנָ֤י  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִה֙  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
סְֽלַֽח־  forgive 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: סָלַח  
Sense: to forgive, pardon.
נָ֔א  I  pray 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
מִ֥י  [By]  whom 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: מִי  
Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
؟ יָק֖וּם  may  stand 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
יַֽעֲקֹ֑ב  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
קָטֹ֖ן  small 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: קָטָן 
Sense: young, small, insignificant, unimportant.
הֽוּא  he  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.