The Meaning of Amos 8:2 Explained

Amos 8:2

KJV: And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

YLT: And He saith, 'What art thou seeing, Amos?' and I say, 'A basket of summer-fruit.' And Jehovah saith unto me: 'The end hath come unto My people Israel, I do not add any more to pass over to it.

Darby: And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer-fruit. And Jehovah said unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.

ASV: And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said Jehovah unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said,  Amos,  what seest  thou? And I said,  A basket  of summer fruit.  Then said  the LORD  unto me, The end  is come  upon my people  of Israel;  I will not again  pass  by them any more. 

What does Amos 8:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Amos 8:1-14 - The Worst Famine Of All
What is more fragile than summer fruit! So beautiful, so refreshing, yet so readily corrupted and diseased. To Amos it was an emblem of the rapidity with which dissolution would overtake his rebellious nation. The end had arrived. The Great Husbandman could do no more. When the harvest has come, separation between good and bad is inevitable. See Isaiah 5:4; Matthew 13:30.
The crimes of the ruling class were enormous. Eager to increase their stores, they wearied of time given to religion. They grudged passing a day without opening their salesrooms. They did not scruple to make their measures (ephah) small, and to demand a greater weight of money (shekel) from their clients. These were crimes that could not be passed over. It is an awful sentence when God says, "I will never forget," Amos 8:7. Invasion would sweep the land like an inundation. Since the people would not heed the God-sent messengers, they would be withdrawn. There would be a famine of the Word of God, and those who had most despised it, because enamored with the fascinations of youth, would be smitten with an insatiable appetite for it. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 8

1  By a basket of summer fruit is shown the approach of Israel's end
4  Oppression is reproved
11  A famine of the word of God threatened

What do the individual words in Amos 8:2 mean?

And He said what you do see Amos so I said a basket of summer fruit And said Yahweh to me has come the end upon My people Israel not again them anymore I will pass by them
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר מָֽה־ ؟ אַתָּ֤ה רֹאֶה֙ עָמ֔וֹס וָאֹמַ֖ר כְּל֣וּב קָ֑יִץ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י בָּ֤א הַקֵּץ֙ אֶל־ עַמִּ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹא־ אוֹסִ֥יף ע֖וֹד עֲב֥וֹר לֽוֹ

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר  And  He  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
רֹאֶה֙  do  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
עָמ֔וֹס  Amos 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָמֹוס  
Sense: a prophet of the Lord who prophesied in the northern kingdom; native of Tekoa in Judah near Bethlehem and a shepherd by trade; author of the prophetic book by his name.
וָאֹמַ֖ר  so  I  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
כְּל֣וּב  a  basket 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כְּלוּב  
Sense: cage, basket, dog cage.
קָ֑יִץ  of  summer  fruit 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַיִץ  
Sense: summer, summer-fruit.
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֜ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֵלַ֗י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בָּ֤א  has  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הַקֵּץ֙  the  end 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵץ  
Sense: end.
אֶל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
עַמִּ֣י  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  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.
אוֹסִ֥יף  again  them 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: יָסַף 
Sense: to add, increase, do again.
ע֖וֹד  anymore 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
עֲב֥וֹר  I  will  pass  by 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.