The Meaning of Amos 9:8 Explained

Amos 9:8

KJV: Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

YLT: Lo, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are on the sinful kingdom, And I have destroyed it from off the face of the ground, Only, I destroy not utterly the house of Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Darby: Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth: only that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah.

ASV: Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Behold, the eyes  of the Lord  GOD  [are] upon the sinful  kingdom,  and I will destroy  it from off the face  of the earth;  saving  that I will not utterly  destroy  the house  of Jacob,  saith  the LORD. 

What does Amos 9:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

As the sovereign Lord looked over all the kingdoms of the earth, He noticed those of them that were sinful and determined to destroy them because of their wickedness. He would do to Israel what He would do to any other sinful nation (cf. Amos 3:1-2). Yet He promised not to destroy completely the house of Jacob (the Northern Kingdom, because of the covenant He had made with Israel; cf. Amos 5:4-6; Amos 5:14-15).

Context Summary

Amos 9:1-15 - The Day Of Restoration
The guilty will certainly be punished. If they enter the sacred place of worship, even that will not shelter them, Amos 9:1. Flight and concealment will be in vain. Let them climb ever so high, or burrow ever so deep; let them scale the loftiest hills, or dive into the deepest seas-the consequences of their sins will overtake them, Amos 9:2-3. How can sinners hope to escape from Him whose chambers are built in the heavens and whose voice governs the tides, Amos 9:6? The great desolations of the past prove the exactness and severity of His judgments, Amos 9:7-8. How remarkably Amos 9:9 has been fulfilled? Notwithstanding their scatterings, the Hebrew people have been preserved as a race.
The final paragraph, Amos 9:11-15, is very reassuring. It is a burst of noble anticipation, quoted by the Apostle James, Acts 15:14-17. The promises made to Abraham and David are yet to be fulfilled. The derision of their foes, of whom Edom was the ringleader, will be silenced. Through the parted curtain, we descry the golden age of the future. There is a divine plan working to its conclusion, and Israel shall yet come again to the land given to their fathers [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 9

1  The certainty of the desolation
11  The restoring of the tabernacle of David

What do the individual words in Amos 9:8 mean?

Behold the eyes of the Lord GOD [are] on kingdom the sinful and I will destroy it from the face of the earth saving yet not utterly I will destroy - the house of Jacob says Yahweh
הִנֵּ֞ה עֵינֵ֣י ׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה בַּמַּמְלָכָה֙ הַֽחַטָּאָ֔ה וְהִשְׁמַדְתִּ֣י אֹתָ֔הּ מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֑ה אֶ֗פֶס כִּ֠י לֹ֣א הַשְׁמֵ֥יד אַשְׁמִ֛יד אֶת־ בֵּ֥ית יַעֲקֹ֖ב נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה

הִנֵּ֞ה  Behold 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
עֵינֵ֣י ׀  the  eyes 
Parse: Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
אֲדֹנָ֣י  of  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִ֗ה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
בַּמַּמְלָכָה֙  [are]  on  kingdom 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַמְלָכָה  
Sense: kingdom, dominion, reign, sovereignty.
הַֽחַטָּאָ֔ה  the  sinful 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: חַטָּא  
Sense: sinners adj.
וְהִשְׁמַדְתִּ֣י  and  I  will  destroy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
פְּנֵ֣י  the  face 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הָאֲדָמָ֑ה  of  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.
אֶ֗פֶס  saving 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אֶפֶס 
Sense: ceasing, end, finality.
כִּ֠י  yet 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הַשְׁמֵ֥יד  utterly 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Infinitive absolute
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
אַשְׁמִ֛יד  I  will  destroy 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
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.
בֵּ֥ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יַעֲקֹ֖ב  of  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.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.