The Meaning of Amos 3:15 Explained

Amos 3:15

KJV: And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.

YLT: And I have smitten the winter-house with the summer-house, And perished have houses of ivory, And consumed have been many houses, An affirmation of Jehovah!

Darby: And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and many houses shall have an end, saith Jehovah.

ASV: And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will smite  the winter  house  with the summer  house;  and the houses  of ivory  shall perish,  and the great  houses  shall have an end,  saith  the LORD. 

What does Amos 3:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God also promised to destroy the Israelites" winter and summer homes. The fact that many Israelite families could afford two houses and yet were oppressing their poorer brethren proved that they lived in selfish luxury. They had embellished their great houses with expensive ivory decorations (cf. 1 Kings 21:1; 1 Kings 21:18; 1 Kings 22:39; Psalm 45:8). The two great sins of the Israelites, false religion ( Amos 3:14) and misuse of wealth and power ( Amos 3:15), would be the objects of God"s judgment. Even some ancient kings did not possess two houses. [1]
"The enduring principle here is that God will destroy elaborate altars, expensive houses, and other accoutrements of an extravagant lifestyle when these items are acquired through oppression, fraud, and strong-arm tactics. The idolatry of the people led to their opulent lifestyles. Life apart from God may yield temporary material gain, but it will surely result in eternal loss." [2]
The eternal loss for a Christian will not be loss of salvation but loss of reward at the judgment seat of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:15).

Context Summary

Amos 3:1-15 - The Lord's Word Must Come True
The closer our relationship with God, the more searching His scrutiny and chastening. The sins of God's children which may seem of slight consequence are rigorously dealt with by their Heavenly Father, who loves them too well to allow their life to be permanently injured. It is because God loves us that He is so quick in detecting the least symptoms of disease. But we must agree with Him as to the sinfulness of sin, the need of cleansing, the hopelessness of our old nature, and the world's urgent need both of our sympathy and sacrifice. So only shall we walk with God as Enoch did. The soul that is one with Him is on the alert, as is the traveler who hears the lion's roar in the forest. Watch; ye know not the hour!
The nobles of Egypt and Philistia are summoned to view the sins of Samaria and to confirm the justice of her penalty. From all sides the invader would descend on the recreant land. Only a fragment should escape, like the small piece of a lamb rescued from the jaws of the savage beast of prey. The couch of luxury, the bed of sloth, the golden calf of Beth-el-all marked the degeneracy of the Chosen People. May the sorrows through which the world is passing at this hour be the means of cleansing human society from these same evils that our Christian civilization may escape the penalties that overtook Israel! [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 3

1  The necessity of God's judgment against Israel
9  The publication of it, with the causes thereof

What do the individual words in Amos 3:15 mean?

And I will destroy house the winter along with house the summer and shall perish the houses of ivory and shall have an end the houses great says Yahweh -
וְהִכֵּיתִ֥י בֵית־ הַחֹ֖רֶף עַל־ בֵּ֣ית הַקָּ֑יִץ וְאָבְד֞וּ בָּתֵּ֣י הַשֵּׁ֗ן וְסָפ֛וּ בָּתִּ֥ים רַבִּ֖ים נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה ס

וְהִכֵּיתִ֥י  And  I  will  destroy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
בֵית־  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
הַחֹ֖רֶף  the  winter 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹרֶף  
Sense: harvest time, autumn.
עַל־  along  with 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
בֵּ֣ית  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
הַקָּ֑יִץ  the  summer 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַיִץ  
Sense: summer, summer-fruit.
וְאָבְד֞וּ  and  shall  perish 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
בָּתֵּ֣י  the  houses 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
הַשֵּׁ֗ן  of  ivory 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֵׁן  
Sense: tooth, ivory.
וְסָפ֛וּ  and  shall  have  an  end 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: סוּף  
Sense: to cease, come to an end.
בָּתִּ֥ים  the  houses 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
רַבִּ֖ים  great 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
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.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation