The Meaning of Amos 4:8 Explained

Amos 4:8

KJV: So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

YLT: And wandered have two or three cities, Unto the same city to drink water, And they are not satisfied, And ye have not turned back unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Darby: And two, three, cities wandered unto one city, to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.

ASV: So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So two  [or] three  cities  wandered  unto one  city,  to drink  water;  but they were not satisfied:  yet have ye not returned  unto me, saith  the LORD. 

What does Amos 4:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Amos 4:1-11 - Calamities Are God's Warnings
Speaking after the imagery of his vocation, Amos the herdsman compares the rich and powerful of Samaria, who were living in luxury and wantonness, to the kine of Bashan, a breed of cattle notorious for strength and stubbornness. They broke through hedges, threw down fences, trespassed on neighboring pastures, and gored lesser cattle. The judges and magistrates were in cruel collusion with the masters who oppressed the serfs, and were willing to condone breaches of the law for drink. Sacrifices and tithes were rigorously maintained, but the entire religious system was rotten.
Already heavy judgment had fallen upon the degenerate people. There had been famine, the intermission of the rainy seasons, blasting and mildew, pestilence and murrain-but all in vain. That God was behind these phenomena was obvious from the fact that rain showers had fallen in one place and not in another. There had been a method in God's dealings that indicated a personal agency. The worst cities had suffered the most. But the people had refused to lay it to heart. Note the sorrowful refrain-yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. It may be that some reader of these lines may find herein a clue to the mysterious succession of strokes that have befallen himself and his household. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 4

1  He reproves Israel for oppression,
4  for idolatry,
6  and for their incorrigibleness

What do the individual words in Amos 4:8 mean?

So wandered two [or] three cities to city one to drink water but not they were satisfied and yet not you have returned to Me says Yahweh
וְנָע֡וּ שְׁתַּיִם֩ שָׁלֹ֨שׁ עָרִ֜ים אֶל־ עִ֥יר אַחַ֛ת לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת מַ֖יִם וְלֹ֣א יִשְׂבָּ֑עוּ וְלֹֽא־ שַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָדַ֖י נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה

וְנָע֡וּ  So  wandered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: נוּעַ  
Sense: to quiver, totter, shake, reel, stagger, wander, move, sift, make move, wave, waver, tremble.
שְׁתַּיִם֩  two 
Parse: Number, fd
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
שָׁלֹ֨שׁ  [or]  three 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: מִשְׁלֹשׁ 
Sense: three, triad.
עָרִ֜ים  cities 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
עִ֥יר  city 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
אַחַ֛ת  one 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת  to  drink 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁתָה  
Sense: to drink.
מַ֖יִם  water 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
וְלֹ֣א  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִשְׂבָּ֑עוּ  they  were  satisfied 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׂבַע  
Sense: to be satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited.
וְלֹֽא־  and  yet  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
שַׁבְתֶּ֥ם  you  have  returned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
עָדַ֖י  to  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
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.