The Meaning of Amos 7:17 Explained

Amos 7:17

KJV: Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

YLT: therefore thus said Jehovah: Thy wife in the city doth go a-whoring, And thy sons and thy daughters by sword do fall, And thy land by line is apportioned, And thou on an unclean land diest, And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'

Darby: Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided with the line; and thou shalt die in a land that is unclean; and Israel shall certainly go into captivity, out of his land.

ASV: therefore thus saith Jehovah: Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou thyself shalt die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore thus saith  the LORD;  Thy wife  shall be an harlot  in the city,  and thy sons  and thy daughters  shall fall  by the sword,  and thy land  shall be divided  by line;  and thou shalt die  in  a polluted  land:  and Israel  shall surely  go into captivity  forth of his land. 

What does Amos 7:17 Mean?

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 7:17 mean?

Therefore thus says Yahweh Your wife in the city shall be a harlot and Your sons and daughters by the sword shall fall and Your land by [survey] line shall be divided and You in a land Defiled shall die and Israel surely shall be led away captive from his own land -
לָכֵ֞ן כֹּה־ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה אִשְׁתְּךָ֞ בָּעִ֤יר תִּזְנֶה֙ וּבָנֶ֤יךָ וּבְנֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ בַּחֶ֣רֶב יִפֹּ֔לוּ וְאַדְמָתְךָ֖ בַּחֶ֣בֶל תְּחֻלָּ֑ק וְאַתָּ֗ה עַל־ אֲדָמָ֤ה טְמֵאָה֙ תָּמ֔וּת וְיִ֨שְׂרָאֵ֔ל גָּלֹ֥ה יִגְלֶ֖ה מֵעַ֥ל אַדְמָתֽוֹ ס

כֹּה־  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֗ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אִשְׁתְּךָ֞  Your  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
בָּעִ֤יר  in  the  city 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
תִּזְנֶה֙  shall  be  a  harlot 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: זָנָה 
Sense: to commit fornication, be a harlot, play the harlot.
וּבָנֶ֤יךָ  and  Your  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
וּבְנֹתֶ֙יךָ֙  and  daughters 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
בַּחֶ֣רֶב  by  the  sword 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
יִפֹּ֔לוּ  shall  fall 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
וְאַדְמָתְךָ֖  and  Your  land 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.
בַּחֶ֣בֶל  by  [survey]  line 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶבֶל 
Sense: a cord, rope, territory, band, company.
תְּחֻלָּ֑ק  shall  be  divided 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: חָלַק 
Sense: to divide, share, plunder, allot, apportion, assign.
וְאַתָּ֗ה  and  You 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, second person masculine singular
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
אֲדָמָ֤ה  a  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.
טְמֵאָה֙  Defiled 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: טָמֵא  
Sense: unclean, impure.
תָּמ֔וּת  shall  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וְיִ֨שְׂרָאֵ֔ל  and  Israel 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, 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.
גָּלֹ֥ה  surely 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: גָּלָה  
Sense: to uncover, remove.
יִגְלֶ֖ה  shall  be  led  away  captive 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּלָה  
Sense: to uncover, remove.
אַדְמָתֽוֹ  his  own  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation