The Meaning of Amos 5:9 Explained

Amos 5:9

KJV: That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

YLT: Who is brightening up the spoiled against the strong, And the spoiled against a fortress cometh.

Darby: He causeth destruction to break forth suddenly upon the strong, and bringeth destruction upon the fortress.

ASV: that bringeth sudden destruction upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

That strengtheneth  the spoiled  against the strong,  so that the spoiled  shall come  against the fortress. 

What does Amos 5:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Amos 5:1-15 - "prepare To Meet Thy God"
Worse judgments than those mentioned in the previous verses were in store but before they are inflicted, the entire nation is summoned to the divine bar. Whether we choose or not, "we must all appear before the judgment seat of God." Prepare, my soul, to meet Him! Note the sublimity of that last verse of Amos 4:1-13. How great is God, who made the mountains! How mysterious, who made the wind! How sublime, who calls to the dawn! How mighty, to whom mountains and peaks are stepping-stones!
But great and holy though God is, we are invited to seek Him. He desires to bless, but He must be sought. Were we more diligent in seeking, as the miner for gold, or the scientific man for nature's secrets, we should be marvelously repaid. "Eye hath not seen," etc. Amos speaks as nature's child. Often as he had tended his flocks, he had watched the Pleiades with their gentle radiance, and Orion, the herald of storm. He had listened to God calling across the waters, and had drawn life from Him. "Seek and live!" O soul, what a God is thine! Thy springs and storms await His word of command. He can turn thy darkness into the morning. Be of good cheer! [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 5

1  A lamentation for Israel
4  An exhortation to repentance
21  God rejects their hypocritical service

What do the individual words in Amos 5:9 mean?

He rains ruin upon the strong so that fury the fortress comes
הַמַּבְלִ֥יג שֹׁ֖ד עַל־ עָ֑ז וְשֹׁ֖ד מִבְצָ֥ר יָבֽוֹא

הַמַּבְלִ֥יג  He  rains 
Parse: Article, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בָּלַג  
Sense: to gleam, smile.
שֹׁ֖ד  ruin 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁד  
Sense: havoc, violence, destruction, devastation, ruin.
עַל־  upon 
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.
עָ֑ז  the  strong 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עַז 
Sense: strong, mighty, fierce.
וְשֹׁ֖ד  so  that  fury 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁד  
Sense: havoc, violence, destruction, devastation, ruin.
מִבְצָ֥ר  the  fortress 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִבְצָר 
Sense: fortification, fortress, fortified city, stronghold.
יָבֽוֹא  comes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.

What are the major concepts related to Amos 5:9?

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