The Meaning of Amos 9:3 Explained

Amos 9:3

KJV: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

YLT: And if they be hid in the top of Carmel, From thence I search out, and have taken them, And if they be hid from Mine eyes in the bottom of the sea, From thence I command the serpent, And it hath bitten them.

Darby: and though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them;

ASV: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And though they hide  themselves in the top  of Carmel,  I will search  and take them out  thence; and though they be hid  from my sight  in the bottom  of the sea,  thence will I command  the serpent,  and he shall bite  them: 

What does Amos 9:3 Mean?

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 9:3 mean?

and though they hide themselves on top of Carmel from there I will search and take them they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea from there I will command - the serpent and it shall bite them
וְאִם־ יֵחָֽבְאוּ֙ בְּרֹ֣אשׁ הַכַּרְמֶ֔ל מִשָּׁ֥ם אֲחַפֵּ֖שׂ וּלְקַחְתִּ֑ים יִסָּ֨תְר֜וּ מִנֶּ֤גֶד עֵינַי֙ בְּקַרְקַ֣ע הַיָּ֔ם מִשָּׁ֛ם אֲצַוֶּ֥ה אֶת־ הַנָּחָ֖שׁ וּנְשָׁכָֽם

וְאִם־  and  though 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
יֵחָֽבְאוּ֙  they  hide  themselves 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: חָבָא  
Sense: to withdraw, hide.
בְּרֹ֣אשׁ  on  top 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
הַכַּרְמֶ֔ל  of  Carmel 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כַּרְמֶל 
Sense: a mountain on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, just below Haifa.
מִשָּׁ֥ם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
אֲחַפֵּ֖שׂ  I  will  search 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: חָפַשׂ  
Sense: to search, search for, to search out, disguise oneself.
וּלְקַחְתִּ֑ים  and  take  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
יִסָּ֨תְר֜וּ  they  hide 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָתַר  
Sense: to hide, conceal.
עֵינַי֙  My  sight 
Parse: Noun, cdc, first person common singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
בְּקַרְקַ֣ע  at  the  bottom  of 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: קַרְקַע  
Sense: floor, bottom.
הַיָּ֔ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
מִשָּׁ֛ם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
אֲצַוֶּ֥ה  I  will  command 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: צָוָה  
Sense: to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order.
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.
הַנָּחָ֖שׁ  the  serpent 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָחָשׁ  
Sense: serpent, snake.
וּנְשָׁכָֽם  and  it  shall  bite  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: נָשַׁךְ 
Sense: to bite.