Amos 5:5 - Adam Clarke

Amos 5:5

3 For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”

A Call to Repentance

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
^a“Seek Me ^band live;

5 But do not seek ^aBethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to ^bBeersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And ^cBethel shall come to nothing.

6 ^aSeek the Lord and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—

7 You who ^aturn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

8 He made the ^aPleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
^bAnd makes the day dark as night;
He ^ccalls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
^dThe Lord is His name.

9 He¹ rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.

10 ^aThey hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they ^babhor the one who speaks uprightly.

11 ^aTherefore, because you¹ tread down the poor
And take grain¹ taxes from him,
Though ^byou have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted¹ pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.

12 For I ^aknow your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
^bAfflicting the just and taking bribes;
^cDiverting the poor from justice at the gate.

13 Therefore ^athe prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,
^aAs you have spoken.

15 ^aHate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
^bIt may be that the Lord God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

The Day of the Lord

16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“There shall be wailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
^aAnd skillful lamenters to wailing.

17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
For ^aI will pass through you,”
Says the Lord.

18 ^aWoe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is ^bthe day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.

Commentaries:

Adam Clarke

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Amos 5:5

But seek not Beth-el - There was one of Jeroboam' s golden calves, and at Gilgal were carved images; both were places in which idolatry was triumphant. The prophet shows them that all hope from those quarters is utterly vain; for Gilgal shall go into captivity, and Beth-el be brought to naught. There is a play or paronomasia on the letters and words in this clause: haggilgal galoh yigleh , ubeith el yiheyeh leaven . "This Gilgal shall go captive into captivity; and Beth-el (the house of God) shall be for Beth-aven," (the house of iniquity.)

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