Amos 5:6

Green's Literal Translation

Seek Jehovah, and live, that He not break out like a fire on the house of Joseph, and consume, and no one is putting it out for Bethel.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Come to the Lord and live. If you don't go to him, a fire will start at Joseph's house, and no one in Bethel can stop it.

New American Standard Bible
"Seek the LORD so that you may live, Or He will break through like a fire, house of Joseph, And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,

New Century Version
Come to the Lord and live, or he will move like fire against the descendants of Joseph. The fire will burn Bethel, and there will be no one to put it out.

New English Translation
Seek the Lord so you can live! Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph's family; the fire will consume and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.

Update Bible Version
Seek Yahweh, and you shall live; or else he will break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it will devour, and there will be none to quench it in Beth-el.

Webster's Bible Translation
Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and [there be] none to quench [it] in Beth-el.

Amplified Bible
"Seek the LORD [search diligently for Him and long for Him as your most essential need] so that you may live, Or He will rush down like a [devouring] fire, O house of Joseph, And there will be no one to quench the flame for [idolatrous] Bethel,

English Standard Version
Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,

World English Bible
Seek Yahweh, and you will live; Lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Seke ye the Lord, and lyue ye, lest perauenture the hous of Joseph be brent as fier; and it schal deuoure Bethel, and there schal not be, that schal quenche.

English Revised Version
Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour and there be none to quench it in Beth-el:

Berean Standard Bible
Seek the LORD and live, or He will spread like fire through the house of Joseph; it will devour everything, with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.

Contemporary English Version
Turn back to the Lord , you descendants of Joseph, and you will live. If you don't, the Lord will attack like fire. Bethel will burn to the ground, and no one can save it.

American Standard Version
Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

Bible in Basic English
Go to the Lord for help so that you may have life; for fear that he may come like fire bursting out in the family of Joseph, causing destruction, and there will be no one to put it out in Beth-el.

Complete Jewish Bible
If you seek Adonai , you will survive. Otherwise, he will break out against the house of Yosef like fire, devouring Beit-El, with no one to quench the flames.

Darby Translation
Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and there be none to quench [it] in Bethel.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Seek the LORD, and live--lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Bethel--

King James Version (1611)
Seeke the Lord, and ye shall liue, lest hee breake out like fire in the house of Ioseph and deuoure it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel,

New Living Translation
Come back to the Lord and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won't be able to quench the flames.

New Life Bible
Look for the Lord and live, or He will break out like fire in the family of Joseph. It will destroy, and no one in Bethel will be able to stop it.

New Revised Standard
Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Seeke the Lorde, and yee shal liue, least he breake out like fire in the house of Ioseph & deuoure it, & there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

George Lamsa Translation
Seek the LORD and you shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph and devour Beth-el, and there will be none to quench it.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Seek ye Yahweh, and live, - lest he break forth, like a fire, upon the house of Joseph, and it devour with none to quench it, for Bethel.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Seek ye the Lord, and live: lest the house of Joseph be burnt with fire, and it shall devour, and there shall be none to quench Bethel.

Revised Standard Version
Seek the LORD and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Seke the Lord, and ye shall liue: lest he breake out like fire in the house of Ioseph, and deuoure it, and there be noone to quenche it in Bethel.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Seek ye the Lord, and ye shall live; lest the house of Joseph blaze as fire, and it devour him, and there shall be none to quench it for the house of Israel.

Good News Translation
Go to the Lord , and you will live. If you do not go, he will sweep down like fire on the people of Israel. The fire will burn up the people of Bethel, and no one will be able to put it out.

Christian Standard Bible®
Seek the Lord and live,or he will spread like firethroughout the house of Joseph;it will consume everythingwith no one at Bethel to extinguish it.

Hebrew Names Version
Seek the LORD, and you will live; Lest he break out like fire in the house of Yosef, And it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Beit-El.

King James Version
Seek the Lord , and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

Lexham English Bible
Seek Yahweh so that you may live, so that he will not break out like a fire against the house of Joseph! And it will devour, with none to quench it for Bethel.

Young's Literal Translation
Seek ye Jehovah, and live, Lest He prosper as fire [against] the house of Joseph, And it hath consumed, And there is no quencher for Beth-El.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Seke the LORDE, yt ye maye lyue: lest the house of Ioseph be brent with fyre and cosumed, and lest there be none to quench Bethel.

THE MESSAGE
So seek God and live! You don't want to end up with nothing to show for your life But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground. For God will send just such a fire, and the firefighters will show up too late.

New King James Version
Seek 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--

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,

Legacy Standard Bible
Seek Yahweh that you may live,Lest He come mightily like a fire, O house of Joseph,And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,

Contextual Overview

⁴ For so says Jehovah to the house of Israel, Seek Me, and live. ⁵ But do not seek Bethel, and do not enter Gilgal, and do not cross over to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal going shall go into exile, and Bethel shall be for nothing. ⁶ Seek Jehovah, and live, that He not break out like a fire on the house of Joseph, and consume, and no one is putting it out for Bethel. ⁷ He abandoned those who turn justice and righteousness into wormwood on the earth. ⁸ He who created the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the deep darkness into the morning, and He darkened the day into night; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, Jehovah is His name; ⁹ who flashes out with destruction on the strong; yea, destruction comes on the fortress. ¹⁰ They hate him who rebukes in the gate, and they despise him who speaks uprightly. ¹¹ So, because of your trampling on the poor, and you take tribute of grain from him; you have built houses of hewn stones, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted desirable vineyards, but you shall not drink wine from them. ¹² For I know your many transgressions, and your many sins: distressing the just, taking of a bribe, and turning aside the poor in the gate. ¹³ So the understanding ones shall keep silent in that time, for it is an evil time.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Seek: Amos 5:4, Ezekiel 33:11

lest: Exodus 22:6

the house: Amos 6:6, Genesis 48:8-20, Joshua 18:5, Judges 1:22, Judges 1:23, 2 Samuel 19:20, 1 Kings 11:28, Ezekiel 37:19, Zechariah 10:6

there: Isaiah 1:31, Jeremiah 4:4, Jeremiah 7:20, Ezekiel 20:47, Ezekiel 20:48, Mark 9:43-48

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 18:11 - the king 1 Chronicles 16:11 - Seek Isaiah 45:7 - I make Peace Isaiah 51:1 - ye that seek Isaiah 55:6 - Seek Jeremiah 48:13 - as the Hosea 10:12 - time Amos 5:15 - the remnant Amos 7:4 - called Acts 8:22 - pray

Cross-References

Genesis 4:26
And a son was also born to Seth, and he called his name, Enos. Then it was begun to call on the name of Jehovah.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Seek the Lord, and ye shall live,.... This is, repeated to stir up unto it, because of their backwardness and slothfulness, and to show the importance and necessity of it. By the "Lord" may be meant the Messiah, Israel's God that was to come, and they were to prepare to meet, Amos 4:12; and the rather, since life spiritual and eternal is only to be had from him, and he is to be sought unto for it, and all the blessings of it, peace, pardon, righteousness, rest, and salvation as well as temporal deliverance, and all outward mercies:

lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it]; that is, lest his wrath and fury break out like fire as the Targum, by sending an enemy to invade the land, destroy it, and carry the inhabitants of it captive; even all the ten tribes, who frequently go by the name of Ephraim the son of Joseph, that being the principal tribe, and the first king of them being of it:

and [there be] none to quench [it] in Bethel; the calf worshipped there, and the priests that officiated, would not be able to avert the stroke of divine vengeance, or turn back the enemy, and save the land from ruin. The Targum is,

"and there be none to quench it, because of your sins, who have been serving idols in Bethel.''

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Seek ye the Lord and ye shall live - Literally, “seek the Lord and live;” being united to Him, the Fountain of life. He reimpresses on them the one simple need of the creature, “seek God,” the one true God as He revealed Himself, not as worldly people, or the politicians of Jeroboam’s court, or the calf-priests, fabled of Him. “Seek Him.” For in Him is all; without Him, nothing.

Lest He break out like fire in Bethel - Formerly the Spirit of God came vehemently down upon Sansom Judges 14:6, Judges 14:19; Judges 15:14 and Saul 1 Samuel 10:6; 1 Samuel 11:6 and David 1 Samuel 16:13, to fit them as instruments for God; as did the Evil spirit, when God departed from Saul 1 Samuel 18:10. So now, unless they repented, God Himself would suddenly show His powerful presence among them, but, as He had revealed Himself to be, “the, Lord thy God is a consuming Fire” Deuteronomy 4:24. “And devour” it, literally, “and it” (the fire) “shall devor, and” there be “none to quench” it “in” (better, “for”) Bethel.” Bethel, the center of their idol-hopes, so far from aiding them then, shall not be able to help itself, nor shall there be any to help it. The fire of God kindles around it, and there is none to quench it for her (as in Jeremiah 4:4).

Montanus: “The whole place treateth of mercy and justice. The whole ground of people’s punishment, calamities, condemnation is ascribed to their own fault and negligence, who neglect the deliverance often promised and offered them by God, and ‘love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil’ John 3:19. Whoever is not saved, the whole blame lies in their own will and negligence and malice. God, who ‘willeth not that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’ 2 Peter 3:9, Himself unsought, seeks, entreats, ceases not to monish, exhort, set before them their guilt, that they may cease to prepare such evil for themselves. But they neither give Him entrance, nor hear His entreaties, nor admit the warnings of the divine mercy, which if they neglect, they must needs be made over to His justice. The goodness of God is lacking to no one, save those who are wanting to themselves. Wherefore, having often besought them before, He invites them yet again to salvation, putting forth that His Name, so full of mysteries of mercy; ‘Seek the Lord and live,’” seek Him who is, the Unchangeable. He who had willed their salvation, still willed it, for He “changes not” Malachi 3:6. “He adds threatenings, that those whom He calls to life, He might either allure by promises, or scare from death through fear of the impending evil.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Amos 5:6. Seek the Lord, and ye shall live — Repeated from Amos 5:4.

In the house of Joseph — The Israelites of the ten tribes, of whom Ephraim and Manasseh, sons of Joseph, were the chief.