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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

Amos 9:1

I saw My Lord stationed by the altar, and he said - Smite the capital - that the sills, may tremble, Yea break them off on the head of them all, and, the last of them, with the sword, will I slay, - He that fleeth of them, shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them, shall not make good his escape.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Judgments;   Prophets;   Readings, Select;   Sin;   Vision;   Wicked (People);   Scofield Reference Index - Judgment;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Visions;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Destroy, Destruction;   Kill, Killing;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Lintel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Amos;   Knop;   Lintel;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Amos;   Earthquake;   Remnant;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Amos;   Nations;   Sin;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Lintel;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Amos (1);   Bethel;   Cut;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Allegorical Interpretation;   Earthquake;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:
Hebrew Names Version
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
King James Version (1611)
I saw the Lord standing vpon the altar, and he said, Smite the lintell of the doore, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head all of them, and I will slay the last of them with the sword: hee that fleeth of them, shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them, shall not be deliuered.
King James Version
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
English Standard Version
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: "Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape.
New American Standard Bible
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Strike the pillar capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will put to death the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Nor a survivor who will escape.
New Century Version
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: "Smash the top of the pillars so that even the bottom of the doors will shake. Make the pillars fall on the people's heads; anyone left alive I will kill with a sword. Not one person will get away; no one will escape.
Amplified Bible
I saw [in a vision] the Lord standing at the altar, and He said, "Destroy the capitals (tops) of the pillars so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of all of the people! Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will get away, Or a survivor who will escape.
Geneva Bible (1587)
I sawe the Lorde standing vpon the altar, and he sayde, Smite the lintel of the doore, that the postes may shake: and cut them in pieces, euen the heads of them all, and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them, shall not flee away: and he that escapeth of them, shall not be deliuered.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Or a refugee who will escape.
Legacy Standard Bible
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said,"Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will quake,And break them on the heads of them all!Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword;Not one of them who can flee will flee,And not one of them who can survive will escape.
Berean Standard Bible
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: "Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
Contemporary English Version
I saw a vision of the Lord standing by the temple altar, and he said, "Shake the columns until the tops fall loose, and the doorposts crumble. Then make the pieces fall on the people below. I will take a sword and kill anyone who escapes.
Complete Jewish Bible
I saw Adonai standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the columns until the thresholds shake! Smash them to pieces on the heads of all the people! Those who remain I will kill with the sword; not one of them will succeed in fleeing, not one of them will escape.
Darby Translation
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar; and he said, Smite the chapiter that the thresholds may shake; and break all of them in pieces, in the head; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not get away by flight, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
Easy-to-Read Version
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said, "Hit the top of the columns, and shake them to the ground. Push them and they will fall on everyone's head. As for those who survive, I will kill them with a sword. None of them will run away. None of them will escape.
George Lamsa Translation
I SAW the LORD standing over the altar; and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the thresholds may shake; and let their treachery be upon the heads of all of them, and I will slay those who are left of them with the sword; he that flees of them shall not escape, and he that is spared of them shall not be delivered.
Good News Translation
I saw the Lord standing by the altar. He gave the command: "Strike the tops of the Temple columns so hard that the foundation will shake. Break them off and let them fall on the heads of the people. I will kill the rest of the people in war. No one will get away; not one will escape.
Lexham English Bible
I saw my Lord standing by the altar and he said, "Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, and shatter them on the head of all of them, and I will kill the rest of them with the sword. A fugitive belonging to them will not run away, and a survivor belonging to them will not escape.
Literal Translation
I saw the Lord standing by the altar. And He said, Strike the capital of the door, and the thresholds will shake; and cut them off on the head of all of them. And I will kill the last of them with thesword. Not one of them who flees will flee,and not a fugitive of them will escape.
American Standard Version
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar: and he said, Smite the capitals, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
Bible in Basic English
I saw the Lord stationed by the side of the altar, giving blows to the tops of the pillars so that the doorsteps were shaking: and he said, I will let all of them be broken with earth-shocks; I will put the last of them to the sword: if any one of them goes in flight he will not get away, not one of them will be safe.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar; and He said: Smite the capitals, that the posts may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the residue of them with the sword; there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
I saw the Lorde standing vpon the aulter, and he sayd: Smite the lintel of the doore, that the postes may shake, & cut them in peeces, euen the heades of them all, and I wil slay the last of them with the sworde: he that fleeth of them, shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them, shall not be deliuered.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
I saw the Lord standing on the altar: and he said, Smite the mercy-seat, and the porch shall be shaken: and cut through into the heads of all; and I will slay the remnant of them with the sword: no one of them fleeing shall escape, and no one of them, striving to save himself shall be delivered.
English Revised Version
I SAW the Lord standing beside the altar: and he said, Smite the chapiters, that the thresholds may shake: and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
World English Bible
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, "Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
I siy the Lord stondynge on the auter, and he seide, Smyte thou the herre, and the ouer threshfoldis be mouyd togidere; for aueryce is in the heed of alle, and Y schal sle bi swerd the laste of hem; ther schal no fliyt be to hem, and he that schal fle of hem, schal not be sauyd.
Update Bible Version
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar: and he said, Smite the capitals, that the thresholds may shake; and break them to pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.
Webster's Bible Translation
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
New English Translation
I saw the sovereign One standing by the altar and he said, "Strike the tops of the support pillars, so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the survivors with the sword. No one will be able to run away; no one will be able to escape.
New King James Version
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said: "Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake, And break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away, And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.
New Living Translation
Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said, "Strike the tops of the Temple columns, so that the foundation will shake. Bring down the roof on the heads of the people below. I will kill with the sword those who survive. No one will escape!
New Life Bible
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Break the tops of the pillars so that the bases shake! Break them to pieces on the heads of all the people! Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword. Not one of them will get away.
New Revised Standard
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and those who are left I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away, not one of them shall escape.
Douay-Rheims Bible
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and he said: Strike the hinges, and let the lintels be shook: for there is covetousness in the head of them all, and I will slay the last of them with the sword: there shall be no flight for them: they shall flee, and he that shall flee of them shall not be delivered.
Revised Standard Version
I saw the LORD standing beside the altar, and he said: "Smite the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and what are left of them I will slay with the sword; not one of them shall flee away, not one of them shall escape.
Young's Literal Translation
I have seen the Lord standing by the altar, and He saith: `Smite the knob, and the thresholds shake, And cut them off by the head -- all of them, And their posterity with a sword I do slay, Not flee to them doth the fleer, Nor escape to them doth a fugitive.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I sawe the LORDE stondinge vpon the aulter, and he sayde: smyte the dore cheke, that the postes maye shake withall. For their couetousnesse shal fall vpon all their heades, and their posterite shalbe slayne with the swerde. They shall not fle awaye, there shall not one off them escape, ner be delyuered.
THE MESSAGE
I saw my Master standing beside the altar at the shrine. He said: "Hit the tops of the shrine's pillars, make the floor shake. The roof's about to fall on the heads of the people, and whoever's still alive, I'll kill. No one will get away, no runaways will make it. If they dig their way down into the underworld, I'll find them and bring them up. If they climb to the stars, I'll find them and bring them down. If they hide out at the top of Mount Carmel, I'll find them and bring them back. If they dive to the bottom of the ocean, I'll send Dragon to swallow them up. If they're captured alive by their enemies, I'll send Sword to kill them. I've made up my mind to hurt them, not help them."

Contextual Overview

1 I saw My Lord stationed by the altar, and he said - Smite the capital - that the sills, may tremble, Yea break them off on the head of them all, and, the last of them, with the sword, will I slay, - He that fleeth of them, shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them, shall not make good his escape. 2 Though they break through into hades, from thence, shall my hand fetch them, - and, though they ascend the heavens, from thence, will I bring them down; 3 And, though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, from thence, will I search for them and take them, - and, though they conceal themselves from before mine eyes at the bottom of the sea, from thence, will I command the serpent and he shall bite them; 4 And, though they go into captivity before their enemies, from thence, will I command the sword, and it shall slay them, - So will I set mine eyes upon them for calamity, and not for blessing. 5 Now, My Lord, Yahweh of hosts, is he - -who toucheth the earth, and it melteth, and all that dwell therein, mourn; and it cometh up like the Nile, all of it, and subsideth like the river of Egypt: 6 Who buildeth, in the heavens, his upper rooms, and, as for his vault, upon the earth, hath he founded it, - who calleth to the waters of the sea, and poureth them out over the face of the land, Yahweh, is his name. 7 Like the sons of the Ethiopians, are not ye, unto me, O sons of Israel? Demandeth Yahweh: Was it not, Israel, I brought up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines out of Caphtor, and the Syrians out of Kir? 8 Lo! the eyes of My Lord, Yahweh, are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the ground, - save only that I will not, utterly destroy, the house of Jacob, Declareth Yahweh. 9 For lo! I am giving command, and will sift, throughout all the nations, the house of Israel, - as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall there not fall a kernel, to the earth. 10 By the sword, shall die all the sinners of my people, - who say, The calamity, shall not overtake and close in before us.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I saw: 2 Chronicles 18:18, Isaiah 6:1, Ezekiel 1:28, John 1:18, John 1:32, Acts 26:13, Revelation 1:17

upon: Amos 3:14, Ezekiel 9:2, Ezekiel 10:4

Smite: Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 6:4, Zechariah 11:1, Zechariah 11:2

lintel: or, chapiter, or knop

cut them: or, wound them, in the head. Psalms 68:21, Habakkuk 3:13

shall not flee: Amos 2:14, Amos 2:15, Isaiah 24:17, Isaiah 24:18, Isaiah 30:16, Jeremiah 48:44

Reciprocal: Exodus 14:25 - Let us flee Joshua 10:18 - General 1 Samuel 5:9 - the hand 2 Kings 18:10 - they took it Job 11:20 - they shall not escape Job 20:24 - flee from Job 27:22 - he would fain flee Isaiah 9:14 - will cut Isaiah 17:3 - fortress Jeremiah 4:29 - shall flee Jeremiah 11:11 - which Jeremiah 16:16 - every mountain Jeremiah 25:35 - the shepherds Jeremiah 42:16 - that the sword Jeremiah 46:6 - not Jeremiah 49:8 - dwell Jeremiah 52:8 - General Lamentations 1:3 - all Lamentations 2:22 - my terrors Lamentations 4:19 - they pursued Ezekiel 11:8 - General Ezekiel 15:7 - they shall Ezekiel 17:21 - all his fugitives Ezekiel 21:24 - ye shall Hosea 8:1 - the house Hosea 13:8 - as a Hosea 13:16 - Samaria Amos 4:12 - thus Amos 5:19 - As if Amos 6:11 - the Lord Micah 2:3 - from Micah 6:14 - and thou Zephaniah 1:12 - that I Zephaniah 2:14 - upper lintels Zechariah 5:8 - the weight Matthew 24:28 - General Luke 17:37 - wheresoever

Cross-References

Genesis 1:22
And God blessed them, saying, - Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let, the birds, multiply in the land.
Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, - because therein, rested he from all his work which God, by creating, had made.
Genesis 8:17
All the living creatures that are with thee of all flesh among birds, and among beasts, and among all the creeping things that creep on the earth, bring forth with thee, - and they shall swarm in the earth, and be fruitful and multiply, on the earth.
Genesis 9:3
As for every moving thing that hath life, yours, shall it be, for food, - Like the green herb, have I given you all things.
Genesis 9:4
Yet flesh with the life thereof, the bleed thereof, shall ye not eat;
Genesis 9:7
Ye, therefore, be fruitful and multiply, swarm in the earth and multiply therein.
Genesis 9:19
These three, were the sons of Noah, - and from these, was all the earth overspread.
Genesis 10:32
These, are the families of the sons of Noah, by their generations in their nations, and from these, were dispersed the nations in the earth after the flood.
Genesis 24:60
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, Our sister! become thou, thousands of ten thousands, - And let thy seed take possession of the gate of them that hate them!
Psalms 112:1
Praise ye Yah! How happy is the man who revereth Yahweh, In his commandments, delighteth he greatly;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I saw the Lord standing upon the altar,.... Either upon the altar of burnt offerings in the temple of Jerusalem, whither he had removed from the cherubim; signifying his being about to depart, and that he was displeased, and would not be appeased by sacrifice: so the Targum,

"said Amos the prophet, I saw the glory of the Lord removing from the cherub, and it dwelt upon the altar;''

and the vision may refer to the destruction of the Jews, their city and temple, either by the Chaldeans, or by the Romans: or rather, since the prophecy in general, and this vision in particular, seems to respect the ten tribes only, it was upon the altar at Bethel the Lord was seen standing, as offended at the sacrifices there offered, and to hinder them from sacrificing them, as well as to take vengeance on those that offered them, 1 Kings 13:1;

and he said; the Lord said, either to the prophet in vision, or to one of the angels, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or to the executioners of his vengeance, the enemies of the people of Israel:

smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake; the upper lintel, on which pomegranates and flowers were carved, and therefore called "caphtor", as Kimchi thinks; this was the lintel of the door, either of the temple at Jerusalem, as the Jewish writers generally suppose; or rather of the temple at Bethel, see 1 Kings 12:31; which was to be smitten with such three, that the posts thereof should shake; signifying the destruction of the whole building in a short time, and that none should be able to go in and out thereat:

and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword; which shows that the lintel and doorposts are not to be taken literally, but figuratively; and that the smiting and cutting of them intend the destruction of men; by the "head", the king, and the princes, and nobles, or the priests; and, by "the last of them", the common people, the meanest sort, or those that were left of them, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi:

he that fleeth of them shall not flee away; he that attempts to make his escape, and shall flee for his life, shall not get clear, but either be stopped, or pursued and taken:

and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered; he that does get out of the hands of those that destroy with the sword shall not be delivered from death, but shall die by famine or pestilence. The Targum is,

"and he said, unless the people of the house of Israel return to the law, the candlestick shall be extinguished, King Josiah shall be killed, and the house destroyed, and the courts dissipated, and the vessels of the house of the sanctuary shall go into captivity; and the rest of them I will slay with the sword, &c.''

referring the whole to the Jews, and to the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I saw the Lord - He saw God in vision; yet God no more, as before, asked him what he saw. God no longer shows him emblems of the destruction, but the destruction itself. Since Amos had just been speaking of the idolatry of Samaria, as the ground of its utter destruction, doubtless this vision of such utter destruction of the place of worship, with and upon the worshipers, relates to those same idolaters and idoltries . True, the condenmation of Israel would become the condemnation of Judah, when Judah’s sins, like Israel’s, should become complete. But directly, it can hardly relate to any other than those spoken of before and after, Israel. “The altar,” then, “over” which Amos sees God “stand,” is doubtless the altar on which Jeroboam sacrificed, “the altar” which he set up over-against the altar at Jerusalem, the center of the calf-worship, whose destruction the man of God foretold on the day of its dedication.

There where, in counterfeit of the sacrifices which God had appointed, they offered would-be-atoning sacrifices and sinned in them, God appeared, standing, to behold, to judge, to condemn. “And He said, smite the lintel,” literally, “the chapter,” or “capital,” probably so called from “crowning” the pillar with a globular form, like a pomegranate. This, the spurious outward imitation of the true sanctuary, God commands to be stricken, “that the posts,” or probably “the thresholds, may shake.” The building was struck from above, and reeled to its base. It does not matter, whether any blow on the capital of a pillar would make the whole fabric to shake. For the blow was no blow of man. God gives the command probably to the Angel of the Lord, as, in Ezekiel’s vision of the destruction of Jerusalem, the charge to destroy was given to six men Ezekiel 9:2. So the first-born of Egypt, the army of Sennacherib, were destroyed by an Angel Exodus 12:23; 2 Kings 19:34-35. An Angel stood with his sword over Jerusalem 2 Samuel 24:1, 2 Samuel 24:15-16, when God punished David’s presumption in numbering the people. At one blow of the heavenly Agent the whole building shook, staggered, fell.

And cut them in the head, all of them - o This may be either by the direct agency of the Angel, or the temple itself may be represented as falling on the heads of the worshipers. As God, through Jehu, destroyed all the worshipers of Baal in the house of Baal, so here He foretells, under a like image, the destruction of all the idolaters of Israel. He had said, “they that swear by the sin of Samaria - shall fall and never rise up again.” Here he represents the place of that worship the idolaters, as it seems, crowded there, and the command given to destroy them all. All Israel was not to be destroyed. “Not the least grain” was to “fall upon the earth Amos 9:9. Those then here represented as destroyed to the last man, must be a distinct class. Those destroyed in the temple must be the worshipers in the temple. In the Temple of God at Jerusalem, none entered except the priests. Even the space “between the porch and the altar” was set apart for the priests. But heresy is necessarily irreverent, because, not worshiping the One God, it had no Object of reverence. Hence, the temple of Baal was full “from end to end 2 Kings 10:21, and the worshipers of the sun at Jerusalem turned “their backs toward the Temple,” and “worshiped the sun toward the east, at the door of the Temple, between the porch and the altar” Ezekiel 8:16; Ezekiel 11:1. The worshipers of the calves were commanded to “kiss” Hosea 13:2 them, and so must have filled the temple, where they were.

And I will slay the last of them - The Angel is bidden to destroy those gatered in open idolatry in one place. God, by His Omniscience, reserved the rest for His own judgment. All creatures, animate or inanimate, rational or irrational, stand at His command to fulfill His will. The mass of idolaters having perished in their idolatry, the rest, not crushed in the fall of the temple, would fain flee away, but “he that fleeth shall not flee,” God says, to any good “to themselves;” yea, although they should do what for man is impossible, they should not escape God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER IX

The first part of this chapter contains another vision, in

which God is represented as declaring the final ruin of the

kingdom of Israel, and the general dispersion of the people,

1-10.

The prophet then passes to the great blessedness of the people

of God under the Gospel dispensation, 11-15.

See Acts 15:15-16.

NOTES ON CHAP. IX

Verse Amos 9:1. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar — As this is a continuation of the preceding prophecy, the altar here may be one of those either at Dan or Beer-sheba.

Smite the lintel — Either the piece of timber that binds the wall above the door, or the upper part of the door frame, in which the cheeks, or side posts, are inserted, and which corresponds to the threshold, or lower part of the door frame.

And cut them in the head — Let all the lintels of all the doors of all those temples be thus cut, as a sign that the whole shall be thrown down and totally demolished. Or this may refer to their heads-chief men, who were principals in these transgressions. Mark their temples, their priests, their prophets, and their princes, for destruction.

He that fleeth - shall not flee away — He shall be caught before he can get out of the reach of danger.

And he that escapeth (that makes good his flight) shall not be delivered.] Captivity, famine, or sword, shall reach him even there.


 
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