Amos 5:6

Amos 5:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Seek the Lord and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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,
• New King James Version (NKJV)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—

Context of Amos 5:6

4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, “Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live. 5But do not resort to Bethel [to worship the golden calf] Nor enter [idolatrous] Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba [and its idols]; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile, And Bethel will come to nothing. 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, 7For those [shall be consumed] who turn justice into wormwood (bitterness) And cast righteousness down to the earth.” 8He who made the [cluster of stars called] Pleiades and [the constellation] Orion, Who turns deep darkness into the morning And darkens the day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The Lord is His name.

Amos 5:6 word by word

דִּרְשׁ֥וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה וִֽחְי֑וּ פֶּן־יִצְלַ֤ח כָּאֵשׁ֙ בֵּ֣ית יוֹסֵ֔ף וְאָכְלָ֥ה וְאֵין־מְכַבֶּ֖ה לְבֵֽית־אֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Seekדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and ye shall liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• lest he break outצָלַחtsâlach tsâlêach · to rushH6743
• like fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• in the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• of Josephיוֹסֵףyôsêph · JosephH3130
• and devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• none to quenchכָּבָהkâbâh · to quenchH3518
• in Beth–elבֵּֽיתְ־אֵלbêyth-'êl · BethelH1008

Cross-references for Amos 5:6

• Amos 5:4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, “Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live.
• Ezekiel 33:11Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back (change your way of thinking), turn back [in repentance] from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
• Exodus 22:6“If fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes so that the stacked grain or standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.
• Amos 6:6Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls And anoint themselves with the finest oils [reflecting their unrestrained celebration]; Yet they are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph (Israel).
• Genesis 48:8When Israel [who was almost blind] saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”
• Joshua 18:5They shall divide it into seven parts; [the tribe of] Judah shall remain in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in its territory on the north.
• Judges 1:22The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.
• 2 Samuel 19:20For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”
• 1 Kings 11:28The man Jeroboam was a brave warrior and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.
• Ezekiel 37:19say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join the stick of Judah with it and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” ’
• Zechariah 10:6I will strengthen the house of Judah [making it superior], And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back [and allow them to live securely], Because I have had compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the Lord their God, and I will listen and answer them.
• Isaiah 1:31The strong man will become tinder, And his work a spark. So both will burn together And there will be none to quench them.
• Jeremiah 4:4Circumcise (dedicate, sanctify) yourselves to the Lord And remove the foreskin [sins] of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way] And burn and there will be no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your acts.”
• Jeremiah 7:20Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and [the fire will] not be quenched.”
• Ezekiel 20:47and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every one of your green trees, as well as every one of your dry trees. The blazing flame will not be quenched and the whole surface from the south to the north will be burned by it.
• Mark 9:43If your hand causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]! It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

Commentaries on Amos 5:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Seek 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.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Seek 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6The northern kingdom of Israel, also known as the house of Joseph, was mainly controlled by the tribes of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (see study note on Amos 5:15; see Hosea 5:3, 5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. break out like fire--bursting through everything in His way. God is "a consuming fire" (De 4:24; Is 10:17; La 2:3). the house of Joseph--the kingdom of Israel, of which the tribe of Ephraim, Joseph's son, was the chief tribe (compare Eze 37:16). none to quench it in Beth-el--that is, none in Beth-el to quench it; none of the Beth-el idols on which Israel so depended, able to remove the divine judgments.Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 5:6

• Joseph
• Prayer
• Repentance
• Seekers

In the dictionaries

• Joseph
• Manifold
• Seek
• Amos (1)
• Break
• Genesis
• Jeroboam

Commentaries on Amos 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings