Amos 8:12

Amos 8:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
• New International Version (NIV)People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, But shall not find it.

Context of Amos 8:12

10I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day. 11Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. 13In that day the lovely young women— the young men as well— will faint from thirst. 14Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’— they will fall, never to rise again.”

Amos 8:12 word by word

וְנָעוּ֙ מִיָּ֣ם עַד־יָ֔ם וּמִצָּפ֖וֹן וְעַד־מִזְרָ֑ח יְשֽׁוֹטְט֛וּ לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ אֶת־דְּבַר־יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א יִמְצָֽאוּ׃Read the interlinear

• People will staggerנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• from seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• toעַד‛ad · tillH5704
• and roamשׁוּטshûţ · to roveH7751
• from northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
• eastמִזְרָחmizrâch · eastH4217
• seekingבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• but they will notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• find itמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672

Cross-references for Amos 8:12

• Proverbs 14:6A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
• Daniel 12:4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
• Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
• Matthew 12:30He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
• Matthew 24:23At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.
• Romans 9:31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
• Romans 11:7What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
• 2 Timothy 3:6They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,

Commentaries on Amos 8:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12They shall wander front sea to sea - From the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea or from west to east, and from north to south, to seek the word of the Lord; to find a prophet, or any person authorized by God to show them the end of their calamities. In this state they shall continue, because they have rejected Him who is the bread of life.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12They shall wander - Literally, “reel.” The word is used of the reeling of drunkards, of the swaying to and fro of trees in the wind, of the quivering of the lips of one agitated, and then of the unsteady seeking of persons bewildered, looking for what they know not where to find. “From sea to sea,” from the sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean, that is, from east to west, “and from the north even to the sunrising,” round again to the east, from where their…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-14Verses 11-14 Here was a token of God's highest displeasure. At any time, and most in a time of trouble, a famine of the word of God is the heaviest judgment. To many this is no affliction, yet some will feel it very much, and will travel far to hear a good sermon; they feel the loss of the mercies others foolishly sin away. But when God visits a backsliding church, their own plans and endeavours to find out a way of salvation, will stand them in no stead…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12from sea to sea: Israel's natural boundaries stretch from sea to sea. The Mediterranean Sea is on the west, and the Dead Sea is on the east. The other borders are simply called the north and the east.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. they shall wander from sea to sea--that is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west. from ... north ... to ... east--where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem for religious information. The circuit is traced as in Nu 34:3, &c., except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord" would not…Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 8:12

• Hunger
• Seekers
• Thirst
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Vision

Commentaries on Amos 8

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings