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

10And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only [son], and the end thereof as a bitter day. 11Behold, days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, when I will send a famine in the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it. 13In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst; 14they that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, [As] thy god, O Dan, liveth! and, [As] the way of Beer-sheba liveth! even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

Amos 8:12 word by word

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

• wanderנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
• eastמִזְרָחmizrâch · eastH4217
• seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• findמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672

Cross-references for Amos 8:12

• Proverbs 14:6A scorner seeketh wisdom, and there is none [for him]; but knowledge is easy unto the intelligent.
• Daniel 12:4And thou, Daniel, close the words, and seal the book, till the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
• Matthew 11:25At that time, Jesus answering said, I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes.
• Matthew 12:30He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters.
• Matthew 24:23Then if any one say to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or here, believe [it] not.
• Romans 9:31But Israel, pursuing after a law of righteousness, has not attained to [that] law.
• Romans 11:7What [is it] then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
• 2 Timothy 3:6For of these are they who are getting into houses, and leading captive silly women, laden with sins, led by various lusts,

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