English Standard Version
Amos 5:4
4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live;
Amos 5:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live;
- New King James Version (NKJV)For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live;
- New Living Translation (NLT)Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live!
Context of Amos 5:4
2"Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up." 3For thus says the Lord God: "The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel." For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live; 5but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing." 6Seek 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,
Read all of Amos 5Amos 5:4 word by word
כִּ֣י כֹ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֖ה לְבֵ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל דִּרְשׁ֖וּנִי וִֽחְיֽוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Amos 5:4
- Amos 5:6Seek 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,
- Deuteronomy 30:1"And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you,
- 1 Chronicles 28:9"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 34:3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images.
- Psalms 14:2The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
- Psalms 27:8You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek."
- Isaiah 55:6"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
- Jeremiah 29:12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
- Lamentations 3:25The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
- Zephaniah 2:3Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
- Matthew 7:8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
- Psalms 22:26The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!
- Psalms 69:32When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
- Psalms 105:3Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Commentaries on Amos 5:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Seek ye me, and ye shall live - Cease your rebellion against me; return to me with all your heart; and though consigned to death, ye shall be rescued and live. Deplorable as your case is, it is not utterly desperate.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Seek ye Me and ye shall live - Literally, “seek Me; and live.” Wonderful conciseness of the word of God, which, in two words, comprises the whole of the creature‘s duty and his hopes, his time and his eternity. The prophet users the two imperatives, inoneing both, man‘s duty and his reward. He does not speak of them, as cause and effect, but as one. Where the one is, there is the other. To seek God is to live. For to seek God is to find Him, and God is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Seek Me and live implies a condition: To live, Israel must seek the Lord (also in Amos 5:6). Otherwise, the funeral song (Amos 5:1–2) will become Israel’s death sentence.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Seek ye me, and ye shall live--literally, "Seek ... Me, and live." The second imperative expresses the certainty of "life" (escape from judgment) resulting from obedience to the precept in the first imperative. If they perish, it is their own fault; God would forgive, if they would repent (Is 55:3, 6).Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 5:4
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries