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

4This is what the Lord says to the nation of Israel: Search for me and live! 5But don’t search ⌞for me⌟ at Bethel. Don’t go to Gilgal. Don’t travel to Beersheba. Gilgal will certainly go into exile. Bethel will come to nothing. Search for the Lord and live! If you don’t, he will spread like a fire through the house of Joseph and burn it down. Bethel will have no one to put it out. 7You, Israel, turn justice into poison and throw righteousness on the ground. 8God made the ⌞constellations⌟ Pleiades and Orion. He turns deep darkness into dawn. He turns day into night. He calls for water from the sea to pour it over the face of the earth. His name is the Lord.

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 5:4This is what the Lord says to the nation of Israel: Search for me and live!
• Ezekiel 33:11“Tell them, ‘As I live, declares the Almighty Lord, I don’t want wicked people to die. Rather, I want them to turn from their ways and live. Change the way you think and act! Turn from your wicked ways! Do you want to die, people of Israel?’
• Exodus 22:6“Whenever a fire starts and spreads into the underbrush so that it burns up stacked or standing grain or ruins a field, the person who started the fire must make up for the loss.
• Amos 6:6How horrible it will be for those who drink wine by the jugful. They rub the finest oils all over themselves and are not sorry for the ruin ⌞of the descendants⌟ of Joseph.
• Genesis 48:8When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are they?”
• Joshua 18:5They will divide the land into seven parts. Judah will stay within its territory in the south, and Joseph’s descendants will stay within their territory in the north.
• Judges 1:22The descendants of Joseph also went into battle against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.
• 2 Samuel 19:20I know I’ve sinned. Today I’ve come as the first of all the house of Joseph to meet you.”
• 1 Kings 11:28Solomon saw that Jeroboam was a very able and hardworking man. So he put Jeroboam in charge of all forced labor from the tribes of Joseph.
• Ezekiel 37:19Then say to them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will take Joseph’s stick, which is in Ephraim’s hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put them with Judah’s stick. I will make them into one stick. They will be one in my hand.’
• Zechariah 10:6“I will strengthen the people of Judah. I will rescue Joseph’s people. I will bring them back, because I have compassion for them. It will be as though I had never rejected them, because I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.
• Isaiah 1:31Strong people will become tinder for a fire, and their work will be the spark. Both of them will burn together, and there will be no one to put out the fire.
• Jeremiah 4:4Be circumcised by the Lord, and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you do.
• Jeremiah 7:20“This is what the Almighty Lord says: My anger and fury will be poured out on this place, on humans and animals, and on trees and crops. My anger and fury will burn and not be put out.
• Ezekiel 20:47Tell the forest in the Negev, ‘Listen to the Lord’s word. This is what the Almighty Lord says: I am about to set fire to you to destroy all your green trees and all your dry trees. The blazing fire will not be put out. It will burn the whole land from the south to the north.
• Mark 9:43“So if your hand causes you to lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life disabled than to have two hands and go to hell, to the fire that cannot be put out.

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