Amos 4:8

Amos 4:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me," declares the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the Lord.

Context of Amos 4:8

6“But surely I gave you no food to eat in any of your cities; you lacked food everywhere you live. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! 7“I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up. People from two or three cities staggered into one city to get water, but remained thirsty. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! 9“I destroyed your crops with blight and disease. Locusts kept devouring your orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking! 10“I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. I killed your young men with the sword, along with the horses you had captured. I made the stench from the corpses rise up into your nostrils. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!

Amos 4:8 word by word

וְנָע֡וּ שְׁתַּיִם֩ שָׁלֹ֨שׁ עָרִ֜ים אֶל־עִ֥יר אַחַ֛ת לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת מַ֖יִם וְלֹ֣א יִשְׂבָּ֑עוּ וְלֹֽא־שַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָדַ֖י נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• So twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• wanderedנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• unto oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• to drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• but they were not satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
• yet have ye not returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• unto me, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Amos 4:8

• 1 Kings 18:5Ahab told Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill some of the animals.”
• Isaiah 41:17The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
• Jeremiah 14:3The leading men of the cities send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns, but they do not find any water there. They return with their containers empty. Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.
• Ezekiel 4:16Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply in Jerusalem. They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror
• Micah 6:14You will eat, but not be satisfied. Even if you have the strength to overtake some prey, you will not be able to carry it away; if you do happen to carry away something, I will deliver it over to the sword.
• Haggai 1:6You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but are never filled. You drink, but are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but are not warm. Those who earn wages end up with holes in their money bags.’”
• Amos 4:6“But surely I gave you no food to eat in any of your cities; you lacked food everywhere you live. Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking!
• Jeremiah 23:14But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.
• Hosea 7:10The arrogance of Israel testifies against him, yet they refuse to return to the Lord their God! In spite of all this they refuse to seek him!

Commentaries on Amos 4:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Two or three cities wandered into one city - Those then who were punished, were more than those who were reprieved. The word “wandered” literally, “trembled,” expresses the unsteady reeling gate of those exhausted, in quest of food. They staggered through weakness, and uncertain, amid the general drought, whither to betake themselves. This was done, not in punishment but to heal. God paused, in order to give them opportunity to repent; in deed, His…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-13Verses 6-13 See the folly of carnal hearts; they wander from one creature to another, seeking for something to satisfy, and labour for that which satisfies not; yet, after all, they will not incline their ear to Him in whom they might find all they can want. Preaching the gospel is as rain, and every thing withers where this rain is wanting. It were well if people were as wise for their souls as they are for their bodies; and, when they have not this rain…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-11God sent natural disasters to encourage his people to repent, but they did not respond sincerely. Amos ends each disaster account with the phrase: “yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-116-11. Jehovah details His several chastisements inflicted with a view to reclaiming them: but adds to each the same sad result, "yet have ye not returned unto Me" (Is 9:13; Jr 5:3; Ho 7:10); the monotonous repetition of the same burden marking their pitiable obstinacy. cleanness of teeth--explained by the parallel, "want of bread." The famine alluded to is that mentioned in 2Ki 8:1 [Grotius]. Where there is no food to masticate, the teeth are free from…Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 4:8

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Famine

In the dictionaries

• Prepare
• Amos (1)
• Joel (2)

Commentaries on Amos 4

• 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