New English Translation
Amos 9:6
6He builds the upper rooms of his palace in heaven and sets its foundation supports on the earth. He summons the water of the sea and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name.
Amos 9:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
- New International Version (NIV)he builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; he calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name.
- English Standard Version (ESV)who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth— the Lord is his name.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He who builds His layers in the sky, And has founded His strata in the earth; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the face of the earth— The Lord is His name.
Context of Amos 9:6
4Even when their enemies drive them into captivity, from there I will command the sword to kill them. I will not let them out of my sight; they will experience disaster, not prosperity.” 5The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. He touches the earth and it dissolves; all who live on it mourn. The whole earth rises like the River Nile, and then grows calm like the Nile in Egypt. He builds the upper rooms of his palace in heaven and sets its foundation supports on the earth. He summons the water of the sea and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name. 7“You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” says the Lord. “Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir. 8Look, the sovereign Lord is watching the sinful nation, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will not completely destroy the family of Jacob,” says the Lord.
Read all of Amos 9Amos 9:6 word by word
הַבּוֹנֶ֤ה בַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ מַעֲלוֹתָ֔יו וַאֲגֻדָּת֖וֹ עַל־אֶ֣רֶץ יְסָדָ֑הּ הַקֹּרֵ֣א לְמֵֽי־הַיָּ֗ם וַֽיִּשְׁפְּכֵ֛ם עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאָ֖רֶץ יְהוָ֥ה שְׁמֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- he that buildethבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- his storiesמַעֲלָהma‛ălâh · stepH4609
- in the heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- and hath foundedיָסַדyâsad · to foundH3245
- his troopאֲגֻדָּה'ăgûddâh · bandH92
- in the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- he that callethקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
- for the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- of the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- and poureth them outשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: pourH8210
- upon the faceפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
Cross-references for Amos 9:6
- Psalms 104:3and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. He makes the clouds his chariot, and travels along on the wings of the wind.
- Genesis 2:1The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them.
- Amos 5:8(But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion; he can turn the darkness into morning and daylight into night. He summons the water of the seas and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name!
- Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
- Jeremiah 5:22“You should fear me!” says the Lord. “You should tremble in awe before me! I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it can never cross. Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail. They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.”
- Amos 4:13For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men. He turns the dawn into darkness and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is his name!”
- Exodus 3:14God said to Moses, “I am that I am.” And he said, “You must say this to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Commentaries on Amos 9:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Buildeth his stories in the heaven - There is here an allusion to large houses, where there are cellars, or places dug in the ground as repositories for corn; middle apartments, or stories, for the families to live in; and the house-top for persons to take the air upon. There may be here a reference to the various systems which God has formed in illimitable space, transcending each other, as the planets do in our solar system: and thus we find Solomon…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6He that buildeth His stories - The word commonly means “steps,” nor is there any reason to alter it. We read of “the third heavens 2 Corinthians 12:2, the heavens of heavens Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 148:4; that is, heavens to which this heaven is as earth. They are different ways of expressing the vast unseen space which God has created, divided, as we know, through the distance of the fixed stars, into countless portions, of which the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6Amos uses a third hymn fragment (also Amos 4:13; 5:8–9) to remind Israel that God rules over everything.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. stories--literally, "ascents," that is, upper chambers, to which the ascent is by steps [Maurer]; evidently referring to the words in Psa 104:3, 13. Grotius explains it, God's royal throne, expressed in language drawn from Solomon's throne, to which the ascent was by steps (compare 1Ki 10:18, 19). founded his troop--namely, all animate creatures, which are God's troop, or host (Ge 2:1), doing His will (Psa 103:20, 21; Joe 2:11). Maurer translates, "His…Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 9:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Amos 9
- 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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries