New International Version
Amos 5:7
7There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.
Amos 5:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
- English Standard Version (ESV)O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!
- New King James Version (NKJV)You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt.
Context of Amos 5:7
5do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” 6Seek 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. There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground. 8He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name. 9With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin.
Read all of Amos 5Amos 5:7 word by word
הַהֹפְכִ֥ים לְלַעֲנָ֖ה מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה לָאָ֥רֶץ הִנִּֽיחוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Amos 5:7
- Amos 5:11You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.
- Amos 6:12Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
- Deuteronomy 29:18Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.
- Isaiah 1:23Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.
- Isaiah 5:7The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
- Isaiah 10:1Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,
- Isaiah 59:13rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
- Hosea 10:4They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
- Habakkuk 1:12Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die. You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
- Psalms 36:3The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good.
- Psalms 125:5But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be on Israel.
- Ezekiel 3:20“Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
- Ezekiel 18:24“But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
- Ezekiel 33:12“Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’
- Zephaniah 1:6those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”
Commentaries on Amos 5:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Ye who turn judgment to wormwood - Who pervert judgment; causing him who obtains his suit to mourn sorely over the expenses he has incurred in gaining his right.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Ye who turn - Those whom he calls to seek God, were people filled with all injustice, who turned the sweetness of justice into the bitterness of wormwood. Moses had used “gall” and “wormwood” as a proverb; “lest there be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; the Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him” Deuteronomy…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-17Verses 7-17 The same almighty power can, for repenting sinners, easily turn affliction and sorrow into prosperity and joy, and as easily turn the prosperity of daring sinners into utter darkness. Evil times will not bear plain dealing; that is, evil men will not. And these men were evil men indeed, when wise and good men thought it in vain even to speak to them. Those who will seek and love that which is good, may help to save the land from ruin. It…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-17Amos delivers three prophetic messages to Israel, criticizing their mistaken belief about being God's chosen people. The messages show a progression toward judgment.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. turn judgment to wormwood--that is, pervert it to most bitter wrong. As justice is sweet, so injustice is bitter to the injured. "Wormwood" is from a Hebrew root, to "execrate," on account of its noxious and bitter qualities. leave on righteousness in ... earth--Maurer translates, "cast righteousness to the ground," as in Is 28:2; Da 8:12.Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 5:7
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
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