New King James 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;
- English Standard Version (ESV)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
2The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up. 3For thus says the Lord God: “The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by 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, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing. 6Seek 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—
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 devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel—
- Deuteronomy 30:1“Now it shall come to pass, 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 drives you,
- 1 Chronicles 28:9“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. 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 20:3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself 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 still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.
- Psalms 14:2The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
- Psalms 27:8When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
- Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
- Jeremiah 29:12Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to 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 meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger.
- Matthew 7:8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
- Psalms 22:26The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever!
- Psalms 69:32The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
- Psalms 105:3Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries