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

4Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live! 5Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel; don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” Come back to the Lord and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames. 7You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt. 8It is the Lord who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into morning and day into night. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is his name!

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 5:4Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live!
• Ezekiel 33:11As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
• Exodus 22:6“If you are burning thornbushes and the fire gets out of control and spreads into another person’s field, destroying the sheaves or the uncut grain or the whole crop, the one who started the fire must pay for the lost crop.
• Amos 6:6You drink wine by the bowlful and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions. You care nothing about the ruin of your nation.
• Genesis 48:8Then Jacob looked over at the two boys. “Are these your sons?” he asked.
• Joshua 18:5Let them divide the land into seven sections, excluding Judah’s territory in the south and Joseph’s territory in the north.
• Judges 1:22The descendants of Joseph attacked the town of Bethel, and the Lord was with them.
• 2 Samuel 19:20I know how much I sinned. That is why I have come here today, the very first person in all Israel to greet my lord the king.”
• 1 Kings 11:28Jeroboam was a very capable young man, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph.
• Ezekiel 37:19say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them to Judah. I will make them one piece of wood in my hand.’
• Zechariah 10:6“I will strengthen Judah and save Israel; I will restore them because of my compassion. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.
• Isaiah 1:31The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.
• Jeremiah 4:4O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.
• Jeremiah 7:20So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.”
• Ezekiel 20:47Tell the southern wilderness, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north.
• Mark 9:43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.

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