New Living Translation
Amos 5:8
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 5:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: 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 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name;
- New King James Version (NKJV)He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He 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 5:8
6Come 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. It 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! 9With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all their defenses. 10How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth!
Read all of Amos 5Amos 5:8 word by word
עֹשֵׂ֨ה כִימָ֜ה וּכְסִ֗יל וְהֹפֵ֤ךְ לַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ צַלְמָ֔וֶת וְי֖וֹם לַ֣יְלָה הֶחְשִׁ֑יךְ הַקּוֹרֵ֣א לְמֵֽי־הַיָּ֗ם וַֽיִּשְׁפְּכֵ֛ם עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאָ֖רֶץ יְהוָ֥ה שְׁמֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- that makethעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- the seven starsכִּימָהkîymâh · PleiadesH3598
- and Orionכְּסִילkesîyl · OrionH3685
- and turnethהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
- the shadow of deathצַלְמָ֫וֶתtsalmâveth · shadowH6757
- into the morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
- and maketh the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- darkחָשַׁךְchâshak · to darkenH2821
- with nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- 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
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
Cross-references for Amos 5:8
- Job 9:9He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
- Job 38:31“Can you direct the movement of the stars— binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?
- Job 12:22“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.
- Job 38:12“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
- Psalms 107:10Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
- Matthew 4:16the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”
- Luke 1:79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
- Amos 4:13For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
- Amos 8:9“In that day,” says the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth while it is still day.
- Exodus 10:21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.”
- Exodus 14:24But just before dawn the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw their forces into total confusion.
- Psalms 104:20You send the darkness, and it becomes night, when all the forest animals prowl about.
- Psalms 105:28The Lord blanketed Egypt in darkness, for they had defied his commands to let his people go.
- Isaiah 59:10We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. Among the living, we are like the dead.
- Amos 9:6The Lord’s home reaches up to the heavens, while its foundation is on the earth. He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land. The Lord is his name!
- Genesis 7:11When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky.
Commentaries on Amos 5:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8That maketh the seven stars and Orion - Or, Hyades and Arcturus, Kimah and Kesil. See my notes on Job 9:9; Job 38:32, where the subject of this verse is largely considered. Turneth the shadow of death into the morning - Who makes day and night, light and darkness. Calleth for the waters of the sea - Raising them up by evaporation, and collecting them into clouds. And poureth them out - Causing them to drop down in showers upon the face of the earth. Who…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Seek Him that maketh the seven stars - Misbelief effaces the thought of God as He Is. It retains the name God, but means something quite different from the One True God. So people spoke of “the Deity,” as a sort of First Cause of all things, and did not perceive that they only meant to own that this fair harmony of things created was not (at least as it now exists,) self-existent, and that they had lost sight of the Personal God who had made known to them…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. 8-9Amos quotes another hymn fragment (see Amos 4:13; 9:5–6). The prophet highlights the difference between the cosmic God and local gods. Stars, celestial bodies, and constellations like Pleiades and Orion were seen as gods in ancient times. Amos says this is not true; the Lord created them and placed them in the sky. waters: People in ancient times observed a process they did not understand, such as evaporation and condensation (when water turns into vapor…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. the seven stars--literally, the heap or cluster of seven larger stars and others smaller (Job 9:9; 38:31). The former whole passage seems to have been in Amos' mind. He names the stars well known to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged), Orion as the precursor of the tempests which are here threatened, and the Pleiades as ushering in spring. shadow of death--Hebraism for the densest darkness. calleth for the waters of the sea--both to send deluges…Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 5:8
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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