Amos 8:12

Amos 8:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
• New International Version (NIV)People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, But shall not find it.

Context of Amos 8:12

10I will turn your celebrations into times of mourning and your singing into weeping. You will wear funeral clothes and shave your heads to show your sorrow— as if your only son had died. How very bitter that day will be! 11“The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. 13Beautiful girls and strong young men will grow faint in that day, thirsting for the Lord’s word. 14And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria— who take oaths in the name of the god of Dan and make vows in the name of the god of Beersheba— they will all fall down, never to rise again.”

Amos 8:12 word by word

וְנָעוּ֙ מִיָּ֣ם עַד־יָ֔ם וּמִצָּפ֖וֹן וְעַד־מִזְרָ֑ח יְשֽׁוֹטְט֛וּ לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ אֶת־דְּבַר־יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א יִמְצָֽאוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they shall wanderנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• from seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• and from the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
• even to the eastמִזְרָחmizrâch · eastH4217
• they shall run to and froשׁוּטshûţ · to roveH7751
• to seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and shall not findמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672

Cross-references for Amos 8:12

• Proverbs 14:6A mocker seeks wisdom and never finds it, but knowledge comes easily to those with understanding.
• Daniel 12:4But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”
• Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.
• Matthew 12:30“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
• Matthew 24:23“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it.
• Romans 9:31But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.
• Romans 11:7So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened.
• 2 Timothy 3:6They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.

Commentaries on Amos 8:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12They shall wander front sea to sea - From the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea or from west to east, and from north to south, to seek the word of the Lord; to find a prophet, or any person authorized by God to show them the end of their calamities. In this state they shall continue, because they have rejected Him who is the bread of life.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12They shall wander - Literally, “reel.” The word is used of the reeling of drunkards, of the swaying to and fro of trees in the wind, of the quivering of the lips of one agitated, and then of the unsteady seeking of persons bewildered, looking for what they know not where to find. “From sea to sea,” from the sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean, that is, from east to west, “and from the north even to the sunrising,” round again to the east, from where their…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-14Verses 11-14 Here was a token of God's highest displeasure. At any time, and most in a time of trouble, a famine of the word of God is the heaviest judgment. To many this is no affliction, yet some will feel it very much, and will travel far to hear a good sermon; they feel the loss of the mercies others foolishly sin away. But when God visits a backsliding church, their own plans and endeavours to find out a way of salvation, will stand them in no stead…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12from sea to sea: Israel's natural boundaries stretch from sea to sea. The Mediterranean Sea is on the west, and the Dead Sea is on the east. The other borders are simply called the north and the east.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. they shall wander from sea to sea--that is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west. from ... north ... to ... east--where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem for religious information. The circuit is traced as in Nu 34:3, &c., except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord" would not…Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 8:12

• Hunger
• Seekers
• Thirst
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Vision

Commentaries on Amos 8

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings