Amos 9 · Verse 4

Amos 9:4

And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
Amos 9:4, King James Version

Amos 9:4 in other translations

BSBThough they are driven by their enemies into captivity, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix My eyes upon them for harm and not for good.”
WEBThough they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good.
ASVAnd though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
YLTAnd if they go into captivity before their enemies, From thence I command the sword, And it hath slain them, And I have set Mine eye on them for evil, And not for good.
DARBYand though they go into captivity before their enemies, there will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
BBEAnd though they are taken away as prisoners by their attackers, even there will I give orders to the sword to put them to death: my eyes will be fixed on them for evil and not for good.
WebsterAnd though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set my eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

What does Amos 9:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. though they go into captivity--hoping to save their lives by voluntarily surrendering to the foe.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 I will set mine eyes upon them for evil - I will use that very providence against them which before worked for their good. Should they look upward, they shall see nothing but the terrible lightning-like eye of a sin-avenging God.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Amos 9:1-10

The prophet, in vision, saw the Lord standing upon the idolatrous altar at Bethel. Wherever sinners flee from God's justice, it will overtake them. Those whom God brings to heaven by his grace, shall never be cast down; but those who seek to climb thither by vain confidence in themselves, will be cast down and filled with shame. That which makes escape impossible and ruin sure, is, that God will set his eyes upon…

Read the full comment on Amos 9:1-10 →

Amos 9:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאִם\־ve.'im-and ifH518
יֵלְכ֤וּye.le.Khuthey will goH1980
בַשְּׁבִי֙va.she.Viin <the> captivityH7628
לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
אֹֽיבֵיהֶ֔ם'.vei.Hemenemies theirH341
מִשָּׁ֛םmi.Shamfrom thereH8033
אֲצַוֶּ֥ה'a.tza.VehI will commandH6680
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַחֶ֖רֶבha.Che.revthe swordH2719
וַהֲרָגָ֑תַםva.ha.ra.Ga.tamand it will kill themH2026
וְשַׂמְתִּ֨יve.sam.Tiand I will setH7760
עֵינִ֧י'ei.Nieye myH5869
עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם'a.lei.Hemon themH5921
לְרָעָ֖הle.ra.'Ahfor evilH7451
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
לְטוֹבָֽה\׃le.to.Vahfor goodH2896

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Amos 9:4

  • Leviticus 26:33

    And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

  • Jeremiah 21:10

    For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

  • Jeremiah 44:11

    Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.

  • Ezekiel 5:12

    A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

  • Leviticus 17:10

    And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

  • Deuteronomy 28:63-65

    And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

  • Jeremiah 39:16

    Go and speak to Ebed–melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.

  • Jeremiah 24:6

    For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

  • Ezekiel 5:2

    Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

  • Leviticus 26:36-39

    And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

  • Zechariah 13:8-9

    And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

  • Psalms 34:15-16

    The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
go.
Le 26:33,36-39; De 28:64,65; Eze 5:2,12; Zec 13:8,9
set.
Le 17:10; De 28:63; 2Ch 16:9; Ps 34:15,16; Jer 24:6; 44:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Amos 9:3

    And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

  • Amos 9:4

    And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

  • Amos 9:5

    And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

Read all of Amos 9

Amos 9:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y si fueren en cautiverio, delante de sus enemigos, allí mandaré al cuchillo, y los matará; y pondré sobre ellos mis ojos para mal, y no para bien.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
et quand ils iraient en captivité devant leurs ennemis, là, je commanderai à l’épée, et elle les tuera; et je mettrai mes yeux sur eux pour le mal et non pour le bien.
German
Elberfelder 1871
und wenn sie vor ihren Feinden her in Gefangenschaft ziehen, werde ich von dort das Schwert entbieten, und es wird sie umbringen. Und ich werde mein Auge wider sie richten zum Bösen und nicht zum Guten.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et si abierint in captivitatem coram inimicis suis, ibi mandabo gladio, et occidet eos: et ponam oculos meos super eos in malum, et non in bonum.