Amos 5:12

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Amos 5:12

transgressions. Hebrew pasha. App-44 . sins. Hebrew. chata App-44 . they afflict = oppressors [as ye are] of. the just = a righteous one. take a bribe. Reference to Pentateuch (Numbers 35:31 , Numbers 35:32 , the same word). App-92 , turn aside. Reference to Pentateuch, (Exodus 23:6 . Deuteronomy 16:19 ; Deuteronomy 24:17 . The same Hebrew word in all three cases). App-92 , Compare Isaiah 29:21 .Malachi 3:5 . the poor' needy ones. Hebrew. 'ebyee . See note on "poverty", Proverbs 6:11 .... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Amos 5:12

"For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty your sins, ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate from their right."What is evident in this verse is not merely oppression of the poor, despite that's being an invariable result of it, but the absolute corruption of Israel's judiciary. The courts of law are always the last vestiges of justice in a decadent society; and when that is gone, there is nothing else left to go. It is that awful... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Amos 5:12

Amos 5:12. They afflict the just, &c.— Who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside, &c. Houbigant. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Amos 5:12

12. they afflict . . . they take—rather, "(ye) who afflict . . . take." bribe—literally, a price with which one who has an unjust cause ransoms himself from your sentence ( :-, Margin; Proverbs 6:35). turn aside the poor in the gate—refuse them their right in the place of justice (Amos 2:7; Isaiah 29:21). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Amos 5:1-17

3. The third message on injustice 5:1-17The structure of this message is chiastic, which focuses attention and emphasis on the middle part.A A description of certain judgment Amos 5:1-3B A call for individual repentance Amos 5:4-6C An accusation of legal injustice Amos 5:7D A portrayal of sovereign Yahweh Amos 5:8-9C’ An accusation of legal injustice Amos 5:10-13B’ A call for individual repentance Amos 5:14-15A’ A description of certain judgment Amos 5:16-17Another structural feature stresses... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Amos 5:10-13

Another accusation of legal injustice 5:10-13This pericope is also chiastic. Intimidation and abusive treatment flank an announcement of covenant violation. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Amos 5:12

Yahweh knew the many transgressions of His covenant and the great sins that these perverters of justice committed. They had distressed the righteous by their unrighteous conduct, accepted bribes from the wealthy, and made it impossible for the poor to get fair treatment in the courts. God was looking for justice (in their relationships to one another) and for righteousness (in their relationship to Him). This dual emphasis on justice and righteousness runs throughout the Book of Amos. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 5:1-27

The Third Address1-6. A lament, a warning, and an invitation. 7, 10-20. Denunciation of injustice and oppression, with threats of pestilence and judgment. 21-27. A repudiation of their attempt to please God by mere ritual.1, 2. Lamentation] a technical term for mournful poetry consisting of short lines of unequal length: here, for instance (Amos 5:2), the dirge consists of four lines, the first and third having three accents, the second and fourth two. Virgin] because, though often defeated,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Amos 5:12

(12) I know.—Most of the commentators imply that the “I” is Jehovah, but it is more likely to be the prophet himself. The adjectives “manifold,” “mighty,” should be rendered as predicates, That manifold are your transgressions, and mighty your sins, ye afflicters of the just and takers of a bribe, and ye who bow down the poor in the gate. The idea involved in the word rendered “bribe” is the ransom which the poor and defenceless were obliged to pay to a tyrannical judge, in order to escape a... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Amos 5:1-27

The Works of God Amos 5:8 The text brings the works of God and the name of God into one focus, and makes use of both as an argument with man to raise himself from the low and unworthy pretences of religion to Him Who sits high above the magnificence of all material forms, yet deigns to listen to the whisper of a kneeling child. I. Seek Him because He is Immutable. This is declared by 'the seven stars and Orion,' and by all the constellations among which the Pleiades are set. It is a... read more

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