Amos 8:7

"Jehovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely, I will never forget any of their works."

Barnes understood this as the equivalent of "God's swearing by himself, since God was, in fact, the true excellency, or glory of Jacob (1 Samuel 15:29)."[17] In all likelihood, this is the true meaning of the passage; but there is another view which also has much to commend it. McKeating wrote that Amos' intention here is "ironic. One swears by what is fixed and unalterable, hence, 'by Jacob's monumental pride.'"[18] The Catholic Bible renders the place: "The Lord hath sworn against the pride of Jacob," etc.[19] Harper supported the second view, thus:

"Although Yahweh himself is Israel's glory (1 Samuel 15:29), the author of @@6:8 could hardly have described Yahweh as "the glory of Jacob": it is rather the vain-glorious boasting of Israel, by which, as an unchangeable fact, Yahweh swears scornfully.[20]

However the passage may be understood, or interpreted, the fact of God's utmost displeasure with the Northern Kingdom stands sharply in focus.