Amos 7:16-17

16, 17. Amos, having justified his preaching by an appeal to his divine commission, reiterates and expands his previous message.

Now therefore The defense in 14, 15 had put the case in its proper light; now the argument may proceed.

Thou sayest,… Thus saith Jehovah A striking antithesis. Whose words will prevail can easily be imagined.

Prophesy not Compare Amos 7:13.

Drop not That is, thy words (Micah 2:6; Micah 2:11); a synonym of prophesy.

Isaac As in Amos 7:9.

Therefore The attempt to silence a divinely commissioned prophet deserves severest punishment; and this Amos proceeds to announce in Amos 7:17.

An harlot Now she is a lady of the palace, but the invader will dishonor her and compel her to live a life of shame.

In the city In public (Zechariah 14:2; Isaiah 13:16); compare the colloquial “street-walker.” Such outrages were committed by the Assyrians, as we learn from the inscriptions; Ashur-nasir-pal boasts, “Their boys and maidens I dishonored” ( Records of the Past, iii, p. 51). His children will be slain, and his land divided among new settlers (compare Micah 2:4; Jeremiah 6:12; 2 Kings 17:24).

Line The measuring line. Polluted land [“land that is unclean”] See Hosea 9:3, on “Jehovah’s land” and “unclean food.” Israel shall surely go into captivity [“be led away captive”] He repeats the very words which Amaziah had made the basis of his accusation.

The closing words of the historical section take us back to the message of the third vision, and thus they prepare the way for the fourth.