Passage
For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
Amos 5:3 (KJV)
Nearby Context
Amos 5:1 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
Amos 5:2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.
Amos 5:3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
Amos 5:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
Amos 5:5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "thus", "saith", "lord", "city", "went", "thousand", "shall", and "leave". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 2's "The virgin of Israel is fallen she..." into verse 4's "For thus saith the LORD unto the...", so "thus" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.