Amos 5:9 (KJV)

Passage

That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

Amos 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Amos 5:9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

Amos 5:10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Amos 5:11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "strengtheneth", "spoiled", "against", "strong", "shall", and "come". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "strengtheneth" and "spoiled", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Seek him that maketh the seven stars..." into verse 10's "They hate him that rebuketh in the...", so "strengtheneth" and "spoiled" 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 "strengtheneth" and "spoiled" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.