Amos 4:3 (ASV)

Passage

And ye shall go out at the breaches, every one straight before her; and ye shall cast [yourselves] into Harmon, saith Jehovah.

Nearby Context

Amos 4:1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords, Bring, and let us drink.

Amos 4:2 The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that they shall take you away with hooks, and your residue with fish-hooks.

Amos 4:3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every one straight before her; and ye shall cast [yourselves] into Harmon, saith Jehovah.

Amos 4:4 Come to Beth-el, and transgress; to Gilgal, [and] multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes every three days;

Amos 4:5 and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill-offerings and publish them: for this pleaseth you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "breaches", "straight", "before", "cast", "yourselves", and "harmon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "breaches", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his..." into verse 4's "Come to Beth-el and transgress to Gilgal...", so "shall" and "breaches" 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 "shall" and "breaches" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.