Amos 9:10 (ASV)

Passage

All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us.

Nearby Context

Amos 9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; save that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah.

Amos 9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as [grain] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth.

Amos 9:10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us.

Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;

Amos 9:12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name, saith Jehovah that doeth this.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sinners", "people", "shall", "sword", "evil", "overtake", and "meet". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sinners" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "For lo I will command and I..." into verse 11's "In that day will I raise up...", so "sinners" and "people" 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 "sinners" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.