Amos 9:6 (ASV)

Passage

[it is] he that buildeth his chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is his name.

Nearby Context

Amos 9:4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

Amos 9:5 For the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, [is] he that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like the River, and shall sink again, like the River of Egypt;

Amos 9:6 [it is] he that buildeth his chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is his name.

Amos 9:7 Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith Jehovah. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "buildeth", "chambers", "heavens", "hath", "founded", "vault", "upon", and "earth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "buildeth" and "chambers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "For the Lord Jehovah of hosts is..." into verse 7's "Are ye not as the children of...", so "buildeth" and "chambers" 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 "buildeth" and "chambers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.