Amos 4:12 (DBY)

Passage

Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Nearby Context

Amos 4:10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, taking away captive your horses; and I made the stench of your camps to come up, even into your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.

Amos 4:11 I have overthrown among you, like God's overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah.

Amos 4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Amos 4:13 For behold, he who formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, who maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, Jehovah, the God of hosts, is his name.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "thus", "thee", "israel", "prepare", and "meet". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "thus", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "I have overthrown among you like God's..." into verse 13's "For behold he who formeth the mountains...", so "therefore" and "thus" 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 "therefore" and "thus" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.