Amos 5:5 (DBY)

Passage

And seek not Bethel, neither go to Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:3 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, for the house of Israel.

Amos 5:4 For thus saith Jehovah unto the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and ye shall live.

Amos 5:5 And seek not Bethel, neither go to Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

Amos 5:6 Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and there be none to quench [it] in Bethel.

Amos 5:7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seek", "bethel", "neither", "gilgal", "pass", "beer-sheba", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seek" and "bethel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "For thus saith Jehovah unto the house..." into verse 6's "Seek Jehovah and ye shall live lest...", so "seek" and "bethel" 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 "seek" and "bethel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.