Amos 4:8 (DRB)

Passage

And two and three cities went to one city to drink water, and were not filled: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.

Nearby Context

Amos 4:6 Whereupon I also have given you dulness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet you have not returned to me, saith the Lord.

Amos 4:7 I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon on city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon: and the piece whereupon I rained not, withered.

Amos 4:8 And two and three cities went to one city to drink water, and were not filled: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.

Amos 4:9 I struck you with a burning wind, and with mildew, the palmerworm hath eaten up your many gardens, and your vineyards: your olive groves, and fig groves: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.

Amos 4:10 I sent death upon you in the way of Egypt, I slew your young men with the sword, even to the captivity of your horses: and I made the stench of your camp to come up into your nostrils: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "three", "cities", "went", "city", "drink", "water", "filled", and "returned". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "three" and "cities", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "I also have withholden the rain from..." into verse 9's "I struck you with a burning wind...", so "three" and "cities" 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 "three" and "cities" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.