Amos 5:11 (GNV)

Passage

Forasmuch then as your treading is vpon the poore, and yee take from him burdens of wheate, ye haue built houses of hewen stone, but ye shall not dwel in them: ye haue plated pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drinke wine of them.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:9 He strengtheneth the destroyer against the mightie: and the destroyer shall come against the fortresse.

Amos 5:10 They haue hated him, that rebuked in the gate: and they abhorred him that speaketh vprightly.

Amos 5:11 Forasmuch then as your treading is vpon the poore, and yee take from him burdens of wheate, ye haue built houses of hewen stone, but ye shall not dwel in them: ye haue plated pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drinke wine of them.

Amos 5:12 For I know your manifold transgressions, and your mightie sinnes: they afflict the iust, they take rewards, and they oppresse the poore in ye gate.

Amos 5:13 Therefore the prudent shall keepe silence in that time, for it is an euill time.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "forasmuch", "treading", "vpon", "poore", "take", "burdens", "wheate", and "haue". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "forasmuch" and "treading", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "They haue hated him that rebuked in..." into verse 12's "For I know your manifold transgressions and...", so "forasmuch" and "treading" 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 "forasmuch" and "treading" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.