Amos 5:14 (GNV)

Passage

Seeke good and not euil, that ye may liue: and the Lord God of hostes shalbe with you, as you haue spoken.

Nearby Context

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.

Amos 5:14 Seeke good and not euil, that ye may liue: and the Lord God of hostes shalbe with you, as you haue spoken.

Amos 5:15 Hate the euil, and loue the good, and establish iudgement in the gate: it may bee that the Lord God of hostes will be mercifull vnto the remnant of Ioseph.

Amos 5:16 Therfore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord saith thus, Mourning shalbe in all streetes: and they shall say in al the hie wayes, Alas, alas: and they shall call the husbandman to lamentation, and such as can mourne, to mourning.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seeke", "good", "euil", "liue", "lord", "hostes", "shalbe", and "haue". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seeke" and "good", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Therefore the prudent shall keepe silence in..." into verse 15's "Hate the euil and loue the good...", so "seeke" and "good" 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 "seeke" and "good" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.