Amos 5:5 (GNV)

Passage

But seeke not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and go not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall goe into captiuitie, and Beth-el shall come to nought.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:3 For thus saith ye Lord God, The citie which went out by a thousand, shall leaue an hundreth: and that which went forth by an hundreth, shall leaue ten to the house of Israel.

Amos 5:4 For thus saith the Lord vnto the house of Israel, Seeke ye me, and ye shall liue.

Amos 5:5 But seeke not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and go not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall goe into captiuitie, and Beth-el shall come to nought.

Amos 5:6 Seeke the Lord, and yee shall liue, least he breake out like fire in the house of Ioseph and deuoure it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

Amos 5:7 They turne iudgement to wormewood, and leaue off righteousnes in the earth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seeke", "beth-el", "enter", "gilgal", "beer-sheba", "shall", and "captiuitie". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seeke" and "beth-el", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "For thus saith the Lord vnto the..." into verse 6's "Seeke the Lord and yee shall liue...", so "seeke" and "beth-el" 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 "beth-el" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.