Amos 5:9 (GNV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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

Amos 5:8 He maketh Pleiades, and Orion, and he turneth the shadowe of death into the morning, and he maketh the day darke as night: he calleth the waters of the sea, and powreth them out vpon the open earth: the Lord is his Name.

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "strengtheneth", "destroyer", "against", "mightie", "shall", and "come". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "strengtheneth" and "destroyer", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "He maketh Pleiades and Orion and he..." into verse 10's "They haue hated him that rebuked in...", so "strengtheneth" and "destroyer" 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 "strengtheneth" and "destroyer" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.