I sawe the Lord standing vpon the altar, and he sayde, Smite the lintel of the doore, that the postes may shake: and cut them in pieces, euen the heads of them all, and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them, shall not flee away: and he that escapeth of them, shall not be deliuered.
Amos 9:1 I sawe the Lord standing vpon the altar, and he sayde, Smite the lintel of the doore, that the postes may shake: and cut them in pieces, euen the heads of them all, and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them, shall not flee away: and he that escapeth of them, shall not be deliuered.
Amos 9:2 Though they digge into the hell, thence shall mine hande take them: though they clime vp to heauen, thence will I bring them downe.
Amos 9:3 And though they hide them selues in the toppe of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence: and though they be hid from my sight in the bottome of the sea, thence will I commande the serpent, and he shall bite them.
The verse centers on "sawe", "lord", "standing", "vpon", "altar", "sayde", "smite", and "lintel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sawe" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The next verse adds "Though they digge into the hell thence...", so "sawe" and "lord" should be read forward into that movement. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sawe" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.