Amos 9:5 (GNV)

Passage

And the Lord God of hosts shall touch the land, and it shall melt away, and al that dwel therein shall mourne, and it shall rise vp wholy like a flood, and shall bee drowned as by the flood of Egypt.

Nearby Context

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.

Amos 9:4 And though they goe into captiuitie before their enemies, thence wil I commande the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes vpon them for euill, and not for good.

Amos 9:5 And the Lord God of hosts shall touch the land, and it shall melt away, and al that dwel therein shall mourne, and it shall rise vp wholy like a flood, and shall bee drowned as by the flood of Egypt.

Amos 9:6 He buildeth his spheres in the heauen, and hath laide the foundation of his globe of elements in the earth: hee calleth the waters of the sea, and powreth them out vpon the open earth: the Lord is his Name.

Amos 9:7 Are ye not as the Ethiopians vnto mee, O children of Israel, sayeth the Lord? haue not I brought vp Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistims from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "hosts", "shall", "touch", "land", "melt", and "away". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "hosts", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And though they goe into captiuitie before..." into verse 6's "He buildeth his spheres in the heauen...", so "lord" and "hosts" 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 "lord" and "hosts" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.