Amos 4:11 (LSB)

Passage

“I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand delivered from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

Nearby Context

Amos 4:9 “I struck you with scorching wind and mildew; And the gnawing locust was devouring Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees; Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

Amos 4:10 “I sent a pestilence among you after the manner of Egypt; I killed your choice men by the sword along with your captured horses, And I made the stench of your camp rise up even in your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

Amos 4:11 “I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand delivered from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

Amos 4:12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

Amos 4:13 For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind And declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into gloom And treads on the high places of the earth, Yahweh God of hosts is His name.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "overthrew", "sodom", "gomorrah", "like", "firebrand", "delivered", and "blaze". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "overthrew" and "sodom", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "I sent a pestilence among you after..." into verse 12's "Therefore thus I will do to you...", so "overthrew" and "sodom" 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 "overthrew" and "sodom" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.