Amos 9:4 (LSB)

Passage

And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it kill them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”

Nearby Context

Amos 9:2 Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.

Amos 9:3 And though they hide on the top of Carmel, From there I will search them out and take them; And though they conceal themselves from My eyes on the floor of the sea, From there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.

Amos 9:4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it kill them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”

Amos 9:5 Now Lord Yahweh of hosts, The One who touches the land so that it melts, And all those who inhabit it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;

Amos 9:6 The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth; The One who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; Yahweh is His name.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "for good", "though", "captivity", "before", "enemies", "command", "sword", and "kill". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "for good" and "though", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And though they hide on the top..." into verse 5's "Now Lord Yahweh of hosts The One...", so "for good" and "though" 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 "for good" and "though" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.