Amos 5:9 (WEB)

Passage

who brings sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the fortress.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:7 You who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth:

Amos 5:8 seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,

Amos 5:9 who brings sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the fortress.

Amos 5:10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly.

Amos 5:11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor, and take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brings", "sudden", "destruction", "strong", "comes", and "fortress". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brings" and "sudden", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "seek him who made the Pleiades and..." into verse 10's "They hate him who reproves in the...", so "brings" and "sudden" 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 "brings" and "sudden" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.