Amos 9:3 (WEB)

Passage

Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out there; and though they be hidden from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.

Nearby Context

Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, “Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.

Amos 9:2 Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.

Amos 9:3 Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out there; and though they be hidden from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.

Amos 9:4 Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good.

Amos 9:5 For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "though", "hide", "themselves", "carmel", "search", "take", and "hidden". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "though" and "hide", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Though they dig into Sheol there my..." into verse 4's "Though they go into captivity before their...", so "though" and "hide" 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 "though" and "hide" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.