Amos 5

13. the prudent--the spiritually wise.
shall keep silence--not mere silence of tongue, but the prudent shall keep himself quiet from taking part in any public or private affairs which he can avoid: as it is "an evil time," and one in which all law is set at naught. Ephesians 5:16 refers to this. Instead of impatiently agitating against irremediable evils, the godly wise will not cast pearls before swine, who would trample these, and rend the offerers ( Matthew 7:6 ), but will patiently wait for God's time of deliverance in silent submission ( Psalms 39:9 ).

14. and so--on condition of your "seeking good."
shall be with you, as ye have spoken--as ye have boasted; namely, that God is with you, and that you are His people ( Micah 3:11 ).

15. Hate . . . evil . . . love . . . good--( Isaiah 1:16 Isaiah 1:17 , Romans 12:9 ).
judgment in the gate--justice in the place where causes are tried.
it may be that the Lord . . . will be gracious--so, "peradventure" ( Exodus 32:30 ). Not that men are to come to God with an uncertainty whether or no He will be gracious: the expression merely implies the difficulty in the way, because of the want of true repentance on man's part, so as to stimulate the zealous earnestness of believers in seeking God (compare Genesis 16:2 , Joel 2:14 , Acts 8:22 ).
the remnant of Joseph--(see Amos 5:6 ). Israel (represented by "Ephraim," the leading tribe, and descendant of Joseph) was, as compared to what it once was, now but a remnant, Hazael of Syria having smitten all the coasts from Jordan eastward, Gilead and Bashan, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh ( 2 Kings 10:32 2 Kings 10:33 ) [HENDERSON]. Rather, "the remnant of Israel that shall have been left after the wicked have been destroyed" [MAURER].

16. Therefore--resumed from Amos 5:13 . God foresees they will not obey the exhortation ( Amos 5:14 Amos 5:15 ), but will persevere in the unrighteousness stigmatized ( Amos 5:7 Amos 5:10 Amos 5:12 ).
the Lord--JEHOVAH.
the God of hosts, the Lord--an accumulation of titles, of which His lordship over all things is the climax, to mark that from His judgment there is no appeal.
streets . . . highways--the broad open spaces and the narrow streets common in the East.
call the husbandman to mourning--The citizens shall call the inexperienced husbandmen to act the part usually performed by professional mourners, as there will not be enough of the latter for the universal mourning which prevails.
such as are skilful of lamentation--professional mourners hired to lead off the lamentations for the deceased; alluded to in Ecclesiastes 12:5 ; generally women ( Jeremiah 9:17-19 ).

17. in all vineyards . . . wailing--where usually songs of joy were heard.
pass through thee--taking vengeance ( Exodus 12:12 Exodus 12:23 , Nahum 1:12 ). "Pass over" and "pass by," on the contrary, are used of God's forgiving ( Exodus 12:23 , Micah 7:18 ; compare Amos 7:8 ).

18. Woe unto you who do not scruple to say in irony, "We desire that the day of the Lord would come," that is, "Woe to you who treat it as if it were a mere dream of the prophets" ( Isaiah 5:19 , Jeremiah 17:15 , Ezekiel 12:22 ).
to what end is it for you!--Amos taking their ironical words in earnest: for God often takes the blasphemer at his own word, in righteous retribution making the scoffer's jest a terrible reality against himself. Ye have but little reason to desire the day of the Lord; for it will be to you calamity, and not joy.

19. As if a man did flee . . . a lion, and a bear met him--Trying to escape one calamity, he falls into another. This perhaps implies that in Amos 5:18 their ironical desire for the day of the Lord was as if it would be an escape from existing calamities. The coming of the day of the Lord would be good news to us, if true: for we have served God (that is, the golden calves). So do hypocrites flatter themselves as to death and judgment, as if these would be a relief from existing ills of life. The lion may from generosity spare the prostrate, but the bear spares none (compare Job 20:24 , Isaiah 24:18 ).
leaned . . . on the wall--on the side wall of the house, to support himself from falling. Snakes often hid themselves in fissures in a wall. Those not reformed by God's judgments will be pursued by them: if they escape one, another is ready to seize them.

21. I hate, I despise--The two verbs joined without a conjunction express God's strong abhorrence.
your feast days--yours; not Mine; I do not acknowledge them: unlike those in Judah, yours are of human, not divine institution.
I will not smell--that is, I will take no delight in the sacrifices offered ( Genesis 8:21 , Leviticus 26:31 ).
in your solemn assemblies--literally, "days of restraint." Isaiah 1:10-15 is parallel. Isaiah is fuller; Amos, more condensed. Amos condemns Israel not only on the ground of their thinking to satisfy God by sacrifices without obedience (the charge brought by Isaiah against the Jews), but also because even their external ritual was a mere corruption, and unsanctioned by God.

22. meat offerings--flour, &c. Unbloody offerings.
peace offerings--offerings for obtaining from God peace and prosperity. Hebrew, "thank offerings."

23. Take . . . away from me--literally, "Take away, from upon Me"; the idea being that of a burden pressing upon the bearer. So Isaiah 1:14 , "They are a trouble unto Me (literally, 'a burden upon Me'): I am weary to bear them."
the noise of thy songs--The hymns and instrumental music on sacred occasions are to Me nothing but a disagreeable noise.
I will not hear--Isaiah substitutes "prayers" ( Isaiah 1:15 ) for the "songs" and "melody" here; but, like Amos, closes with "I will not hear."

24. judgment--justice.
run down--literally, "roll," that is, flow abundantly ( Isaiah 48:18 ). Without the desire to fulfil righteousness in the offerer, the sacrifice is hateful to God ( 1 Samuel 15:22 , Psalms 66:18 , Hosea 6:6 , Micah 6:8 ).

25, 26. Have ye offered? &c.--Yes: ye have. "But (all the time with strange inconsistency) ye have borne (aloft in solemn pomp) the tabernacle (that is, the portable shrine, or model tabernacle: small enough not to be detected by Moses; compare Acts 19:24 ) of your Molech" (that idol is "your" god; I am not, though ye go through the form of presenting offerings to Me). The question, "Have ye," is not a denial (for they did offer in the wilderness to Jehovah sacrifices of the cattle which they took with them in their nomad life there, Exodus 24:4 , Numbers 7:1-89 , 9:1 , &c.), but a strong affirmation (compare 1 Samuel 2:27 1 Samuel 2:28 , Jeremiah 31:20 , Ezekiel 20:4 ). The sin of Israel in Amos' time is the very sin of their forefathers, mocking God with worship, while at the same time worshipping idols (compare Ezekiel 20:39 ). It was clandestine in Moses' time, else he would have put it down; he was aware generally of their unfaithfulness, though not knowing the particulars ( Deuteronomy 31:21 Deuteronomy 31:27 ).
Molech . . . Chiun--"Molech" means "king" answering to Mars [BENGEL]; the Sun [JABLONSKI]; Saturn, the same as "Chiun" [MAURER]. The Septuagint translates "Chiun" into Remphan, as Stephen quotes it ( Acts 7:42 Acts 7:43 ). The same god often had different names. Molech is the Ammonite name; Chiun, the Arabic and Persian name, written also Chevan. In an Arabic lexicon Chiun means "austere"; so astrologers represented Saturn as a planet baleful in his influence. Hence the Phoenicians offered human sacrifices to him, children especially; so idolatrous Israel also. Rimmon was the Syrian name ( 2 Kings 5:18 ); pronounced as Remvan, or "Remphan," just as Chiun was also Chevan. Molech had the form of a king; Chevan, or Chiun, of a star [GROTIUS]. Remphan was the Egyptian name for Saturn: hence the Septuagint translator of Amos gave the Egyptian name for the Hebrew, being an Egyptian. [HODIUS II, De Bibliorum Textibus Originalibus. 4.115]. The same as the Nile, of which the Egyptians made the star Saturn the representative [HARENBERG]. BENGEL considers Remphan or Rephan akin to Teraphim and Remphis, the name of a king of Egypt. The Hebrews became infected with Sabeanism, the oldest form of idolatry, the worship of the Saba or starry hosts, in their stay in the Arabian desert, where Job notices its prevalence ( Job 31:26 ); in opposition, in Amos 5:27 , Jehovah declares Himself "the God of hosts."
the star of your god--R. ISAAC CARO says all the astrologers represented Saturn as the star of Israel. Probably there was a figure of a star on the head of the image of the idol, to represent the planet Saturn; hence "images" correspond to "star" in the parallel clause. A star in hieroglyphics represents God ( Numbers 24:17 ). "Images" are either a Hebraism for "image," or refer to the many images made to represent Chiun.

27. beyond Damascus--In Acts 7:43 it is "beyond Babylon," which includes beyond Damascus. In Amos time, Damascus was the object of Israel's fear because of the Syrian wars. Babylon was not yet named as the place of their captivity. Stephen supplies this name. Their place of exile was in fact, as he states, "beyond Babylon," in Halah and Habor by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes ( 2 Kings 17:6 ; compare here Amos 1:5 , 4:3 , 6:14 ). The road to Assyria lay through "Damascus." It is therefore specified, that not merely shall they be carried captives to Damascus, as they had been by Syrian kings ( 2 Kings 10:32 2 Kings 10:33 , 13:7 ), but, beyond that, to a region whence a return was not so possible as from Damascus. They were led captive by Satan into idolatry, therefore God caused them to go captive among idolaters. Compare 2 Kings 15:29 , 16:9 , Isaiah 8:4 , whence it appears Tiglath-pileser attacked Israel and Damascus at the same time at Ahaz' request ( Amos 3:1 ).