Amos 9:4

4 If they are taken away into captivity by their enemies, I will order them to be put to death. I am determined to destroy them, not to help them."

Amos 9:4 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 9:4

And though they go into captivity before their enemies
Alluding to the manner in which captives are led, being put before their enemies, and so carried in triumph; see ( Lamentations 1:5 ) ; though some think this refers to their going voluntarily into a foreign country, in order to escape danger, as Johanan the son of Kareah with the Jews went into Egypt, ( Jeremiah 43:5-7 ) ; in whom Kimchi instances: thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them;
or them that kill with the sword, as the Targum; so that though they thought by going into another country, or into an enemy's country of their own accord, to escape the sword of the enemy, or to curry favour with them, yet should not escape: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good:
this is the true reason, why, let them be where they will, they cannot be safe, because the eyes of the omniscient God, which are everywhere, in heaven, earth, hell, and the sea, are set upon them, for their ruin and destruction; and there is no fleeing from his presence, or getting out of his sight, or escaping his hand. The Targum is,

``my Word shall be against them.''

Amos 9:4 In-Context

2 Even if they dig their way down to the world of the dead, I will catch them. Even if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down.

3 If they hide on the top of Mount Carmel, I will search for them and catch them. If they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command the sea monster to bite them.

4 If they are taken away into captivity by their enemies, I will order them to be put to death. I am determined to destroy them, not to help them."

5 The Sovereign Lord Almighty touches the earth, and it quakes; all who live there mourn. The whole world rises and falls like the Nile River.

6 The Lord builds his home in the heavens, and over the earth he puts the dome of the sky. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth. His name is the Lord!