Passage

Amos 5.12

Book: Amos · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

10. They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11. Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof.

12. For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins, ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate from their right.

Therefore he that is prudent shall keep silence in such a time; for it is an evil time. 14. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say. (Amos 5:10-14, ASV)

WEB

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

12. For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins, you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts.

Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. 14. Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be with you, as you say. (Amos 5:10-14, WEB)

KJV

10. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11. Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. ^{pleasant: Heb. vineyards of desire}

12. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. ^{a bribe: or, a ransom}

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. 14. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. (Amos 5:10-14, KJV)

YLT

10. They have hated a reprover in the gate, And a plain speaker they abominate. 11. Therefore, because of your trampling on the poor, And the tribute of corn ye take from him, Houses of hewn work ye have built, And ye do not dwell in them, Desirable vineyards ye have planted, And ye do not drink their wine.

12. For I have known, many [are] your transgressions, And mighty your sins, Adversaries of the righteous, taking ransoms, And the needy in the gate ye turned aside.

Therefore is the wise at that time silent, For an evil time it [is]. 14. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live, And it is so; Jehovah, God of Hosts, [is] with you, as ye said. (Amos 5:10-14, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Amos of Tekoa, a herdsman (noqed, sheep breeder) and tender of sycamore figs from Judah, speaking the word of the LORD.
Audience: The northern kingdom of Israel, addressed at the height of its prosperity under Jeroboam II.
Location: Delivered in the northern kingdom, principally at Bethel, the royal sanctuary and state temple (Amos 7:13).
Time period: c. 760-750 BC, in the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel, "two years before the earthquake" (Amos 1:1). Amos is generally reckoned the earliest of the writing prophets.

Theological reading

The specific charge sheet behind the general accusations, and the verse that makes sense of the rejected worship four verses later (Amos 5:21-24).

"In the gate" is the key phrase. The gate complex of an Israelite city was the courtroom: the chambered gateways excavated at Dan, Gezer, and Beersheba include benched rooms at the entrance, and the Hebrew Bible consistently locates legal proceedings there (Deuteronomy 21:19; Ruth 4:1-2; Proverbs 31:23). Amos's complaint is not about private cruelty but about the administration of justice, the one institution a poor Israelite had.

Three named offenses. Afflicting the righteous (tzaddiq), taking a bribe (kopher, here a payment that buys a verdict), and turning aside the needy in the gate, that is, denying them a hearing at all. Bribery in judgment is prohibited outright at Exodus 23:6-8 and Deuteronomy 16:19, and both texts give the same reason: a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the words of the righteous.

"I know how many are your transgressions." The line answers a defense before it is offered. The verb is yada again, as at Amos 3:2, and here it clearly does carry the sense of full and specific knowledge. The prophet's argument is that the court which cannot be reached by the needy has already been reached by God.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

H3724 - kopher, kopher, Strong's H3724
H6588 - pesha, pesha, Strong's H6588
H2403 - chattath, chattath, Strong's H2403
H3045 - yada, yada, Strong's H3045

Quoted in

Concepts:

Sin, via Amos 5.11-12

Lexicon:

H3724 - kopher

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.