# Amos 7.3

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-08-18 | updated: 2026-08-18 -->

**Book:** [Amos](/codex/amos/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 1. Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 2. And it came to pass that, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small.
>
> **3. Jehovah repented concerning this: It shall not be, saith Jehovah.**
>
> 4. Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land. 5. Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee: how shall Jacob stand? for he is small. (Amos 7:1-5, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 1. Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest. 2. When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
>
> **3. Yahweh relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says Yahweh.**
>
> 4. Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land. 5. Then I said, “Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.” (Amos 7:1-5, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 1. Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. <sup>grasshoppers: or, green worms</sup> 2. And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. <sup>by: or, who of (or, for,) Jacob shall stand?</sup>
>
> **3. The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.**
>
> 4. Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. 5. Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. <sup>by: or, who of (or, for,) Jacob shall stand?</sup> (Amos 7:1-5, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 1. Thus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and lo, He is forming locusts at the beginning of the ascending of the latter growth, and lo, the latter growth [is] after the mowings of the king; 2. and it hath come to pass, when it hath finished to consume the herb of the land, that I say: 'Lord Jehovah, forgive, I pray Thee, How doth Jacob arise, for he [is] small?'
>
> **3. Jehovah hath repented of this, 'It shall not be,' said Jehovah.**
>
> 4. Thus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and lo, the Lord Jehovah is calling to contend by fire, and it consumeth the great deep, yea, it hath consumed the portion, and I say: 5. 'Lord Jehovah, cease, I pray Thee, How doth Jacob arise, for he [is] small?' (Amos 7:1-5, YLT)

## 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. The first of five visions, reported in the first person.
- **Location:** Delivered in the northern kingdom, principally at Bethel, the royal sanctuary and state temple ([Amos 7:13](/codex/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](/codex/amos-1-1/)). Amos is generally reckoned the earliest of the writing prophets.

## Theological reading

The first vision, locusts devouring the late growth, ends with the prophet's plea and God's response: "The LORD relented concerning this. It shall not be, said the LORD."

**The verb.** *Nacham* ([H5162 - nacham](/codex/h5162-nacham/)) covers grief, reversal of a declared course, and consolation; it never means to learn or to discover. It is the same verb used of God at [Genesis 6:6](/codex/genesis-6-6/), [Exodus 32:14](/codex/exodus-32-14/), and [Jonah 3:10](/codex/jonah-3-10/), and denied of God at [Numbers 23:19](/codex/numbers-23-19/) and [1 Samuel 15:29](/codex/1-samuel-15-29/). Amos 7 gives it twice ([7:3](/codex/amos-7-3/) and [7:6](/codex/amos-7-6/)) and then, at the third vision, stops: the plumb line vision has no relenting and no plea.

**The sequence is the argument.** Two visions averted by intercession, then a third that is not, then a fourth and fifth that describe an end. The structure tells the reader that the relenting in the first two was real and that it was not unlimited. Amos's plea is not a discovery for God, and the text gives no hint that God learned anything from it; what the plea does is function as a genuine means within the outcome, the same pattern as Moses at [Exodus 32:9-14](/codex/exodus-32-9-14/).

**Amos's ground of appeal.** "How can Jacob stand? He is so small." The prophet argues from Israel's weakness rather than from its merit, which is the only ground available to him after six chapters of indictment.

On the doctrinal question of whether divine relenting implies ignorance or change, see [God Is Surprised Objection](/codex/god-is-surprised-objection/) and [H5162 - nacham](/codex/h5162-nacham/).

## 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._

- [H5162 - nacham](/codex/h5162-nacham/), *nacham*, Strong's H5162
- [H3068 - YHWH](/codex/h3068-yhwh/), *YHWH*, Strong's H3068

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## Quoted in

**Concepts:**

- [God Is Surprised Objection](/codex/god-is-surprised-objection/)

**Lexicon:**

- [H5162 - nacham](/codex/h5162-nacham/)

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## Notes

_Your annotations._

## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.