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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Here, My Lord, Yahweh gave me to see, and lo! he was preparing the locust, in the beginning of the shooting up of the after-grass,–and lo! after-grass, cometh after the mowings for the king. |
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| 2 And it came to pass, when they had made an end of eating the herbage of the land, that I said–Oh, My Lord, Yahweh, forgive, I beseech thee: By whom shall Jacob, arise? for, small, he is. |
Shall Jacob – Natural Israel. A300
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| 3 Grieved was Yahweh, over this,–It shall not be, said Yahweh? |
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| 4 Here, My Lord, Yahweh gave me to see, and lo! My Lord Yahweh proclaiming that, the controversy should be settled by fire,–which, having devoured the mighty roaring deep, should devour the inheritance. |
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| 5 Then said I, My Lord, Yahweh, forbear, I beseech thee, By whom shall Jacob, arise? for, small, he is. |
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| 6 Grieved was Yahweh, over this,–Even this, shall not be, said My Lord, Yahweh. |
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| 7 Here, he gave me to see, and lo! My Lord, stationed upon a pinnacle,–and, in his hand a plummet. |
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| 8 And Yahweh said unto me, What canst thou see, Amos? And I said, A plummet,–Then said My Lord, Behold me! fixing a plummet in the midst of my people Israel, I will not again any more forgive him. |
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| 9 So shall the high places of Isaac, be made desolate, and, the holy places of Israel, be laid waste,–and I will rise up, against the house of Jeroboam, with the sword. |
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| 10 Then sent Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, unto Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: A conspiracy hath Amos, raised against thee, in the midst of the house of Israel, The land, is not able to endure, all his words; |
Then Amaziah – Representing those who are at ease in nominal spiritual Zion. R2357:4
The priest – Prince. R3423:6
Amos' opponents were the professedly religious, and it was so also with our Lord. We must expect the same in our day. R3424:2
Amos – Representing those who are faithfully declaring the Harvest Message at the present time. R2357:4
Not able to bear – He is disturbing the peace of those who are at ease in Zion. R2357:4
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| 11 For, thus, saith Amos, By the sword, shall Jeroboam, die,–and, Israel, shall, surely be exiled, from off his own soil. |
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| 12 Then said Amaziah unto Amos, O seer, go flee thee away unto the land of Judah–and eat, there, bread, and, there, mayest thou prophesy; |
Flee thee away – Because the prophet had gone so far as to tell openly of the fall of the reigning dynasty. R3423:6
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| 13 But, at Bethel, not again, any more, mayest thou prophesy,–for, the holy place of the king, it is, and, the house of the kingdom, it is. |
Prophesy not again – The announcement today to nominal spiritual Zion of the "Day of Vengeance" is as unacceptable and disbelieved as was the message of Amos. R2357:3,4
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| 14 Then answered Amos, and said unto Amaziah, No prophet, was I,–nor the son of a prophet, was I,–but, a herdman, was I, and a preparer of sycamore fruit; |
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| 15 But Yahweh, took me away, from following the flock,–and Yahweh, said unto me, Go prophesy against my people Israel. |
Go, prophesy – The Lord's people today, as Amos, are not to be deterred into silence from prudential reasons, but are to speak the truth in love. R2357:4
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| 16 Now, therefore, hear thou the word of Yahweh,–Thou art saying, Thou must not prophesy concerning Israel, nor let thy word drop down upon the house of Isaac. |
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| 17 Therefore–Thus, saith Yahweh, Thy wife, in the city, will commit unchastity, and, thy sons and thy daughters, by the sword, shall fall, and, thine own soil, by line, shall he apportioned,–and, thou, on a polluted soil, shalt die, and, Israel, shall, surely go into exile, away from his own soil. |
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