Keraia
Amos 5

Amos 5:24

Woe to Rebellious Israel · Amos 5:16–27
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Translations

Modern
But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Traditional
But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Literal
And let justice roll like the waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Latin
Et revelabitur quasi aqua judicium, et justitia quasi torrens fortis.

Original

Hebrew
English
But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Notes

Amos 5:24

  • This is the second of the major thematic verses in Amos (see Amos 4:12).

  • ever-flowing stream: The streams or gullies (wadis) in Israel's dry areas held water only during rainy seasons. However, God desired constant, not just seasonal, justice.

Amos 5:21–27

Amos again confronts the religious hypocrisy and spiritual unfaithfulness of the Israelites. They practiced worship outwardly, but their lives did not match faithfulness to God (see Amos 4:4–5; Isaiah 1:10–20).

Amos 5:18–6:14

The pronouncements of sorrow in this section develop two main themes:

  1. Israel’s apostasy (turning away from God) would make the day of the Lord a day of judgment, not salvation; and

  2. Judah’s spiritual complacency (feeling satisfied and unconcerned about faithfulness to God) would also bring judgment.

Events

Parallels

Acts 7:39–43

Glossary

Amos (Person) Book of Amos Last Days Prophecy Wrath of God

Topics

Hypocrisy: General Scriptures Concerning Offerings: Useless when not Accompanied by Genuine Piety Worship: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To