Bible Strands
Amos 2:9
Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through Amos to the northern kingdom of Israel, positioning His statement between warnings of their current temple corruption and reminders of His past wilderness guidance. He addresses them at the moment of impending national judgment, noting that He previously removed the Amorite nation to clear land for them.
The words — The Hebrew הִשְׁמַדְתִּי (hishmadti) translates literally to "I destroyed," marking God as the sole agent of the Amorite's downfall. The phrase כְּגֹבַהּ אֲרָזִים (ke-go'ah arazim) means "like the height of cedars," describing the enemy's formidable physical stature.
The thread — The motif of divine uprooting of the proud recurs in Job 18:16 and Malachi 4:1, while Genesis 15:16 records God's earlier delay in expelling the Amorites until their iniquity reached full measure.
Why it lands — The text states that no earthly height or strength prevents divine destruction, as God removes both the canopy and the foundation. It requires the reader to acknowledge that past deliverance does not grant immunity from present judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Cross-references
- Job 18:16 The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
- Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Genesis 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
- Exodus 34:11 Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Numbers 13:28 Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.
- Numbers 13:32 So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature.
- Numbers 21:23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.
- Deuteronomy 2:24 “Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.
- Deuteronomy 3:11 (For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
- Deuteronomy 9:1 Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.