Bible Strands
Amos 3:14
On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD speaks through Amos to the house of Jacob, delivering a pronouncement of judgment immediately after calling for a formal testimony against them. This declaration follows the prophet’s altar vision and directly precedes a warning about the ruin of wealthy estates.
The words — The verb פָּקַדְתִּי (paqadti) appears twice, meaning "I will visit" or "I will punish," underscoring direct divine action. It is anchored to יוֹם (yom), "day," to designate a specific, appointed moment of reckoning.
The thread — The altar's destruction is later enacted when Josiah pulls down Jeroboam’s altar at Bethel (2 Kings 23:15) and purges northern high places (2 Chronicles 34:6). The site's idolatrous legacy also surfaces in Hosea 10:5, where Samaria's fear centers on the calf of Beth-aven.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that religious symbols lose their protective power when tied to covenant rebellion. It requires a reader to accept that divine judgment targets both public worship sites and private wealth without exception.
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
That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Beth–el: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 23:15 He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole.
- Hosea 10:5 The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests—those who rejoiced in its glory—for it has been taken from them into exile.
- 2 Chronicles 34:6 Josiah did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them.
- Hosea 10:14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children.
- Amos 5:5 Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
- Exodus 32:34 Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”
- 1 Kings 13:2 And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”
- 2 Chronicles 31:1 When all this had ended, the Israelites in attendance went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own property.
- Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
- Micah 1:6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble in the open field, a planting area for a vineyard. I will pour her stones into the valley and expose her foundations.