Bible Strands
Amos 3:9
Proclaim to the citadels of Ashdod and to the citadels of Egypt: “Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest in the city and the acts of oppression in her midst.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Amos delivers a divine command to announce judgment to the fortified cities of Ashdod and Egypt, immediately following God’s declaration that His spoken word necessitates prophetic proclamation.
The words — הַשְׁמִיעוּ (hash.mi.u) means “proclaim” or “make heard,” and אַרְמְנוֹת (ar.me.not) translates literally to “fortresses” or “citadels.”
The thread — The summons to Samaria’s mountains echoes Amos’s later condemnation of wealthy women who oppress the poor (Amos 4:1) and his warning against those resting securely in Zion and Samaria (Amos 6:1), while the mention of Ashdod aligns with the promised judgment on its rulers (Amos 1:8).
Why it lands — It demands the reader recognize that divine revelation compels public witness and that institutional power, when built on oppression, becomes the very site of its own indictment.
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
Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
Cross-references
- Amos 4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
- Amos 6:1 Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes.
- Amos 1:8 I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord GOD.
- 1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,
- Jeremiah 22:8 And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
- Jeremiah 31:5 Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant and enjoy the fruit.
- Jeremiah 50:2 “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’
- Amos 8:6 Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”
- Deuteronomy 29:24 So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- 2 Samuel 1:20 Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.