Bible Strands
Amos 4:8
People staggered from city to city for water to drink, but they were not satisfied; yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Amos to a disobedient Israelite community during a sequence of recorded judgments. This declaration immediately follows the account of selective rainfall and precedes warnings of crop destruction.
The words — The Hebrew verb נָעוּ (na‘û) means "they staggered," depicting unsteady, desperate movement. The phrase עִיר אַחַת אֶל־עָרִים שְׁתַיִם וְשָׁלֹשׁ (‘ir ‘aḥat ’el-‘ārîm šəṯayim wəšālōš) literally translates to "from one city to two or three cities."
The thread — The motif of futile search and unsatisfied consumption appears in Amos 4:6 and Haggai 1:6, both recording divine withholding that leaves the people without relief. The geographic searching for water parallels the land-wide search in 1 Kings 18:5.
Why it lands — The text states that people moved between multiple towns seeking water but remained unsatisfied, yet the LORD identifies this as the moment they should have returned to Him. It requires the reader to note the logical disconnect between experienced judgment and the absence of repentance.
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
So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
Cross-references
- Amos 4:6 “I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- 1 Kings 18:5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
- Haggai 1:6 You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”
- Isaiah 41:17 The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Jeremiah 3:7 I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.
- Jeremiah 14:3 The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- Jeremiah 23:14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
- Ezekiel 4:16 Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.
- Hosea 7:10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him.
- Amos 4:9 “I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.