Bible Strands
Amos 5:15
Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Amos addresses the northern kingdom of Israel amid widespread social injustice and hollow worship, delivering this command between an exhortation to seek good and a prophecy of national mourning.
The words — The Hebrew imperative שִׂנְאוּ (sin.'u-) commands the people to "hate" evil, paired with אֶ֣הֱבוּ (ve./'E.he.vu) to "love" good, creating a sharp ethical boundary. The verb הַצִּ֥יגוּ (ha.Tzi.gu) instructs them to "establish" or "set up" justice in the gate, the civic center where legal and commercial disputes were adjudicated.
The thread — This directive parallels Romans 12:9’s command to detest evil and cling to good, 3 John 1:11’s instruction to imitate good rather than evil, and Psalms 97:10’s call to hate evil while loving the LORD.
Why it lands — The text requires a concrete rejection of wrongdoing and the active enforcement of public justice, presenting societal righteousness as the pathway for God’s grace toward the remnant of Joseph.
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
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
Cross-references
- Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
- 3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- Psalms 97:10 Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
- Joel 2:14 Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21 but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
- Micah 5:7 Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.
- Romans 8:7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
- Micah 5:3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the children of Israel.
- Exodus 32:30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
- 1 Kings 20:31 Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”