Amos 7:17

Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Amos addresses King Amaziah immediately after Amaziah orders him to stop prophesying against the house of Isaac (Amos 7:16). The LORD delivers a direct judgment through the prophet regarding Amaziah’s personal and national fate.

The words — לָ/כֵ֞ן (la/Khen) translates as “therefore,” anchoring the judgment to the preceding confrontation. תִּזְנֶה֙ (tiz/Neh) literally means “she will act as a prostitute,” describing the fate of Amaziah’s wife.

The thread — The exile motif appears in Hosea 9:3 and 2 Kings 17:6, where Israel is removed from the land and carried to Assyria. Jeremiah 28:16 parallels the removal from the earth and imminent death pronounced here.

Why it lands — The text states that personal shame, familial death, territorial division, and national exile will follow the rejection of prophetic warning. It demands recognition that divine judgment operates regardless of political authority or religious status.

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

לָכֵ֞ןla./Khen<to>/ therefore כֹּה־koh-thus אָמַ֣ר'a.Marhe says יְהוָ֗הYah.wehYahweh אִשְׁתְּךָ֞'ish.te./Khawife/ your בָּעִ֤ירba./'Irin the/ city תִּזְנֶה֙tiz.Nehshe will be a prostitute וּבָנֶ֤יךָu./va.Nei./khaand/ sons/ your וּבְנֹתֶ֙יךָ֙u./ve.no.Tei./khaand/ daughters/ your בַּחֶ֣רֶבba./Che.revby the/ sword יִפֹּ֔לוּyi.Po.luthey will fall וְאַדְמָתְךָ֖ve./'ad.ma.te./Khaand/ land/ your בַּחֶ֣בֶלba./Che.velwith <the>/ measuring-line תְּחֻלָּ֑קte.chu.Lakit will be divided וְאַתָּ֗הve./'a.Tahand/ you עַל־'al-on אֲדָמָ֤ה'a.da.Mahground טְמֵאָה֙te.me.'Ahunclean תָּמ֔וּתta.Mutyou will die וְיִ֨שְׂרָאֵ֔לve./Yis.ra.'Eland/ Israel גָּלֹ֥הga.Lohcertainly <go into exile>יִגְלֶ֖הyig.Lehit will go into exile מֵעַ֥לme./'Alfrom/ on אַדְמָתֽוֹ׃ ס'ad.ma.T/oland/ its

King James Version

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

Cross-references

Hosea 9:3 They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
Jeremiah 28:16 Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
Ezekiel 4:13 Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”
Hosea 4:13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
Isaiah 13:16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
Jeremiah 29:21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.
Jeremiah 29:31 “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
Amos 7:11 for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
Leviticus 26:33 But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.