Amos 7:5

Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Amos speaks to the Lord GOD immediately after witnessing a vision of fire consuming the great deep and the land. He intercedes during the moment of impending divine judgment.

The words — The command חֲדַל־ נָא (cha.dal- Na') literally means "cease please," while the question מִי יָקוּם יַעֲקֹב (mi ya.Kum ya.'a.Ko) translates to "who will stand Jacob?" These phrases anchor the vision in a direct dialogue about national preservation.

The thread — This intercessory pattern of pleading for mercy amid judgment runs through Psalms 85:4, while the theme of survival against total destruction appears in Isaiah 1:9 and Isaiah 10:25.

Why it lands — The text records a prophetic plea that precedes divine relenting, establishing that intercession functions within sovereign boundaries rather than dictating outcomes. It requires the reader to acknowledge that human vulnerability does not nullify divine judgment but may precede its suspension.

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

וָאֹמַ֗רva./'o.Marand/ I said אֲדֹנָ֤י'a.do.NaiO Lord יְהוִה֙Yah.wehYahweh חֲדַל־cha.dal-cease נָ֔אNa'please מִ֥יmiwho?יָק֖וּםya.Kumwill he stand יַעֲקֹ֑בya.'a.KoJacob כִּ֥יkifor קָטֹ֖ןka.Ton[is] small הֽוּא׃Hu'he

King James Version

Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

Cross-references

Psalms 85:4 Restore us, O God of our salvation, and put away Your displeasure toward us.
Isaiah 1:9 Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.
Isaiah 10:25 For in just a little while My fury against you will subside, and My anger will turn to their destruction.”
Jeremiah 30:19 Thanksgiving will proceed from them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not be decreased; I will honor them, and they will not be belittled.
Joel 2:17 Let the priests who minister before the LORD weep between the portico and the altar, saying, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your heritage a reproach, an object of scorn among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
Amos 7:2 And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?”