Amos 8:11

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD GOD speaks through Amos to Israel, in the middle of a judgment sequence (8:9–12) that begins with feasts turned to mourning and ends with a desperate, fruitless search.

The words — רָעָב (rāʿāḇ, "famine") is the hinge word: the verse redefines famine as the absence of God's spoken word, not of food or water.

The thread — The same scarcity recurs in 1 Samuel 3:1 (the word of the LORD was rare), Psalms 74:9 (no prophet, no signs), and 2 Chronicles 15:3 (without the true God, without a priest, without the law).

Why it lands — It names the deepest deprivation as the loss of access to God's word and presents that loss as a divine act, not a natural shortage.

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

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

Cross-references

1 Samuel 3:1 And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce.
Psalms 74:9 There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
2 Chronicles 15:3 For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a priest to instruct them, and without the law.
1 Samuel 28:6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
Ezekiel 7:26 Disaster upon disaster will come, and rumor after rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction from the priests will perish, as will counsel from the elders.
Matthew 9:36 When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Micah 3:6 Therefore night will come over you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.
1 Samuel 28:15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am deeply distressed,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
Isaiah 30:20 The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him.
Isaiah 5:6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”