Bible Strands
Amos 8:14
Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Amos pronounces judgment on those making false oaths, immediately following a description of widespread thirst in the land.
The words — חֵי (chei) translates literally to “by [the] life of,” and בְּ/אַשְׁמַ֣ת (be./'ash.Mat) means “by [the] guilt of.”
The thread — Amos 5:5 warns against seeking Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba, while 1 Kings 12:28 records the northern king’s decree that traveling to Jerusalem is too burdensome.
Why it lands — The text states that swearing by idolatrous shrines guarantees irreversible collapse, requiring readers to abandon false oaths and recognize the certainty of divine judgment.
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
They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer–sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
Cross-references
- Amos 5:5 Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
- 1 Kings 12:28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
- Deuteronomy 9:21 And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it into the stream that came down from the mountain.
- Acts 9:2 and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
- Deuteronomy 33:11 Bless his substance, O LORD, and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of those who rise against him, and of his foes so they can rise no more.”
- 1 Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.
- 1 Kings 13:22 but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’”
- 1 Kings 14:16 So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
- 1 Kings 16:24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.
- 2 Kings 10:29 but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.