Antiguo Testamento

Amos — Capítulo 5

“Prepare to meet your God,” Amos proclaimed to those who worshiped idols (4:12). Let there be “a mighty flood of justice,” Amos admonished the rich who oppressed the poor (5:24). What brought this shepherd from Tekoa to Bethel to pronounce such powerful judgments? Amos did not make his living as a professional prophet (7:14); the “roar” of God (1:2; 3:8) had moved him to make the journey. His m…

Versión

Texto — Reina-Valera 1960

1Oíd esta palabra que yo levanto para lamentación sobre vosotros, casa de Israel.

2Cayó la virgen de Israel, y no podrá levantarse ya más; fue dejada sobre su tierra, no hay quien la levante.

3Porque así ha dicho Jehová el Señor: La ciudad que salga con mil, volverá con ciento, y la que salga con ciento volverá con diez, en la casa de Israel.

4Pero así dice Jehová a la casa de Israel: Buscadme, y viviréis;

5y no busquéis a Bet-el, ni entréis en Gilgal, ni paséis a Beerseba; porque Gilgal será llevada en cautiverio, y Bet-el será deshecha.

6Buscad a Jehová, y vivid; no sea que acometa como fuego a la casa de José y la consuma, sin haber en Bet-el quien lo apague.

7Los que convertís en ajenjo el juicio, y la justicia la echáis por tierra,

8buscad al que hace las Pléyades y el Orión, y vuelve las tinieblas en mañana, y hace oscurecer el día como noche; el que llama a las aguas del mar, y las derrama sobre la faz de la tierra; Jehová es su nombre;

9que da esfuerzo al despojador sobre el fuerte, y hace que el despojador venga sobre la fortaleza.

10Ellos aborrecieron al reprensor en la puerta de la ciudad, y al que hablaba lo recto abominaron.

11Por tanto, puesto que vejáis al pobre y recibís de él carga de trigo, edificasteis casas de piedra labrada, mas no las habitaréis; plantasteis hermosas viñas, mas no beberéis el vino de ellas.

12Porque yo sé de vuestras muchas rebeliones, y de vuestros grandes pecados; sé que afligís al justo, y recibís cohecho, y en los tribunales hacéis perder su causa a los pobres.

13Por tanto, el prudente en tal tiempo calla, porque el tiempo es malo.

14Buscad lo bueno, y no lo malo, para que viváis; porque así Jehová Dios de los ejércitos estará con vosotros, como decís.

15Aborreced el mal, y amad el bien, y estableced la justicia en juicio; quizá Jehová Dios de los ejércitos tendrá piedad del remanente de José.

16Por tanto, así ha dicho Jehová, Dios de los ejércitos: En todas las plazas habrá llanto, y en todas las calles dirán: ¡Ay! ¡Ay!, y al labrador llamarán a lloro, y a endecha a los que sepan endechar.

17Y en todas las viñas habrá llanto; porque pasaré en medio de ti, dice Jehová.

18¡Ay de los que desean el día de Jehová! ¿Para qué queréis este día de Jehová? Será de tinieblas, y no de luz;

19como el que huye de delante del león, y se encuentra con el oso; o como si entrare en casa y apoyare su mano en la pared, y le muerde una culebra.

20¿No será el día de Jehová tinieblas, y no luz; oscuridad, que no tiene resplandor?

21Aborrecí, abominé vuestras solemnidades, y no me complaceré en vuestras asambleas.

22Y si me ofreciereis vuestros holocaustos y vuestras ofrendas, no los recibiré, ni miraré a las ofrendas de paz de vuestros animales engordados.

23Quita de mí la multitud de tus cantares, pues no escucharé las salmodias de tus instrumentos.

24Pero corra el juicio como las aguas, y la justicia como impetuoso arroyo.

25¿Me ofrecisteis sacrificios y ofrendas en el desierto en cuarenta años, oh casa de Israel?

26Antes bien, llevabais el tabernáculo de vuestro Moloc y Quiún, ídolos vuestros, la estrella de vuestros dioses que os hicisteis.

27Os haré, pues, transportar más allá de Damasco, ha dicho Jehová, cuyo nombre es Dios de los ejércitos.

TYNDALE OPEN STUDY NOTES

Versículo 1

I. 5:1-3 The charges against Israel had been filed (3:1-2; 4:1-3); now it was time for judgment. Amo…

5:1-3 The charges against Israel had been filed (3:1-2; 4:1-3); now it was time for judgment. Amos made this point clear by singing a funeral song for Israel, as though the nation were already dead. 5:1 funeral song: The Hebrew word (qinah) describes a special rhythm (3+2 beats) used for funeral dirges (most of the book of Lamentations is written in qinah). The ominous significance was clear: Israel had already died and now awaited burial.

Versículo 2

II. 5:2 When used to describe political powers, virgin refers to a state of being unconquered by a fo…

5:2 When used to describe political powers, virgin refers to a state of being unconquered by a foreign power (e.g., Babylon, Isa 47:1; Jerusalem, Lam 2:13; cp. Lam 1:1).

Versículo 3

III. 5:3 This verse is a reversal of the promises made in Lev 26:8.

5:3 This verse is a reversal of the promises made in Lev 26:8.

Versículo 4

IV. 5:4 Come back to me and live implies a condition: In order to live, Israel should seek the Lord (…

5:4 Come back to me and live implies a condition: In order to live, Israel should seek the Lord (also in 5:6). Otherwise, the funeral song (5:1-2) would become Israel’s death sentence.

Versículo 5

V. 5:5 Beersheba was another site (see study note on 4:4) with ties to the patriarchal era (e.g., Ab…

5:5 Beersheba was another site (see study note on 4:4) with ties to the patriarchal era (e.g., Abraham, Gen 21:33; 22:19) that had been made into a shrine. • Gilgal . . . exile: A wordplay using alliteration (Hebrew hagilgal galoh yigleh).

Versículo 6

VI. 5:6 The northern kingdom of Israel (literally the house of Joseph) was dominated by the tribes of…

5:6 The northern kingdom of Israel (literally the house of Joseph) was dominated by the tribes of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (see study note on 5:15; see Hos 5:3, 5).

Versículo 8

VII. 5:8-9 Amos quotes a second hymn fragment (see 4:13; 9:5-6). Once again, the prophet emphasizes th…

5:8-9 Amos quotes a second hymn fragment (see 4:13; 9:5-6). Once again, the prophet emphasizes the contrast between the cosmic God and the local gods. • Stars, celestial bodies, and constellations such as Pleiades and Orion were regarded as deities in the ancient world. Not so, says Amos; the Lord made them and placed them in the sky. • water: The ancients had observed a process that they did not understand (evaporation and condensation). However, the Lord understands and controls natural processes that seem mysterious to humans.

Versículo 10

VIII. 5:10 Amos resumes the thought begun in 5:7. Israel’s courts, controlled by the wealthy, depended …

5:10 Amos resumes the thought begun in 5:7. Israel’s courts, controlled by the wealthy, depended on corrupt judges and hired witnesses. They had no use for what was true, but only for what was expedient to their own cause (5:12).

Versículo 11

IX. 5:11 stone houses: Again, Amos targets the rich. The houses of peasants were built of mud brick. …

5:11 stone houses: Again, Amos targets the rich. The houses of peasants were built of mud brick. Cut stone, the result of laborious handwork, was very expensive.

Versículo 13

X. 5:13 Witnesses pleaded that they saw and heard nothing. Truthfulness had become a liability (5:10…

5:13 Witnesses pleaded that they saw and heard nothing. Truthfulness had become a liability (5:10) and might endanger the one who spoke it.

Versículo 14

XI. 5:14 Amos makes his earlier hints (5:4, 6) more explicit: Israel must do what is good and right i…

5:14 Amos makes his earlier hints (5:4, 6) more explicit: Israel must do what is good and right in order to survive.

Versículo 15

XII. 5:15 the remnant of his people: The Hebrew text uses the remnant of Joseph to refer to the northe…

5:15 the remnant of his people: The Hebrew text uses the remnant of Joseph to refer to the northern kingdom, who were still God’s people despite their rebellion and idolatry.

Versículo 16

XIII. 5:16-17 crying . . . mourning . . . wailing: Grief would result from the widespread and certain d…

5:16-17 crying . . . mourning . . . wailing: Grief would result from the widespread and certain destruction that lay ahead (5:1-2). 5:16 farmers . . . professional mourners: This expression is a graphic way of describing that everyone would grieve.

Versículo 18

XIV. 5:18–6:14 The pronouncements of sorrow in this section develop two themes: (1) Israel’s apostasy …

5:18–6:14 The pronouncements of sorrow in this section develop two themes: (1) Israel’s apostasy would make the “day of the Lord” a day of judgment, not salvation; and (2) Judah’s spiritual complacency would also bring judgment. 5:18 Amos again confronts the Israelites’ distorted view of their chosen status (see 3:2). • The phrase What sorrow awaits you denotes despair brought on by a great tragedy. • The day of the Lord in the Old Testament (see Isa 13:6, 9) was a time when God would intervene in the world to set right those things that had gone wrong. God’s intervention would mean vindication for the righteous, but judgment for the wicked. Israel thought that on that day (see also Amos 8:3, 9, 13; 9:11) God would save them. However, because the Israelites had been wicked, the day of the Lord would bring darkness, not light. Assyria conquered the northern kingdom in 722 BC (2 Kgs 17:7-23), fulfilling this prophecy.

Versículo 21

XV. 5:21-27 Amos again confronts the religious hypocrisy and spiritual unfaithfulness of the Israelit…

5:21-27 Amos again confronts the religious hypocrisy and spiritual unfaithfulness of the Israelites (see 4:4-5; Isa 1:10-20).

Versículo 22

16. 5:22 God would not accept the offerings (see Lev 1–6) of the Israelites because they were attempt…

5:22 God would not accept the offerings (see Lev 1–6) of the Israelites because they were attempts to manipulate him magically rather than signs of true repentance and faith.

Versículo 24

17. 5:24 This is the second of the great thematic verses in Amos (see 4:12). • endless river: The str…

5:24 This is the second of the great thematic verses in Amos (see 4:12). • endless river: The streams or gullies (wadis) in Israel’s dry areas contained water only temporarily during rainy seasons. However, God wanted continual, not just seasonal, justice.

Versículo 25

18. 5:25-26 Although the people of Israel claimed that God had to bless them because of the Sinai cov…

5:25-26 Although the people of Israel claimed that God had to bless them because of the Sinai covenant, Amos demonstrated that they had been fundamentally pagan from the very earliest days of the covenant. 5:25 Israel’s relationship with God was based on true devotion that yielded obedience (1 Sam 15:22-23). Sacrifices representing repentance and faith could repair a breach made by sin, but they were not a substitute for a life lived in accordance with God’s word. • Forty years in the wilderness was the duration of Israel’s wandering after the rebellion at Kadesh-barnea (see Num 14:32-35).

Versículo 26

19. 5:26-27 The names that appear in 5:26 have given rise to several conjectures, but many interprete…

5:26-27 The names that appear in 5:26 have given rise to several conjectures, but many interpreters consider them to be names of unidentified pagan gods. The king god may well be Molech, god of the Ammonites (see 1:15). The word translated you served may mean you will lift up, in which case the prophet is making a contrast between Israel or Judah, who carried their idols, and God, who carries his people (see Isa 46:1-7).

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Amos — Capítulo 5