Amos 5:1
New International Version
Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:

New Living Translation
Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing:

English Standard Version
Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

Berean Standard Bible
Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you:

King James Bible
Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

New King James Version
Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

New American Standard Bible
Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a song of mourning, house of Israel:

NASB 1995
Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:

NASB 1977
Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel.

Legacy Standard Bible
Hear this word which I take up for you as a funeral lament, O house of Israel:

Amplified Bible
Hear this word which I take up for you as a funeral song, O house of Israel:

Christian Standard Bible
Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament, house of Israel:

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament, house of Israel:

American Standard Version
Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

Contemporary English Version
Listen, nation of Israel, to my mournful message:

English Revised Version
Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Listen to this message, this funeral song that I sing about you, nation of Israel:

Good News Translation
Listen, people of Israel, to this funeral song which I sing over you:

International Standard Version
"Hear this accusation that I am bringing against you: 'A dirge, house of Israel:

Majority Standard Bible
Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you:

NET Bible
Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, family of Israel:

New Heart English Bible
Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

Webster's Bible Translation
Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

World English Bible
Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel:
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Hear this word that I am bearing to you, "" A lamentation, O house of Israel:

Young's Literal Translation
Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:

Smith's Literal Translation
Hear ye this word which I lift up to you, a lamentation, O house of Israel.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear ye this word, which I take up concerning you for a lamentation. The house of Israel is fallen, and it shall rise no more.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Listen to this word, which I lift over you in lamentation. The house of Israel has fallen, and it will no longer rise again.

New American Bible
Hear this word which I utter concerning you, this dirge, house of Israel:

New Revised Standard Version
Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
HEAR this word which I take up concerning you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel:

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Hear this word that I bear for you, a lamentation, house of Israel
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Hear ye this word of the Lord, even a lamentation, which I take up against you. The house of Israel is fallen; it shall no more rise.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Lamentation against Israel
1Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you: 2“Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.”…

Cross References
Isaiah 1:21
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

Jeremiah 7:29
Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’

Hosea 4:1-3
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. / Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

Lamentations 1:1
How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.

Ezekiel 19:1
“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel

Micah 1:8-9
Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich. / For her wound is incurable; it has reached even Judah; it has approached the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem itself.

Zephaniah 3:1-2
Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! / She heeded no voice; she accepted no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she has not drawn near to her God.

2 Kings 17:13-14
Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.” / But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.

Isaiah 5:1-7
I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. / He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour! / “And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard. ...

Jeremiah 9:10
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.

Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it / and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. / For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ...

Romans 9:27-29
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. / For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earth thoroughly and decisively.” / It is just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

Revelation 2:5
Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.


Treasury of Scripture

Hear you this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

Hear.

Amos 3:1
Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,

Amos 4:1
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

I take.

Amos 5:16
Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

Jeremiah 7:29
Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

Jeremiah 9:10,17,20
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone…

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Amos 5
1. A lamentation for Israel.
4. An exhortation to repentance.
21. God rejects their hypocritical service.














Hear this word
The phrase "Hear this word" is a call to attention, a divine imperative that demands the audience's focus. In Hebrew, the word "hear" is "שְׁמַע" (shema), which implies not just listening but also obeying. This is reminiscent of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4, a central declaration of faith in Judaism. The prophet Amos is urging the Israelites to not only listen but to internalize and act upon the message. This call to hear is a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and Israel, where hearing is linked to obedience and faithfulness.

O house of Israel
This phrase identifies the audience as the "house of Israel," referring to the Northern Kingdom during the divided monarchy period. Historically, this was a time of prosperity but also of moral and spiritual decline. The term "house" (Hebrew: "בֵּית" - bayit) signifies not just a physical dwelling but a lineage or family, emphasizing the collective identity and responsibility of the people. The Northern Kingdom, often characterized by idolatry and injustice, is being directly addressed, highlighting their accountability to God’s covenant.

this lamentation
The word "lamentation" (Hebrew: "קִינָה" - qinah) is a form of poetic expression used in mourning. It is a dirge, a song of sorrow, often associated with funerals or times of great distress. Amos is using this form to convey the seriousness of the message. The use of lamentation indicates that the situation is dire, and the prophet is mourning the spiritual death of the nation. This is not just a warning but an expression of deep grief over the impending judgment due to Israel's unfaithfulness.

I take up against you
The phrase "I take up against you" suggests a personal and direct confrontation. The Hebrew root "נָשָׂא" (nasa) means to lift or carry, indicating that Amos is bearing a heavy burden of prophecy. This is not merely a message from Amos but a divine pronouncement from God. The use of "against you" underscores the adversarial nature of the message; it is a charge or indictment against Israel for their sins. This reflects the role of the prophet as a mediator between God and the people, delivering a message that is both a warning and a call to repentance.

Verse 1-ch. 6:14. - § 8. Third address: the prophet utters a lamentation over the fall of Israel. (Vers. 1-3.) He calls her to repentance, while he shows wherein she has declined from the right way. To make this plain, he contrasts God's power and majesty with the people's iniquity, instances of which he gives (vers. 4-12). The only condition of safety is amendment (vers. 13-15); and as they refuse to reform, they shall have cause to lament (vers. 16, 17). This threat is enforced by the two emphatic "woes" that follow, the first of which demonstrates the baselessness of their trust in their covenant relation to God (vers. 18-27); the second denounces the careless lives of the chiefs, who, revelling in luxury, believed not in the coming judgment (Amos 6:1-6). Therefore they shall go into captivity, and the kingdom shall be utterly overthrown (vers. 7-11), because they act iniquitously and are self-confident (vers. 12-14). Verse 1. - Hear ye this word. To show the certainty of the judgment and his own feeling about it, the prophet utters his prophecy in the form of a dirge (kinah, 2 Samuel 1:17; 2 Chronicles 35:25). Which I take up against you; or, which I raise over you, as if the end had come. O house of Israel; in the vocative. The Vulgate has, Domus Israel cecidit; so the LXX. But the present Hebrew text is most suitable, making the dirge begin at ver. 2. The ten tribes are addressed as in ver. 6.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Hear
שִׁמְע֞וּ (šim·‘ū)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

this
הַזֶּ֗ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

word,
הַדָּבָ֣ר (had·dā·ḇār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

O house
בֵּ֥ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of Israel,
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

this
אֲשֶׁ֨ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

lamentation
קִינָ֖ה (qî·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7015: An elegy, dirge

I
אָנֹכִ֜י (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

take up
נֹשֵׂ֧א (nō·śê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

against you:
עֲלֵיכֶ֛ם (‘ă·lê·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against


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OT Prophets: Amos 5:1 Listen to this word which I take (Amo. Am)
Amos 4:13
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