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But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:
Amos 1:7 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its palaces.
  • BSB So I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza, to consume its citadels.
  • NKJV But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces.
  • NASB “So I will send fire on the wall of Gaza And it will consume her citadels.
  • NLT So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza, and all its fortresses will be destroyed.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God will send fire on Gaza's walls to consume its fortified palaces. The cities that profited from cruelty will themselves be destroyed.

Overview

As with Damascus, the judgment falls as fire on the city's defenses and seats of power. Gaza's wealth, built on the slave trade, offers no protection. The pattern reinforces that ill-gotten security is no security at all before God. Divine justice ultimately overturns every system built on oppression.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Zeph 2:4For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
  • 2 Kgs 18:8He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
  • Jer 47:1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
  • Rom 12:19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
  • Jer 25:18–20To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;
  • Ps 75:7–8But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
  • Ps 94:1–5O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
  • Deut 32:35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
  • Zech 9:5–7Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
  • 2 Chr 26:6And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines.
  • Deut 32:41–43If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
  • Amos 1:4But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Amos videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Amos 1:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on AmosMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Amid judgment on injustice, Amos promises the raising up of David's fallen tent — read by James in Acts 15 as the ingathering of the nations into the kingdom of the risen Christ.

How Amos 1:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.