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For, behold, he who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought; who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the earth: Yahweh, the God of Armies, is his name.”
Amos 4:13 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.
  • BSB For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.”
  • ESV For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!
  • NKJV For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The Lord God of hosts is His name.
  • NASB For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind, And declares to a person what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the high places of the earth, The Lord God of armies is His name.
  • NLT For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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 is the Creator who forms mountains, makes the wind, reveals thoughts, and rules the earth; the LORD of Armies is his name. The God Israel must meet is the almighty Maker of all.

Overview

This doxology magnifies the One whom Israel must face: the sovereign Creator who shapes nature, knows human thoughts, and treads upon the heights of the earth. His name, 'Yahweh, the God of Armies,' declares his supreme power. Such majesty makes meeting him a fearful thing for the unrepentant. Yet this same Creator graciously makes himself known and is revealed fully in Christ, by whom all things were made.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 32

  • Amos 5:8seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,
  • Mic 1:3For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place, and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
  • Amos 9:6It is he who builds his rooms in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth; Yahweh is his name.
  • Isa 47:4Our Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies is his name, is the Holy One of Israel.
  • Ps 65:6Who by his power forms the mountains, having armed yourself with strength;
  • Dan 2:28but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:
  • Jer 13:16Give glory to Yahweh your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it gross darkness.
  • Deut 33:29You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”
  • Isa 40:12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
  • Amos 8:9It will happen in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.
  • Job 38:4–11“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
  • Jer 51:19The portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the former of all things; including the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Armies is his name.
  • Exod 10:22Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.
  • Amos 3:13“Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob,” says the Lord Yahweh, the God of Armies.
  • Deut 32:13He made him ride on the high places of the earth. He ate the increase of the field. He caused him to suck honey out of the rock, oil out of the flinty rock;
  • Zech 12:1A revelation, Yahweh’s word concerning Israel. Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says:
  • Jer 10:16The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Armies is his name.
  • Jer 10:13when he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries.
  • Jer 51:16When he utters his voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries.
  • Hab 3:19Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.
  • Ps 135:7who causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth; who makes lightnings with the rain; who brings the wind out of his treasuries;
  • Exod 14:20It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and one didn’t come near the other all night.
  • Amos 6:8“The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
  • Ps 147:18He sends out his word, and melts them. He causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
  • Isa 48:2(for they call themselves citizens of the holy city, and rely on the God of Israel; Yahweh of Armies is his name):
  • Amos 5:27Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of Armies.
  • Isa 5:30They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.
  • John 3:8The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
  • Ps 139:2You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
  • John 2:25and because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.
  • Matt 9:4Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
  • Luke 7:39–40Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what kind of woman this is who touches him, that she is a sinner.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 4:13YouTube · 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 4:13 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.