But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Parallel translations
- WEB But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
- KJV But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
- NKJV But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
- NASB “But let justice roll out like waters, And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
- NLT Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.
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
In place of empty ritual, God wants justice and righteousness flowing continually like a powerful, ever-running river. This is the heart of what true devotion looks like.
Overview
This famous verse contrasts the trickle of hollow worship with the mighty, unceasing stream God desires: justice and righteousness as the constant character of his people. It is not a rejection of worship itself but a demand that worship overflow into just living. Christ embodies perfect righteousness and, by his Spirit, makes his people channels of the justice God seeks.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Mic 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Jer 22:3This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
- Prov 21:3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- Hos 6:6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Mark 12:32–34“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him,
- Amos 5:14–15Seek good, not evil, so that you may live. And the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you have claimed.
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
- Job 29:12–17because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 5:24 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.