He flashes destruction on the strong, so that fury comes upon the stronghold.
Parallel translations
- WEB who brings sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the fortress.
- KJV That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.
- NKJV He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.
- NASB It is He who makes destruction flash upon the strong, So that destruction comes upon the fortress.
- NLT With blinding speed and power he destroys the strong, crushing all their defenses.
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 brings sudden ruin upon the strong and destruction upon the fortress. No human strength can resist the Creator's judgment.
Overview
This continues the doxology, showing that the God of creation also overthrows the mighty and their defenses in an instant. Israel's confidence in its strongholds is misplaced. The Creator who upholds the heavens can topple any power on earth. Before such a God, repentance, not self-reliance, is the only wise response.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Kgs 13:25Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel.
- Jer 37:10Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”
- Mic 5:11I will remove the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.
- 2 Kgs 13:17“Open the east window,” said Elisha. So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And Elisha declared: “This is the LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”
- Heb 11:34quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:9 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.