But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
Parallel translations
- WEB but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!”
- KJV But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.
- NKJV But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.”
- NASB But do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
- NLT Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”
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
Amaziah forbids Amos to prophesy at Bethel because it is the king's royal sanctuary. He places loyalty to the throne above the word of God.
Overview
Bethel had become a state-sponsored center of worship serving the king's interests rather than the Lord's. Amaziah's appeal to royal authority exposes a religion captive to political power. This counterfeit sanctuary stands against the true worship God desires, which Christ establishes apart from human institutions of power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Amos 2:12“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
- 1 Kgs 12:32And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.
- 1 Kgs 12:29One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
- 1 Kgs 13:1Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
- Acts 5:28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”
- Acts 4:17–18But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”
- Acts 5:40At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.
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 7:13 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
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