But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.
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!”
- BSB But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
- 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 2:12But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
- 1 Kgs 12:32And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
- 1 Kgs 12:29And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
- 1 Kgs 13:1And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
- Acts 5:28Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
- Acts 4:17–18But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
- Acts 5:40And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
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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