People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.
Parallel translations
- WEB They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek Yahweh’s word, and will not find it.
- KJV And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
- NKJV They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, But shall not find it.
- NASB “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will roam about to seek the word of the Lord, But they will not find it.
- NLT People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.
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
People will wander everywhere searching for the word of the Lord but will not find it. Having rejected God's word, they will be unable to find it when they want it.
Overview
The frantic search 'from sea to sea' pictures a desperate but fruitless quest for divine guidance after it is withdrawn. There is a point at which persistent rejection forfeits the opportunity to hear. This sober warning urges people to seek and heed God's word now, while in Christ it is freely and abundantly available.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Rom 11:7–10What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
- Dan 12:4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
- Prov 14:6A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
- 2 Tim 3:6–7They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions,
- Matt 24:23–26At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.
- Matt 12:30He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
- Rom 9:31–33but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
- Matt 11:25–27At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
- Ezek 20:31When you offer your gifts, sacrificing your sons in the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. So should I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be consulted by you!
- Ezek 20:3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Have you come to inquire of Me? As surely as I live, I will not be consulted by you, declares the Lord GOD.
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 8:12 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.