Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
Parallel translations
- WEB Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.
- BSB Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- NKJV “Thoughthey dig into hell, From there My hand shall take them; Though they climb up to heaven, From there I will bring them down;
- NASB “Though they dig into Sheol, From there My hand will take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there I will bring them down.
- NLT “Even if they dig down to the place of the dead, I will reach down and pull them up. Even if they climb up into the heavens, I will bring them down.
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
Though they dig to Sheol or climb to heaven, God's hand will reach them. No place in all creation can hide them from his judgment.
Overview
Using the extremes of the grave and the heavens, God declares the utter inescapability of his judgment. His sovereign reach extends to every realm of existence. The same omnipresence that means no hiding from judgment also means, for the redeemed, that nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 139:7–10Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
- Jer 51:53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
- Obad 1:4Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
- Ezek 28:13–16Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
- Isa 2:19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
- Jer 49:16Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
- Job 20:6Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
- Isa 14:13–16For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
- Job 26:6Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
- Luke 10:18And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 9:2 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.