“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.
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.
- KJV Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I 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.
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 139:7–10Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?
- Jer 51:53Though Babylon should mount up to the sky, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet destroyers will come to her from me,” says Yahweh.
- Obad 1:4Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- Ezek 28:13–16You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. In the day that you were created they were prepared.
- Isa 2:19Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily.
- Jer 49:16As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- Job 20:6Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,
- Isa 14:13–16You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north!
- Job 26:6Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- Luke 10:18He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.