Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

AMOS 2:4KJV
Know the Bible

Amos 2:4 (KJV)

What does Amos 2:4 mean?

Amos 2:4 says that God will not hold back punishment from Judah because they have rejected God's law, failed to keep His commandments, and followed falsehoods like their ancestors did. The verse highlights that Judah's wrongdoing is not just about breaking rules, but about turning away from what God had taught them and choosing to follow misleading traditions.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Amos, addressing the people of Judah. The situation is a warning: Amos has already spoken about other nations' sins, but now he turns to Judah, one of God's own chosen people. The verse points out that Judah's main problem is despising God's instruction (the "law") and being led astray by lies, showing that their failure is both moral and spiritual, rooted in a long pattern inherited from previous generations.

The Hebrew behind Amos 2:4

  • "despised" (מָאַס, ma'as): This word means to reject or treat with contempt. Here, it shows that Judah's attitude toward God's law was not just neglect, but active rejection.
  • "law" (תּוֹרָה, torah): This refers to God's teaching or instruction, not just legal rules. The verse emphasizes that Judah turned away from the guidance meant to shape their whole way of life.
  • "lies" (כָּזָב, kazav): This word is often understood as falsehoods or deceptions. Amos points out that Judah was misled by beliefs or practices that were not true, which had also misled their ancestors.
  • "err" (תָּעָה, ta'ah): This means to wander or go astray. The verse uses it to show that Judah's actions led them off the right path, following the same mistakes as those before them.

Why Amos 2:4 matters

  • Amos 2:4 makes it clear that even God's own people are not exempt from accountability; Judah is judged for rejecting what they knew to be right.
  • The verse highlights that the root issue is not just breaking commandments, but despising God's guidance and being led astray by persistent falsehoods.
  • This verse connects Judah's present behavior to a long history of turning away from God, showing that spiritual decline often follows patterns set by previous generations.

Where else these words appear

“lies” Hebrew H3577 · used in 31 verses

  • Judges 16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
  • Proverbs 14:25 A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
  • Ezekiel 13:7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?

“err” Hebrew H8582 · used in 45 verses

  • Genesis 20:13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
  • Psalms 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
  • Isaiah 30:28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

“despised” Hebrew H3988 · used in 69 verses

  • Leviticus 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
  • Job 30:1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
  • Isaiah 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

“transgressions” Hebrew H6588 · used in 90 verses

  • Genesis 31:36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
  • Psalms 51:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
  • Lamentations 1:5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.