Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Amos 1:11 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 11. 11Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse charges Edom with pursuing a brother by the sword, destroying pity, and preserving anger.
Read It With
- Amos 1:11-12
Read Amos 1:11 with 1:11-12. This verse charges Edom with pursuing a brother by the sword, destroying pity, and preserving anger. The complete unit establishes this movement: Edom's sustained violence against a brother is condemned not as one passing conflict but as pity destroyed and anger deliberately kept alive.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The sequence turns from those who supplied captives to the receiving power and exposes the moral life of permanent rage. Within that movement, this verse charges Edom with pursuing a brother by the sword, destroying pity, and preserving anger.
Follow the Context
- The formula names Edom's accumulated rebellion.
- Brother-pursuit, lost pity, tearing anger, and stored wrath describe ongoing violence.
- Fire on Teman and Bozrah answers the security of Edom's centers.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“kept his wrath for ever”
In plain language: The oracle condemns anger intentionally preserved across time.
charges Edom with pursuing a brother by the sword, destroying pity, and preserving anger. Inherited conflict does not excuse deliberately maintained cruelty.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the complete unit and stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Edom does not identify a modern people as permanently violent, and brotherhood does not compel unsafe reconciliation.
What Remains True
Inherited conflict does not excuse deliberately maintained cruelty.
How It Can Shape Life
- Interrupt transmitted hatred while protecting victims and requiring truth.
Teach It Back
Explain Amos 1:11's contribution to Amos 1:11-12: charges Edom with pursuing a brother by the sword, destroying pity, and preserving anger. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Amos 1:11-12 — Edom Accountable for Relentless Brother-ViolenceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The difficult pity clause and the historical conflict remain debated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Amos 1:11-12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Amos
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Amos.xml, 1:11-12
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Amos with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1705-1708, translation and notes on 1:11-12
Open source ↗