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Amos 4:4-5, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Amos 4:4-5
Abundant Worship Multiplies Transgression
Come to Bethel, and transgress
Amos sarcastically invites more pilgrimage: come to Bethel and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression. Bring sacrifices every morning and tithes after three years, or, in the rhetorical exaggeration, every three days. The point is not a calendar technicality. Frequency has become part of the rebellion.
Bethel and Gilgal were prominent sanctuaries. The critique is the moral contradiction of their worship, not Jewish ritual as inherently corrupt. Torah regulates sacrifice and tithe; Amos indicts practice detached from justice.
Offerings they love to advertise
A thanksgiving with leaven and a free offering published abroad: this is what they love, says the Lord GOD. Leaven was permitted in some thanksgiving contexts; the issue is not a universal ban on leaven. Public devotion is beloved even while it multiplies transgression.
Amos 5:21-24 will expand the same charge and locate the positive demand in rolling justice. Church attendance, giving, music, and testimony likewise cannot purchase innocence. The sarcasm does not condemn every sacrifice, tithe, or structured act of worship.
How this should shape us
Pair public devotion and giving with safeguarding, fair dealing, restitution, and response to the poor. Do not count impressive services as proof that a community is well. Before advertising spiritual success, disclose whom the money and labor actually serve.
Teach it back
Explain Amos 4:4-5 in your own words. Include its place in Amos's judgment-restoration movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: The time expression and tone of individual imperatives receive different translations, but the sustained sarcasm and contradiction are clear.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Amos 4:4-5, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Amos.xml, 4:4-5
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1712-1713, translation and notes on 4:4-5
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 585, discussion of 4:4-5
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
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 4:4-5, 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, 4:4-5
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. 1712-1713, translation and notes on 4:4-5
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Amos
Jennifer M. Dines
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Exact location: Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 585, discussion of 4:4-5
Open source ↗