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Amos 5:10-13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Amos 5:10-13
Gate Truth Is Hated While the Poor Are Burdened
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate
The abstract charge becomes a scene. They hate the one who rebukes in the gate and abhor him that speaks uprightly. City gates hosted legal and commercial life. Truthful correction is not merely ignored; it is punished as offensive.
They afflict the just, take a bribe, and turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. God knows the multiplied transgressions and the institutional route by which needy claimants are excluded. Access to justice has a price.
Hewn stone and pleasant vineyards you will not enjoy
Because they tread on the poor and take from him burdens of wheat, they have built houses of hewn stone and planted pleasant vineyards, but they shall not dwell in them or drink the wine. Extracted grain funds elite property that will not be secure.
"The prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time" may describe dangerous conditions rather than command moral silence. It does not require victims or whistleblowers to stay quiet for leaders' comfort. The verse does not authorize vandalism of every substantial home, and it does not prove that every wealthy person took bribes.
How this should shape us
Protect complainants, publish conflicts, prohibit bribes, and make hearings accessible. Create safe channels rather than coercing vulnerable people to speak when it is unsafe. Trace construction and comfort to taxes, labor, and land practices without assuming guilt from wealth alone.
Teach it back
Explain Amos 5:10-13 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 wheat levy, social groups, silence line, and whether loss is legal reversal or coming invasion are debated; bribery and poor-person exclusion are explicit.
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 5:10-13, 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, 5:10-13
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1713-1716, translation and notes on 5:10-13
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 585-587, discussion of 5:10-13
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 5:10-13, 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, 5:10-13
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. 1713-1716, translation and notes on 5:10-13
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. 585-587, discussion of 5:10-13
Open source ↗