Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Amos 5:11 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 11. 11Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse links burdens imposed on poor people to elite hewn-stone houses and pleasant vineyards that will not be enjoyed.
Read It With
- Amos 5:10-13
Read Amos 5:11 with 5:10-13. This verse links burdens imposed on poor people to elite hewn-stone houses and pleasant vineyards that will not be enjoyed. The complete unit establishes this movement: Gate institutions punish truthful correction, extract from poor people, take bribes, and turn needy claimants aside; elite houses and vineyards therefore offer no secure enjoyment.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The abstract charge against justice becomes a concrete account of speech suppression, extraction, bribery, and blocked legal access. Within that movement, this verse links burdens imposed on poor people to elite hewn-stone houses and pleasant vineyards that will not be enjoyed.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“burdens of wheat”
In plain language: The poor bear an extracted grain obligation that supports elite property.
links burdens imposed on poor people to elite hewn-stone houses and pleasant vineyards that will not be enjoyed. Property gained through extraction from the poor cannot be treated as morally independent of its source.
Why it matters: The wording identifies this verse's distinct contribution to the complete unit.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Property gained through extraction from the poor cannot be treated as morally independent of its source.
How It Can Shape Life
- Trace construction and wealth to taxes, labor, lending, and land practices.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Amos 5:10-13 — Gate Truth Is Hated While the Poor Are BurdenedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
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 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 ↗