Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Amos 5:25 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 25. 25Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse asks whether Israel brought sacrifices and offerings during forty wilderness years.
Read It With
- Amos 5:25-27
Read Amos 5:25 with 5:25-27. This verse asks whether Israel brought sacrifices and offerings during forty wilderness years. The complete unit establishes this movement: The wilderness question and disputed astral-cult terms expose divided allegiance, and the oracle ends by sending Israel into exile beyond Damascus under the authority of the LORD God of hosts.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The unit moves from rejected present worship to a deeper history of allegiance and the concrete consequence of exile. Within that movement, this verse asks whether Israel brought sacrifices and offerings during forty wilderness years.
Follow the Context
- A question asks whether Israel brought sacrifices during forty wilderness years.
- The hearers bear disputed cult objects or deity symbols.
- These are described as self-made images and a star.
- Captivity beyond Damascus is announced by the LORD God of hosts.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not prove that no wilderness sacrifices occurred or that Jewish worship was always false.
What Remains True
The question unsettles confidence that sacrifice alone defined covenant faithfulness.
How It Can Shape Life
- Hold ritual practice together with loyalty and justice.
Teach It Back
Explain Amos 5:25's contribution to Amos 5:25-27: asks whether Israel brought sacrifices and offerings during forty wilderness years. 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 5:25-27 — Wilderness Worship Questioned and Exile AnnouncedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Its expected answer and relation to Pentateuchal sacrifice traditions are 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 5:25-27, 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, 5:25-27
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 5:25-27
Open source ↗