Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Amos 5:7 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 7. 7Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse accuses those who turn justice into bitter wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
Read It With
- Amos 5:7-9
Read Amos 5:7 with 5:7-9. This verse accuses those who turn justice into bitter wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground. The complete unit establishes this movement: Those who make justice bitter and cast righteousness down face the Creator who orders stars, light, sea, and the fall of fortified power.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The creator hymn identifies the one to be sought and places corrupted justice within cosmic, not merely local, accountability. Within that movement, this verse accuses those who turn justice into bitter wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“turn judgment to wormwood”
In plain language: Right adjudication is transformed into something bitter and harmful.
accuses those who turn justice into bitter wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground. Corrupted adjudication makes what should protect life bitter and discarded.
Why it matters: The wording identifies this verse's distinct contribution to the complete unit.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Corrupted adjudication makes what should protect life bitter and discarded.
How It Can Shape Life
- Repair procedures that exclude or poison justice for vulnerable people.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Amos 5:7-9 — The Creator Confronts Justice Turned BitterSources 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 5:7-9, 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, 5:7-9
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 5:7-9
Open source ↗