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Amos 8:11-14, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Amos 8:11-14
A Famine of Hearing the LORD's Words
Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water
Days are coming, saith the Lord GOD, that he will send a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. People shall wander from sea to sea, from the north even to the east, run to and fro to seek the word, and shall not find it. After prophets were told not to speak (2:12; 7:13), absence itself becomes judgment.
The verse does not prove that Scripture, salvation, or divine care is absent from a modern nation, church, or person. The biblical canon means these words are still readable. The oracle must not be marketed as a claim that only one teacher now holds revelation.
Fair virgins and young men faint
In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. Young women and men are pictured as vulnerable seekers, not as ornaments. Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth, even they shall fall and never rise up again. Rival sacred oaths cannot prevent collapse.
Dan, Samaria, and Beersheba belonged to contested religious networks. The text does not condemn Jews for seeking Scripture. It does not authorize a leader to sell exclusive revelation, demand loyalty, or isolate followers. Fainting young people must not be sexualized, coerced, or blamed.
How this should shape us
Preserve accessible records and protect truth-tellers. Make Scripture available without scarcity tactics that demand payment, loyalty, or abuse for supposed divine access. A community that suppresses correction may later search urgently and still not find the word it refused.
Teach it back
Explain Amos 8:11-14 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 geographic sweep, the identities of the Samaria and Dan cult objects, and the relation between written and prophetic word are debated; failed seeking after rejected warning is 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 8:11-14, 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, 8:11-14
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1719-1720, translation and notes on 8:11-14
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 588, discussion of 8:11-14
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 8:11-14, 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, 8:11-14
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. 1719-1720, translation and notes on 8:11-14
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. 588, discussion of 8:11-14
Open source ↗