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Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Amos 4:4

Bethel... Gilgal. — In bitterly ironical words the prophet summons Israel to the calf-worship of Bethel, and to similar rites of bastard Jehovah-worship at Gilgal. These spots were full of sacred associations. The sarcastic force of the passage is lost in E.V. For “three years” read every three days. The law only required a tithe every third year (Deuteronomy 26:12); but here the prophet is lashing the people with hyperbolical irony for their excessive generosity to the base priests and spurious sanctuaries.

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See also Amos 4:4 in other biblical comments:

  • Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

    Verse Amos 4:4. _COME TO BETH-EL AND TRANSGRESS_] Spoken _ironically_. Go on to worship your calves at Beth-el; and _multiply_ your _transgressions at Gilgal_; the very place where I _rolled away_ th...

  • Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary

    COME TO BETH-EL AND TRANSGRESS - Having foretold their captivity, the prophet tries irony. But his irony is in bidding them go on to do, what they were doing earnestly, what they were set upon doing,...

  • Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein

    CHAPTER 4 The Second Discourse _ 1. Divine threatening and irony (Amos 4:1) _ 2. Yet have ye not returned unto Me (Amos 4:6) 3. Prepare to meet thy God (Amos 4:12)...

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    ISRAEL'S DENSENESS. What is the real cause of conduct that merits such punishment? At the root of all the evil is a sham religion, a religion which in its mere formality and gross corruption has degen...

  • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

    COME TO BETH-EL, &c. Here we have Divine irony, as though it meant "Fill up the measure of your iniquity". Compare Matthew 23:32. TRANSGRESS... TRANSGRESSION. Hebrew pasha'. App-44. BETH-EL... GILGAL...

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

    Here the people at large are addressed by the prophet, perhaps at some festal religious gathering....

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

    _Come_to _Beth-el, and transgress_&c. The words are meant of course ironically. Amos bids the people _come to Beth-el_, the principal and most splendid centre of their worship, _and transgress, to Gil...

  • Charles Box Commentaries

    _COME TO BETHEL AND GILGAL AND SIN -- AMOS 4:4-5:_ When God invited the people to come to Bethel and Gilgal He did not invite them to come there for worship. Bethel was one of the places where the cal...

  • Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

    COME TO BETH-EL— This and the following verses are spoken ironically. See Hosea 4:15; Hosea 12:11. "Signalize your zeal and your diligence in those things which the Lord abhorreth most." Instead of, _...

  • College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

    REASON CALLS FOR REPENTANCE GOD'S HOLINESS DEMANDS PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL TEXT: Amos 4:1-5 1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush t...

  • Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

    Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: COME TO BETH-EL, AND TRANSGRESS; AT GILGAL MULTIPLY TRANS...

  • Darby's translation notes (1890)

    4:4 days, (d-21) Perhaps 'years;' 'days' in Hebrew is used for 'years,' but here probably it is in irony....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    THE SECOND ADDRESS 1-3. The heartless luxury of the rich women. 4, 5. The elaborate sacrifices and pilgrimages. 6-12. The failure of God's chastisements to produce amendment. 1. These pampered wome...

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

    THE MAN WITH A DIFFICULT MESSAGE FROM GOD AMOS _MARK KIRKPATRICK_ CHAPTER 4 THE WOMEN WHO LOVE LUXURY V1 Listen to this, you cows of Bashan, who live on the mountains of Samaria. You hurt poor...

  • ETCBC data on Hebrew bible

    בֹּ֤אוּ בֵֽית־אֵל֙ וּ פִשְׁע֔וּ הַ גִּלְגָּ֖ל...

  • Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll)

    THE FALSE PEACE OF RITUAL Amos 4:4 THE next four groups of oracles- Amos 4:4; Amos 5:1; Amos 5:6.-treat of many different details, and each of them has its own emphas

  • Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll)

    1. FOR WORSHIP, CHASTISEMENT Amos 4:4 In chapter 2 Amos contrasted the popular conception of religion as worship with God's-conception of it as history. He placed a picture of the sanctuary, hot with...

  • Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll)

    CIVILIZATION AND JUDGMENT Amos 3:1 - Amos 4:3 WE now enter the Second Section of the Book of Amos: Chapter s 3-6. It is a collection of various oracles of denunciation, grouped partly by the recurre...

  • Frederick Brotherton Meyer's Commentary

    CALAMITIES ARE GOD'S WARNINGS Amos 4:1-11 Speaking after the imagery of his vocation, Amos the herdsman compares the rich and powerful of Samaria, who were living in luxury and wantonness, to the kin...

  • G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

    The second discourse consists of Jehovah's summons to the people. It commences with a severe and terrible indictment of the women. He addressed them as "Ye kine of Bashan," which reveals the degradati...

  • Geneva Study Bible Commentary

    Come to (d) Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three (e) years: (d) He speaks this in contempt of those who res...

  • George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

    Galgal. Thither the people went of their own accord, as to a place of devotion, Osee iv. 15. Amos ironically tells them to proceed, as Christ addressed the Jews, Matthew xxiii. 32. (Calmet) --- After...

  • Hawker's Poor man's commentary

    It should seem that in the midst of all their transgressions they still carried on a shew of religion. Like their idolatrous neighbours around, they would not be totally void of some form of worship,...

  • Introductory Lectures - Commentary by William Kelly

    Lectures on the Minor Prophets. W. Kelly. "The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the...

  • John Calvin's Bible Commentary

    The Prophet here again pours contempt on the perverse confidence, in which the Israelites were become hardened. They thought, indeed, that their worship was fully approved by God, when they offered Sa...

  • John Darby's Synopsis

    Chapter 4 presents the oppression of the poor, and the worship which the children of Israel rendered at will in the places they had chosen. God also would act as He saw fit. He had indeed already done...

  • John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

    COME TO BETHEL AND TRANSGRESS,.... and what follows, are ironic and sarcastic speeches, not giving liberty to sin, but in this way reproving for it: Bethel was one of the places where the calves were...

  • John Trapp Complete Commentary

    Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three years: Ver. 4. _Come to Bethel and transgress_] Do so, if you...

  • Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    _Come to Beth-el_ The known place of the calf-worship; _and transgress_ A strong irony, giving them over as incorrigible: like that of Ezekiel 20:39, _Go ye, serve every man his idols. At Gilgal multi...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    DENUNCIATION OF THE OUTSTANDING VICES...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    Come to Bethel and transgress, in their idolatrous worship; AT GILGAL, another seat of idol-worship, MULTIPLY TRANSGRESSION; AND BRING YOUR SACRIFICES EVERY MORNING, in a wonderful zeal for worship, A...

  • Marginal Notes in the King James Version (1611)

    THREE YEARS: _ Heb._ three years of days...

  • Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

    1-5 What is got by extortion is commonly used to provide for the flesh, and to fulfil the lusts thereof. What is got by oppression cannot be enjoyed with satisfaction. How miserable are those whose co...

  • Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible

    COME TO BETH-EL, the known place of the moscholatria, calf-worship: see AMOS 3:14. AND TRANSGRESS: this clears it to be an irony, either throwing them up to their obstinate way of sinning, giving them...

  • Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes

    Amos 4:4 Come H935 (H8798) Bethel H1008 transgress H6586 (H8798) Gilgal H1537 multiply H7235 (H8685) transgression...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    ORACLE OF WARNING TO ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL (AMOS 4:4). Amos constantly attacks Israel on two major subjects, false worship and social injustice. In Amos 4:1 he has attacked social injustice. Now...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    TWO INDICTMENTS OF THE PEOPLE WHICH WILL RESULT IN A SERIES OF CHASTISEMENTS (AMOS 4:1). A new oracle now begins with the words ‘hear this word ---' (compare Amos 3:1; Amos 5:1) and consists of indict...

  • Scofield's Bible Commentary

    BETH-EL Compare (1 Kings 12:25). Any altar at Beth-el, after the establishment of Jehovah's worship at Jerusalem was of necessity divisive and schismatic. (Deuteronomy 12:4). Compare (John 4:2

  • Summarized Bible Commentary

    CONTENTS: Threatening against the oppressors in Israel. Israel reminded of God's chastening in the past. CHARACTERS: God. CONCLUSION: God designs all His providential rebukes to influence men to tur...

  • Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    Amos 4:1. _Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan._ The strong bulls of Bashan are celebrated in scripture. Psalms 22:13. _Vaccæ pingues,_ fat cows, haughty women, abandoned to luxurious ease, and who, equ...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression._ ILL-SPENT SERVICE I. The scenes of this idolatry. “Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression.” Idolatry was...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 4:1 This second oracle (see note on 2:6–6:14) is composed of three parts. In Amos 4:1, Amos expands somewhat on the points made in...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 4:4 With bitter sarcasm, Amos criticizes religious activity at BETHEL and GILGAL (see Joshua 4:20;...

  • The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary

    CRITICAL NOTES.] Amos 4:4. Gilgal] The scene of idolatry. MULTIPLY] Irony. Since you will not be reformed, go on, try whether God likes your sacrifices; eager as you are in worship, you will not pre...

  • The Pulpit Commentaries

    EXPOSITION AMOS 4:1 _§ 2. Second address. The prophet reproves the voluptuous women of Samaria, and fortells their captivity _(Amos 4:1);_ with bitter irony he describes the people's devotion to idol...

  • Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith

    Then the Lord says, Hear this word, ye cows of Bashan (Amos 4:1), They worshiped the calf so God calls them a bunch of cows. But because they worshiped the calf, He speaks disdainfully concerning th...

  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

    Amos 3:14; Amos 5:5; Deuteronomy 14:28; Deuteronomy 14:29; De

  • Wesley's Explanatory Notes

    Come to Beth — el — A strong irony, giving them over as incorrigible. At Gilgal — Gilgal was a place where much idolatry was acted. Every morning — In the same irony God reproves their sins tho' they...

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