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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Green's Literal Translation

Amos 9:2

And if they dig through into Sheol, from there My hand will take them. And if they go up to the heavens, from there I will bring them down.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God Continued...;   Hell;   Judgments;   Readings, Select;   Sin;   Suicide;   Wicked (People);   Thompson Chain Reference - Error;   Escape, No;   Exaltation-Abasement;   Hell;   Humiliation of Sinners;   No;   Sheol;   Sin;   Sin's;   Sin-Saviour;   Transgression;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Destroy, Destruction;   Kill, Killing;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Hell;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Amos;   Earthquake;   Hell;   Remnant;   Sheol;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Amos;   Nations;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Carmel;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Amos (1);   Decease, in the Old Testament and Apocyphra;   Eschatology of the Old Testament (with Apocryphal and Apocalyptic Writings);   Omnipotence;   Omnipresence;   Sheol;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Amos;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Jeremiah;   Sheol;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
If they dig down to Sheol,from there my hand will take them;if they climb up to heaven,from there I will bring them down.
Hebrew Names Version
Though they dig into She'ol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.
King James Version (1611)
Though they digge into hell, thence shall mine hand take them: though they clime vp to heauen, thence will I bring them downe.
King James Version
Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
English Standard Version
"If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
New American Standard Bible
"Though they dig into Sheol, From there My hand will take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there I will bring them down.
New Century Version
If they dig down as deep as the place of the dead, I will pull them up from there. If they climb up into heaven, I will bring them down from there.
Amplified Bible
"Though they dig into Sheol [to hide in the deepest pit], From there My hand will take them [for judgment]; And though they climb up to heaven [to hide in the realm of light], From there will I bring them down [for judgment].
Geneva Bible (1587)
Though they digge into the hel, thence shal mine hande take them: though they clime vp to heauen, thence will I bring them downe.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.
Legacy Standard Bible
Though they dig into Sheol,From there will My hand take them;And though they ascend to heaven,From there will I bring them down.
Berean Standard Bible
Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
Contemporary English Version
"If they dig deep into the earth or climb to the sky, I'll reach out and get them.
Complete Jewish Bible
If they dig down to Sh'ol, my hand will haul them out; if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down.
Darby Translation
Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to the heavens, thence will I bring them down;
Easy-to-Read Version
If they dig deep into the ground, I will pull them from there. If they go up into the skies, I will bring them down from there.
George Lamsa Translation
Though they go down into Sheol, thence shall my hand bring them up; though they climb to heaven, thence will I bring them down;
Good News Translation
Even if they dig their way down to the world of the dead, I will catch them. Even if they climb up to heaven, I will bring them down.
Lexham English Bible
If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them, and even if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
American Standard Version
Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
Bible in Basic English
Even if they go deep into the underworld, my hand will take them up from there; if they go up to heaven, I will get them down:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Though they dig into the nether-world, thence shall My hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Though they dig into hell, thence shall my hande take them, though they clime vp to heauen, thence will I bring them downe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Though they hid themselves in hell, thence shall my hand drag them forth; and though they go up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
English Revised Version
Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
World English Bible
Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If thei schulen go doun til to helle, fro thennus myn hond schal lede out hem; and if thei schulen `stie til in to heuene, fro thennus Y schal drawe hem doun.
Update Bible Version
Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
Webster's Bible Translation
Though they dig into the place of the dead, thence shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
New English Translation
Even if they could dig down into the netherworld, my hand would pull them up from there. Even if they could climb up to heaven, I would drag them down from there.
New King James Version
"Though they dig into hell, [fn] From there my hand shall take them;Though they climb up to heaven,From there I will bring them down;
New Living Translation
"Even if they dig down to the place of the dead, I will reach down and pull them up. Even if they climb up into the heavens, I will bring them down.
New Life Bible
Even if they dig into the place of the dead, My hand will take them from there. Even if they go up to heaven, I will bring them down from there.
New Revised Standard
Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Though they break through into hades, from thence, shall my hand fetch them, - and, though they ascend the heavens, from thence, will I bring them down;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Though they go down even to hell, thence shall my hand bring them out: and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
Revised Standard Version
"Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
Young's Literal Translation
If they dig through into sheol, From thence doth My hand take them, And if they go up the heavens, From thence I cause them to come down.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Though they were buryed in the hell, my honde shal fetch them from thence: though they clymme vp to heauen, yet shal I cast them downe:

Contextual Overview

1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar. And He said, Strike the capital of the door, and the thresholds will shake; and cut them off on the head of all of them. And I will kill the last of them with thesword. Not one of them who flees will flee,and not a fugitive of them will escape. 2 And if they dig through into Sheol, from there My hand will take them. And if they go up to the heavens, from there I will bring them down. 3 And if they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out from there. And if they hide from My eyes in the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the serpent, and he will bite them. 4 And if they go into exile before their enemies, from there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. And I will set My eyes on them for evil, and not for good. 5 And the Lord Jehovah of Hosts is He who touches the earth so that it melts, and all dwelling in it shall mourn. And all of it will rise up like the Nile, and sink down like the Nile of Egypt. 6 It is He who builds His staircase in the heavens, and His firmament He has founded, binding the heavens over the earth; He who calls for the seawaters and pours them out on the face of the earth, Jehovah is His name. 7 Are you not like the sons of the Ethiopians to Me, O sons of Israel? declares Jehovah. Have I not brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; only that I will not completely destroy the house of Jacob, declares Jehovah. 9 For, behold, I will command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as one shakes with a sieve; yet not a grain shall fall to the ground. 10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, those who say, The evil shall not draw near or confront us.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Though: All these energetic expressions were intended to shew the utter impossibility of escape.

dig: Job 26:6, Psalms 139:7-10, Isaiah 2:19

climb: Job 20:6, Isaiah 14:13-16, Jeremiah 49:16, Jeremiah 51:53, Ezekiel 28:13-16, Obadiah 1:4, Luke 10:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:8 - hid Joshua 10:16 - and hid Job 11:8 - deeper Job 24:23 - yet his eyes Job 34:22 - no Psalms 16:10 - my Psalms 21:8 - General Psalms 139:8 - I ascend Jeremiah 22:23 - makest Jeremiah 23:24 - hide Ezekiel 5:2 - I will draw Ezekiel 8:8 - General Ezekiel 21:14 - entereth Amos 3:12 - so shall Amos 5:19 - As if Luke 10:15 - which

Cross-References

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the seas, and over birds of the heavens, and over all beasts creeping on the earth.
Genesis 2:19
And Jehovah God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the heavens out of the ground. And He brought them to the man, to see what he would call it. And all which the man might call it, each living soul, that was its name.
Genesis 9:4
But you shall not eat flesh in its life, its blood.
Genesis 9:8
And God spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
Genesis 9:20
And Noah, a man of the ground, began and planted a vineyard.
Genesis 9:22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father. And he told his two brothers outside.
Genesis 9:23
And Shem and Japheth took a garment and put it on both their shoulders. And they went backward and covered the nakedness of their father, their faces backward. And they did not see the nakedness of their father.
Genesis 35:5
And they pulled up stakes . And the terror of God was on the cities all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
Leviticus 26:6
And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall terrify you. And I shall cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, and the sword shall not pass over into your land.
Leviticus 26:22
and send against you the beast of the field, and it shall bereave you. And I shall cut off your livestock and shall make you few, so that your ways are desolate.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them,.... That is, they that endeavour to make their escape from their enemies, though they seek for places of the greatest secrecy and privacy; not hell, the place of the damned; nor the grave, the repository of the dead; neither of which they chose to he in, but rather sought to escape them; but the deepest and darkest caverns, the utmost recesses of the earth, the very centre of it; which, could they get into, would not secure them from the power and providence of God, and from their enemies in pursuit of them, by his permission:

though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down; the summit of the highest mountains, and get as near to heaven, and at as great a distance from men, as can be, and yet all in vain. The Targum is,

"if they think to be hid as it were in hell, from thence their enemies shall take them by my word; and if they ascend the high mountains, to the top of heaven, thence will I bring them;''

see Psalms 139:8.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Height or depth are alike open to the Omnipresent God. The grave is not so awful as God. The sinner would gladly “dig through” into hell, bury himself, the living among the dead, if so he could escape the sight of God. But thence, God says, “My hand shall take them,” to place them in His presence, to receive their sentence. Or if, like the rebel angels, they could “place” their “throne amid the stars Isaiah 14:12-14 of God thence will I bring them down,” humbling, judging, condemning.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Amos 9:2. Though they dig into hell — Though they should get into the deepest caverns; though they climb up to heaven - get to the most inaccessible heights; I will drag them up from the one, and pull them down from the other.


 
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