What Does Amos 5:4 Mean in the King James?

For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

Amos 5:4 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The Hebrew binds seeking the LORD and living in one direct command: the search is already a movement into life.

THE MEANING

The LORD’s words reach you now: seek me, and live. Seeking is an active turning of attention and inquiry toward the LORD, and the verse joins that turning to life as its promise.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It dissolves the belief that seeking the LORD leads nowhere: the verse answers that search with the promise of life.

THE ROOT

דִּרְשׁוּנִי

dirshuni

GROWS FROM

דרש

To seek, inquire, or resort to.

“seek” in this verse is dirshuni. The Hebrew form addresses a group and carries the object “me” inside the verb: this search is directed toward a person, not an idea. The same root grows into words for inquiry and exposition, showing that seeking can be an active turning toward what is to be uncovered.

ALSO GROWS

midrash: Inquiry or exposition.

מִדְרָשׁ

This branch keeps the sense of seeking as sustained inquiry, illuminating the verse as a direct turning toward the LORD.

derishah: Inquiry or demand.

דְּרִישָׁה

This branch shows the root can carry an active request or seeking out; here, the object of that seeking is the LORD himself.

וִחְיוּ

viḥyu

GROWS FROM

חיה

To live, be alive, or come to life.

“live” in this verse is viḥyu. This root names the state of being alive as well as the act of living: chai and chayyim grow from the same seed. The verse joins that aliveness directly to seeking the LORD.

ALSO GROWS

chai: Living or alive.

חַי

The shared root shows that the verb “live” belongs to the same word-family as the state of being alive.

chayyim: Life or living.

חַיִּים

This branch names life itself, widening the promise from a verb into the whole condition of living.

THE PATTERN

Across Scripture, seeking God is an active orientation met with finding, response, and life.

But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29 · KJVSeeking the LORD is joined to finding him, echoing the direct relation between seeking and life in Amos.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 · KJVThe one who is sought answers the search with presence, as the LORD answers the command to seek him here.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Matthew 7:7 · KJVSeeking is met with finding and an opening, expressing the same pattern of active approach and response.

THE THREAD

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Amos 5:14 · KJV

Amos 5:14 repeats the same Hebrew roots for “seek” (darash) and “live” (chayah) found here. It gives the seeking a concrete direction, good rather than evil, showing the shape of the movement toward life.

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