What Does Amos 7:8 Mean in the King James?

And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

Amos 7:8 · 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.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The plumbline is set among the people themselves, and the LORD declares that he will no longer pass over what it reveals.

THE MEANING

The measure stands within the people now, bringing their condition into view. The LORD no longer passes them by; what has been left unaddressed is now met with judgment.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The delay is not proof that the measure will never be applied; this verse speaks of the moment when being passed over ends.

THE ROOT

עֲבוֹר

ʿavōr

GROWS FROM

ע־ב־ר

To cross, pass over, or pass through.

“pass by” in this verse is ʿavōr. The Hebrew carries movement across or through, more vivid than a vague sense of overlooking. Here that passing-over ends as the plumbline is set among the people.

ALSO GROWS

ʿāvar: To cross, pass over, or pass through.

עָבַר

This is the verb’s root form; its movement is the very passing the LORD says will cease.

ʿēver: Beyond, across, or the region on the other side.

עֵבֶר

This related form makes the root’s sense of crossing and boundary visible in the verse’s decisive end to passing over.

בְּקֶרֶב

bəqerev

GROWS FROM

ק־ר־ב

To come near, approach, or be close.

The plumbline is placed in the midst, from a root that also carries the sense of coming near. The measure is close among the people, not kept at a distance from what it reveals.

ALSO GROWS

qārav: To draw near or approach.

קָרַב

The shared root makes the placement among the people feel immediate: the measure has come near.

qorbān: An offering, something brought near.

קָרְבָּן

This branch extends the root’s nearness into something brought forward; here, what stands among the people is brought into view.

THE PATTERN

When a divine measure is set among people, what it reveals becomes answerable rather than remaining passed over.

Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Isaiah 28:17 · KJVThe line and plummet expose what judgment measures, including the refuge that has hidden what is false.

Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.

Job 31:6 · KJVThe balance makes a person’s integrity answerable to a measure.

And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

Revelation 11:1 · KJVThe measuring reaches the temple, altar, and worshippers, making the measure concrete and near.

THE THREAD

And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

Amos 5:17 · KJV

“Pass through” in Amos 5:17 shares the root ⁨ע־ב־ר⁩ (ʿ-b-r), “to cross or pass through,” with “pass by” here. The shared verb lets the reader hear the force of the declaration: the LORD’s passage through the people is no longer passing over them.

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