Amos 5:26

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Amos 5:26 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
Amos 5:26 — American Standard Version

Context — Amos 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
26Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, etc.] The god of the Ammonites; (see Gill on “<300113>Amos 1:13”); and (see Gill on “<240731>Jeremiah 7:31”); called theirs, because they also worshipped it, and caused their seed to pass through the fire to it; and which was carried by them in a shrine, or portable tent or chapel. Or it may be rendered, “but ye have borne Siccuth your king”f135; and so Siccuth may be taken for the name of an idol, as it is by Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, to whom they gave the title of king, as another idol went by the name of the queen of heaven; perhaps by one was meant the sun, and by the other the moon; and Chiun, your images; Moloch or Siccuth was one,…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“But ye have borne - Literally, “And ye bare the tabernacle of your Moloch” (literally, “your king,” from where the idol Moloch had its name.) He assigns the reason, why he had denied that they sacririced to God in the wilderness. “Did ye offer sacrifices unto Me, and ye bare?” that is, seeing that ye bare. The two were incompatible. Since they did “carry about the tabernacle of their king,” they did not really worship God. He whom they chose as “their king,” was their god. The “tabernacle” or “tent” was probably a little portable shrine, such as Demetrius the silversmith and those of his craft made for the little statues of their goddess Diana Acts 19:24. Such are mentioned in Egyptian…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Ye have borne - Ye carried along with you in the wilderness; the shrine, or canopy in which the image was placed. Moloch - The great idol of the Ammonites. Chiun - Another idol. Amos 5:27”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“5:26-27 The names that appear in 5:26 have given rise to several conjectures, but many interpreters consider them to be names of unidentified pagan gods. The king god may well be Molech, god of the Ammonites (see 1:15). The word translated you served may mean you will lift up, in which case the prophet is making a contrast between Israel or Judah, who carried their idols, and God, who carries his people (see Isa 46:1-7).”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the tabernacle of your Moloch: or, Siccuth your king, Lev 18:21, Lev 20:2-5; Kg1 11:33; Kg2 23:12, Kg2 23:13, Milcom Amos 5:27”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification