Amos 5:7 · Bible study
Amos 5:7 Commentary: Justice to Wormwood
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exegetical study of Amos 5:7: how the metaphor of wormwood and casting righteousness to the ground condemns social injustice in Israel and applies today.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Israel’s leaders have turned sweet justice into bitter oppression and deliberately abandoned righteousness, provoking God’s judgment.
- Key words: haphakh (turn, overturn), la’anah (wormwood, bitterness), mishpat (justice), tsedaqah (righteousness), nuach (cause to rest, abandon).
- Main debate: The identity of the accused, whether primarily the judiciary (Gill) or the entire social system (Barnes), but both recognize a systemic perversion.
- Theological theme: True worship requires social ethics; God cannot be sought while the vulnerable are crushed.
- Best use: Prophetic call to examine how our institutions, churches, and daily dealings treat the poor and uphold fairness.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
WEB World English Bible 2000
You who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth!
KJV King James Version 1769
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Ye who are turning to wormwood judgment, And righteousness to the earth have put down,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
You that turn judgment into wormwood, and forsake justice in the land,
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Los que convierten en ajenjo el juicio, y dejan en tierra la justicia,
Vós perverteis o juízo em absinto, e abandonam a justiça no chão.
O vous qui changez le droit en absinthe,
die ihr das Recht in Wermut verkehrt und die Gerechtigkeit zu Boden stoßt.
Die het recht in alsem verkeren, en de gerechtigheid ter aarde doen liggen.
o voi che mutate il diritto in assenzio, e gettate a terra la giustizia.
Którzy obracacie sąd w piołun, a sprawiedliwość na ziemi opuszczacie: Szukajcie, mówię.
О, вы, которые суд превращаете в отраву и правду повергаете на землю!
你們這使公平 變為 茵蔯、將公義 丟棄 於地的，
You who make the work of judging a bitter thing, crushing down righteousness to the earth;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Amos 5:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Amos 5:7 levels a sharp indictment against Israel’s leaders for corrupting civil justice. The verb haphakh (“turn”) means to overturn or transform, as Barnes notes: they changed what should be sweet into something bitter, wormwood. The same image appears in Deuteronomy 29:18, where “gall and wormwood” symbolize a heart that turns away from God. On the second line, the Hebrew phrase hinnichu la’arets (“they thrust down to the ground”) carries the nuance of deposing or abandoning. Calvin reads this as setting righteousness aside, treating it with contempt. Gill specifically identifies the hearers as “kings and judges” who pervert their office. The lexical range of tsedaqah (righteousness) here points to civil justice, the fair treatment of all people, especially the poor. The verse thus functions as a concrete accusation, not a general moral platitude.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse clearly condemns the perversion of justice and the deliberate abandonment of righteousness by those in power, and God holds them accountable.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of “wormwood” | All commentators see it as a metaphor for bitterness and poison, drawn from Deuteronomy 29:18 and used elsewhere in prophets. | Some (e.g., Cambridge Bible) note that wormwood is a specific plant (Artemisia) in Palestine, while others use the term more generally to describe any bitter thing. The interpretive force is the same. |
| Identity of the “you” addressed | The verse rebukes those in power who pervert justice, the aristocracy, judges, and leaders. | Gill limits it to “kings and judges”; Barnes expands it to all who engage in transactions where right is involved, including merchants and ordinary citizens. |
| Scope of “righteousness” (tsedaqah) | The primary meaning in context is civil justice, fairness in the courts and in social dealings. | Some (Calvin, Keil & Delitzsch) stress that this includes all right conduct between persons, while others (Cambridge Bible) emphasize the specific legal context of the gate. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Amos prophesied during the 8th century BC, a time of relative prosperity in the northern kingdom under Jeroboam II, but also of deep social corruption. Justice was administered at the city gate, where elders and judges presided over disputes. The wealthy could buy favorable verdicts with bribes, as Amos 5:12 later states. The poor and the righteous were pushed aside (vv. 10, 12).
Wormwood (la’anah) is a desert plant known for its intense bitterness. The Old Testament uses it as a stock metaphor for the consequences of disobedience (Deut. 29:18; Jer. 9:15; Lam. 3:19). By turning justice into wormwood, Amos says the system meant to bring healing and order now brings pain and poison to those who need it most.
The image of casting righteousness to the ground is equally forceful. Hebrew nuach in the Hiphil can mean “to set down, leave, abandon.” Here it suggests a deliberate act: the powerful have taken righteousness, God’s standard of right order, and laid it ignominiously on the earth, where it can be trampled. Barnes compares this to the mockery of Christ, when soldiers placed a scarlet robe on him and bowed the knee. The insult is that righteousness is treated as powerless, something to be pushed aside.
This verse sits at the center of a larger call to seek God (vv. 4, 6, 14, 15). The surrounding context shows that Israel’s religious fervor at Bethel and Gilgal is worthless without social ethics. God wants a people who practice justice, not merely observe rituals.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Amos 5:7. The Hebrew is consistent across manuscripts, and the verse is cited with the same sense in early Jewish and Christian references. The main challenge is not textual but interpretive: understanding the force of the metaphors.
Reception History
Early Christian writers, such as the author of the Didache, echoed Amos’s concern for justice as a mark of true faith. In the Reformation, Calvin used the verse to argue that worship without ethics is empty, a theme also central in the Puritan and Wesleyan traditions. Modern commentators across traditions (Catholic social teaching, Protestant prophetic witness, and Orthodox emphasis on righteousness) agree that Amos 5:7 grounds the biblical demand for social justice in the character of God himself. The verse has been sung in hymns that call for mercy and has been cited by movements against legal corruption.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The perversion of justice: “turn justice to wormwood”, what should bring relief becomes bitter; the powerful rob the vulnerable of what is rightfully theirs.
- The abandonment of righteousness: “cast down righteousness to the earth”, God’s standard of right dealing is deliberately deposed and disregarded.
- The God who sees: Amos speaks for Yahweh, who notices every crooked transaction and will act in judgment (see vv. 8, 9).
Five-point outline
- The command to seek life (vv. 4, 6): God invites Israel to seek him and live, warning away from empty pilgrimages.
- The indictment of injustice (v. 7): Abruptly, the prophet names the sin that makes worship hypocritical.
- The power of the judge (vv. 8, 9): A hymn to Yahweh’s cosmic power, he who made the stars also topples the strong.
- The specific crimes (vv. 10, 12): Hate for the truth-teller, bribes, trampling the poor.
- The call to repentance (vv. 14, 15): Seek good, not evil; establish justice; “perhaps Yahweh will be gracious to the remnant.”
Illustration hooks
- A court case where the innocent party is bankrupted by legal fees and delay, justice becomes poison.
- A workplace where favoritism replaces fairness, and the quiet ones are overlooked.
- A neighborhood where the poor are ignored or exploited by landlords and creditors, while the same people attend worship.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does Amos connect seeking God with social justice?
- How can we “turn justice to wormwood” in our own lives or communities without realizing it?
- What does it mean to “cast righteousness down” today, is it just a matter of ignoring the poor?
Leading a Discussion
Amos 5:7 pulls back the curtain on a society that talks about God but has abandoned his ways. The verse confronts us with a question: what do our systems and habits, in the church, in the workplace, in the public square, do to the people who need justice most?
Discussion questions
- What do the images of “wormwood” and “casting down to the ground” suggest about how Israel treated justice and righteousness?
- Who does the prophet seem to address in this verse, the general population, specific leaders, or both? (Consider Gill’s note on “kings and judges.”)
- How does verse 7 connect to the surrounding call to “seek Yahweh and live” in verses 4, 6? Why would worship and justice be inseparable here?
- In what ways do we, as individuals or as a church community, “turn justice to wormwood”, even without intending to?
- What does it mean to “cast righteousness down” in our context? Can you think of a modern example where righteousness is publicly ignored or dishonored?
- What would it look like to “set up justice in the gate” (v. 15) in your neighborhood or city?
- How does the hope of God’s grace (v. 15 “perhaps”) affect the way we hear this accusation? Is it only a word of judgment, or does it invite change?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 29:18 | lest there should be among you man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that produces bitter poison; |
| Psalms 36:3 | The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good. |
| Psalms 125:5 | But as for those who turn away to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be on Israel. |
| Isaiah 1:23 | Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They don’t defend the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them. |
| Isaiah 5:7 | For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. |
| Isaiah 10:1 | Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write oppressive decrees |
| Isaiah 59:13 | transgressing and denying Yahweh, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. |
| Isaiah 59:14 | Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness can’t enter. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that those who twist justice cause the person who wins a case to suffer greatly because of the costs involved. This leads to deep sorrow for the expenses already paid.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees this as a deliberate, insulting act: the people actively dethroned righteousness and set it on the ground, like casting truth down in Daniel or mocking Christ. He broadens this to every human transaction, saying all justice was trampled underfoot.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin notes that some read this verse as a literal description of turning justice into poison and rejecting honesty. Others understand it as pointing to deeper spiritual realities.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Christians who hold this view point to Amos 5:7 while others emphasize verses that speak of God’s mercy. Both seek to be faithful to Scripture.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note sharpens the image: these people do not merely neglect justice—they actively corrupt it into something bitter and poisonous. "Wormwood" signifies a deliberate perversion: what should bring order becomes a source of harm. They also completely abandon righteousness, leaving it nowhere on earth.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies the audience as kings and judges who deliberately corrupt justice. They transform what should be beneficial into something as bitter as wormwood, and they cast righteousness to the ground and trample it, showing not mere neglect but open contempt for doing what is right.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that turning judgment into wormwood means changing fair punishment into the most bitter wrong. It shows that just action is sweet while unfair treatment is extremely bitter for those harmed. Righteousness is cast to the ground according to this view.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch emphasize the sharp contrast between God's command to seek Him and Israel's idolatrous pilgrimages. They note the wordplay that Bethel, God's house, will become nothingness. The description of God's power over creation underscores the threat of sudden judgment on the unjust house of Joseph.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this chapter as a lament that still opens a way of escape: God keeps pleading, Seek me and live. But the people refuse, clinging to hollow worship and social injustice. The only safety is to hate evil, love good, and pursue real justice, and even then, only a remnant may be spared.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that some read the verses as referring to the Creator who made the stars and controls time. He also says that others understand them as pointing to the Lord who delivers the oppressed from their oppressors.