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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Amos 8:12 People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/amos/8-12.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/13/30_Amo_08_12.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Amos 8:12 - The Basket of Ripe Fruit" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/amos/8.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/amos/8.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find <i>it</i>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/amos/8.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find <i>it.</i><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/amos/8.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />“People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will roam about to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find <i>it.</i><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/amos/8.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/amos/8.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“And people will stagger from sea to sea, And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find <i>it.</i><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/amos/8.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />People will wander from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of Yahweh, But they will not find <i>it</i>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/amos/8.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />“People shall stagger from sea to sea [to the very ends of the earth] And from the north even to the east; They will roam here and there to seek the word of the LORD [longing for it as essential for life], But they will not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/amos/8.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/amos/8.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/amos/8.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/amos/8.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />You will search everywhere--from north to south, from east to west. You will go all over the earth, seeking a message from me, the LORD. But you won't find one. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/amos/8.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/amos/8.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />People will wander from sea to sea and roam from the north to the east, searching for the word of the LORD. But they won't find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/amos/8.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />People will wander from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean and then on around from the north to the east. They will look everywhere for a message from the LORD, but they will not find it. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/amos/8.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />People will stagger from sea to sea, from north to east. They will run back and forth, searching for a message from the LORD, but they won't find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/amos/8.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/amos/8.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />People will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for a revelation from the LORD, but they will not find any. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/amos/8.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek the word of the LORD, and will not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/amos/8.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/amos/8.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek Yahweh’s word, and will not find it. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/amos/8.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />And they have wandered from sea to sea, "" And from north even to east, "" They go to and fro to seek the word of YHWH, "" And they do not find [it].<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/amos/8.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> And they have wandered from sea unto sea, And from north even unto east, They go to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, And they do not find.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/amos/8.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />And they wandered from sea even to sea, and from the north and even to the sunrising, they shall run up and down to seek the word of Jehovah and they shall not find.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/amos/8.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />And they shall move from sea to sea, and from the north to the east: they shall go about seeking the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/amos/8.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />And they will move even from sea to sea, and from the North all the way to the East. They will wander around seeking the word of the Lord, and they will not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/amos/8.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />They shall stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/amos/8.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/amos/8.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />And they shall gather together from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/amos/8.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />And they will be assembled from Sea and unto Sea, and from the North and unto to the East, and they will run to inquire the word of LORD JEHOVAH and they shall not be able<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/amos/8.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />And they shall wander from sea to sea, And from the north even to the east; They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, And shall not find it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/amos/8.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />And the waters shall be troubled from sea to sea, and from the north to the east shall <i>men</i> run hither and thither, seeking the word of the Lord, and they shall not find <i>it</i>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/amos/8-12.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4uh7eMswjw?start=1458" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/amos/8.htm">The Basket of Ripe Fruit</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">11</span>Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. <span class="reftext">12</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/5128.htm" title="5128: wə·nā·‘ū (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConjPerf-3cp) -- A primitive root; to waver, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively.">People will stagger</a> <a href="/hebrew/3220.htm" title="3220: mî·yām (Prep-m:: N-ms) -- A sea or large body of water; specifically, the Mediterranean Sea; sometimes a large river.">from sea</a> <a href="/hebrew/5704.htm" title="5704: ‘aḏ- (Prep) -- As far as, even to, up to, until, while. Properly, the same as ad; as far as, whether of space or time or degree.">to</a> <a href="/hebrew/3220.htm" title="3220: yām (N-ms) -- A sea or large body of water; specifically, the Mediterranean Sea; sometimes a large river.">sea</a> <a href="/hebrew/7751.htm" title="7751: yə·šō·wṭ·ṭū (V-Piel-Imperf-3mp) -- A primitive root; properly, to push forth; to lash, i.e. to row; by implication, to travel.">and roam</a> <a href="/hebrew/6828.htm" title="6828: ū·miṣ·ṣā·p̄ō·wn (Conj-w, Prep-m:: N-fs) -- North. Or tsaphon; from tsaphan; properly, hidden, i.e. Dark; used only of the north as a quarter.">from north</a> <a href="/hebrew/5704.htm" title="5704: wə·‘aḏ- (Conj-w:: Prep) -- As far as, even to, up to, until, while. Properly, the same as ad; as far as, whether of space or time or degree.">to</a> <a href="/hebrew/4217.htm" title="4217: miz·rāḥ (N-ms) -- Place of sunrise, the east. From zarach; sunrise, i.e. The east.">east,</a> <a href="/hebrew/1245.htm" title="1245: lə·ḇaq·qêš (Prep-l:: V-Piel-Inf) -- To seek. A primitive root; to search out; by implication, to strive after.">seeking</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self."></a> <a href="/hebrew/1697.htm" title="1697: də·ḇar- (N-msc) -- Speech, word. From dabar; a word; by implication, a matter or thing; adverbially, a cause.">the word</a> <a href="/hebrew/3068.htm" title="3068: Yah·weh (N-proper-ms) -- The proper name of the God of Israel. From hayah; self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.">of the LORD,</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: wə·lō (Conj-w:: Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">but they will not</a> <a href="/hebrew/4672.htm" title="4672: yim·ṣā·’ū (V-Qal-Imperf-3mp) -- To attain to, find. ">find it.</a> </span><span class="reftext">13</span>In that day the lovely young women—the young men as well—will faint from thirst.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/55-6.htm">Isaiah 55:6</a></span><br />Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_timothy/3-7.htm">2 Timothy 3:7</a></span><br />who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hosea/4-6.htm">Hosea 4:6</a></span><br />My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/24-35.htm">Matthew 24:35</a></span><br />Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/14-3.htm">Jeremiah 14:3-4</a></span><br />The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. / The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezekiel/7-26.htm">Ezekiel 7:26</a></span><br />Disaster upon disaster will come, and rumor after rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction from the priests will perish, as will counsel from the elders.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/7-34.htm">John 7:34</a></span><br />You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/micah/3-6.htm">Micah 3:6-7</a></span><br />Therefore night will come over you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them. / Then the seers will be ashamed and the diviners will be disgraced. They will all cover their mouths because there is no answer from God.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/romans/10-18.htm">Romans 10:18</a></span><br />But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/30-20.htm">Isaiah 30:20-21</a></span><br />The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him. / And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/luke/13-25.htm">Luke 13:25</a></span><br />After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/1-28.htm">Proverbs 1:28</a></span><br />Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_samuel/3-1.htm">1 Samuel 3:1</a></span><br />And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/amos/5-4.htm">Amos 5:4</a></span><br />For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/13-14.htm">Matthew 13:14-15</a></span><br />In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. / For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.</p><p class="hdg">shall run.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/proverbs/14-6.htm">Proverbs 14:6</a></b></br> A scorner seeketh wisdom, and <i>findeth it</i> not: but knowledge <i>is</i> easy unto him that understandeth.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/daniel/12-4.htm">Daniel 12:4</a></b></br> But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, <i>even</i> to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/matthew/11-25.htm">Matthew 11:25-27</a></b></br> At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes… </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/joel/2-20.htm">East</a> <a href="/hosea/12-8.htm">Find</a> <a href="/amos/8-5.htm">Forth</a> <a href="/joel/2-9.htm">Fro</a> <a href="/daniel/11-44.htm">North</a> <a href="/amos/6-12.htm">Run</a> <a href="/amos/6-12.htm">Running</a> <a href="/amos/6-12.htm">Sea</a> <a href="/hosea/7-10.htm">Search</a> <a href="/daniel/2-27.htm">Searching</a> <a href="/amos/5-14.htm">Seek</a> <a href="/amos/4-8.htm">Stagger</a> <a href="/joel/1-18.htm">Wander</a> <a href="/amos/4-8.htm">Wandered</a> <a href="/amos/4-8.htm">Wandering</a> <a href="/amos/8-3.htm">Word</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/jonah/4-5.htm">East</a> <a href="/jonah/1-7.htm">Find</a> <a href="/obadiah/1-7.htm">Forth</a> <a href="/nahum/2-4.htm">Fro</a> <a href="/zephaniah/2-13.htm">North</a> <a href="/nahum/1-4.htm">Run</a> <a href="/jonah/1-10.htm">Running</a> <a href="/amos/9-3.htm">Sea</a> <a href="/amos/9-3.htm">Search</a> <a href="/zephaniah/1-12.htm">Searching</a> <a href="/nahum/3-7.htm">Seek</a> <a href="/obadiah/1-16.htm">Stagger</a> <a href="/matthew/18-13.htm">Wander</a> <a href="/matthew/18-12.htm">Wandered</a> <a href="/nahum/3-18.htm">Wandering</a> <a href="/jonah/1-1.htm">Word</a><div class="vheading2">Amos 8</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/amos/8-1.htm">By a basket of summer fruit is shown the approach of Israel's end.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">4. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/amos/8-4.htm">Oppression is reproved.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">11. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/amos/8-11.htm">A famine of the word of God threatened.</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/amos/8.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/amos/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/amos/8.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>People will stagger from sea to sea</b><br>This phrase suggests a sense of desperation and aimless wandering. In the context of ancient Israel, "sea to sea" could refer to the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Dead Sea to the east, symbolizing the entire land. The imagery of staggering indicates a lack of direction and purpose, reflecting the spiritual famine described earlier in the chapter. This can be seen as a judgment from God, where people are left without divine guidance due to their disobedience.<p><b>and roam from north to east</b><br>The mention of "north to east" further emphasizes the exhaustive search across the land. The northern kingdom of Israel and the eastern regions were significant in biblical history, often associated with invasions and exile. This roaming signifies a futile quest for spiritual truth and guidance, highlighting the severity of God's judgment. The directionality may also imply a search beyond traditional boundaries, indicating the extent of their desperation.<p><b>seeking the word of the LORD</b><br>The "word of the LORD" refers to divine revelation and guidance, which was delivered through prophets. In the historical context, the Israelites had often ignored or rejected prophetic messages, leading to a spiritual void. This phrase underscores the irony that in their time of need, they would seek what they had previously dismissed. It also points to the importance of God's word as a source of life and direction, as seen in other scriptures like <a href="/psalms/119-105.htm">Psalm 119:105</a>.<p><b>but they will not find it</b><br>This is a sobering conclusion to the verse, indicating the consequences of persistent disobedience and rejection of God. The absence of God's word signifies a withdrawal of His presence and favor, leading to spiritual desolation. This can be seen as a fulfillment of prophetic warnings, where the people experience the reality of life without divine guidance. It serves as a cautionary message about the importance of heeding God's word while it is available, echoing themes found in other prophetic books such as Isaiah and Jeremiah.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/a/amos.htm">Amos</a></b><br>A prophet from the southern kingdom of Judah, Amos was called by God to deliver a message of judgment to the northern kingdom of Israel. His prophecies often focused on social justice and the need for true worship.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/i/israel.htm">Israel</a></b><br>The northern kingdom, which had turned away from God, engaging in idolatry and social injustices. Amos's message was directed primarily at this kingdom.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_word_of_the_lord.htm">The Word of the LORD</a></b><br>Represents God's communication and revelation to His people. In this context, it signifies the spiritual nourishment and guidance that Israel desperately needed but had neglected.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/f/famine_of_the_word.htm">Famine of the Word</a></b><br>A metaphorical event where there is a scarcity of God's word, leading to spiritual desolation and a desperate search for divine truth.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/s/sea_to_sea,_north_to_east.htm">Sea to Sea, North to East</a></b><br>These geographical references emphasize the exhaustive and futile search for God's word across the land, highlighting the widespread nature of the spiritual famine.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_god's_word.htm">The Importance of God's Word</a></b><br>God's word is essential for spiritual life and guidance. Just as physical famine leads to death, spiritual famine leads to spiritual desolation.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/consequences_of_neglecting_god's_word.htm">Consequences of Neglecting God's Word</a></b><br>Ignoring God's word leads to a time when it may be sought but not found. This highlights the urgency of seeking God while He is near.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_futility_of_seeking_without_obedience.htm">The Futility of Seeking Without Obedience</a></b><br>Searching for God's word without a heart of obedience and repentance is futile. True seeking involves a willingness to submit to God's will.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_urgency_of_spiritual_readiness.htm">The Urgency of Spiritual Readiness</a></b><br>Believers must be spiritually prepared and grounded in God's word to withstand times of spiritual drought.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_role_of_the_church_in_proclaiming_god's_word.htm">The Role of the Church in Proclaiming God's Word</a></b><br>The church has a responsibility to faithfully proclaim God's word to prevent spiritual famine in the community.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_amos_8.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Amos 8</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_it_mean_to_seek_god.htm">What does it mean to seek God?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_there_evidence_of_amos_8_11-12's_famine.htm">If Amos 8:11–12 prophesies a famine for God’s word, where is the historical or archaeological evidence of such a widespread spiritual drought? </a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_no_israelite_king_ruled_'sea_to_sea'.htm">If Psalm 72:8 predicts dominion “from sea to sea,” why doesn’t history confirm any Israelite king ruling so extensively?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/can_drought_hit_one_city,_spare_another.htm">Amos 4:7-8 - How could drought selectively strike one city while sparing another, and is there any scientific basis for this claim?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/amos/8.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(12) <span class= "bld">They shall wander from sea to sea . . .</span>--Stagger and reel from east to west to find one seer who knows the mind of the Lord: they shall not find one. The reference to the east here has an instructive parallel in <a href="/isaiah/2-6.htm" title="Therefore you have forsaken your people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.">Isaiah 2:6</a>, where the house of Jacob is enounced as being "full of the east." Probably Delitzsch is right in interpreting the east there to mean Arabia as inclusive of the whole tract from the Sinaitic peninsula to the banks of the Euphrates. The north would mean Ph?nicia and Aram. From these districts the distracted superstitious Hebrew sought vain help in idolatrous forms of divination.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/amos/8.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">They shall wander;</span> literally, <span class="accented">they shall reel.</span> The verse implies the eagerness of their unsatisfied desire, which seeks everywhere for the revelation which for their sin is denied them. <span class="cmt_word">From sea to sea.</span> This expression is taken, by Keil and others, to mean here "all the world over," as <a href="/psalms/72-8.htm">Psalm 72:8</a>; <a href="/micah/7-12.htm">Micah 7:12</a>; <a href="/zechariah/9-10.htm">Zechariah 9:10</a>; but it is probably used by the prophet in a more restricted sense, as it would not be natural for him to refer in the first place to the seeking of the words of God beyond the limits of the Holy Land. Therefore "from sea to sea" means from the Sea of Galilee or the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean; and <span class="cmt_word">from the north even to the east</span> - from the north round again to the east, the south not being mentioned, because there alone was the true worship of God to be found, and they refused to seek it there (Pusey). Of course, according to the wide scope taken by prophecy, which is not exhausted by one fulfilment, we may see here the fate of the Jews to the present time hopelessly seeking Messiah and the Word of God, never finding that which they once recklessly rejected. By some error the LXX. render, <span class="greek">Σαλευθήσονται ὕδατα ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης κ.τ.λ</span>., unless they mean, "They shall be tossed as waters," etc. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/amos/8-12.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">People will stagger</span><br /><span class="heb">וְנָעוּ֙</span> <span class="translit">(wə·nā·‘ū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5128.htm">Strong's 5128: </a> </span><span class="str2">To quiver, wave, waver, tremble, totter</span><br /><br /><span class="word">from sea</span><br /><span class="heb">מִיָּ֣ם</span> <span class="translit">(mî·yām)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3220.htm">Strong's 3220: </a> </span><span class="str2">A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin</span><br /><br /><span class="word">to</span><br /><span class="heb">עַד־</span> <span class="translit">(‘aḏ-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5704.htm">Strong's 5704: </a> </span><span class="str2">As far as, even to, up to, until, while</span><br /><br /><span class="word">sea</span><br /><span class="heb">יָ֔ם</span> <span class="translit">(yām)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3220.htm">Strong's 3220: </a> </span><span class="str2">A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and roam</span><br /><span class="heb">יְשֽׁוֹטְט֛וּ</span> <span class="translit">(yə·šō·wṭ·ṭū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7751.htm">Strong's 7751: </a> </span><span class="str2">To push forth, to lash, to row, to travel</span><br /><br /><span class="word">from north</span><br /><span class="heb">וּמִצָּפ֖וֹן</span> <span class="translit">(ū·miṣ·ṣā·p̄ō·wn)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6828.htm">Strong's 6828: </a> </span><span class="str2">Hidden, dark, the north as a, quarter</span><br /><br /><span class="word">to</span><br /><span class="heb">וְעַד־</span> <span class="translit">(wə·‘aḏ-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5704.htm">Strong's 5704: </a> </span><span class="str2">As far as, even to, up to, until, while</span><br /><br /><span class="word">east,</span><br /><span class="heb">מִזְרָ֑ח</span> <span class="translit">(miz·rāḥ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4217.htm">Strong's 4217: </a> </span><span class="str2">Place of sunrise, the east</span><br /><br /><span class="word">seeking</span><br /><span class="heb">לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ</span> <span class="translit">(lə·ḇaq·qêš)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1245.htm">Strong's 1245: </a> </span><span class="str2">To search out, to strive after</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the word</span><br /><span class="heb">דְּבַר־</span> <span class="translit">(də·ḇar-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1697.htm">Strong's 1697: </a> </span><span class="str2">A word, a matter, thing, a cause</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of the LORD,</span><br /><span class="heb">יְהוָ֖ה</span> <span class="translit">(Yah·weh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - proper - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3068.htm">Strong's 3068: </a> </span><span class="str2">LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel</span><br /><br /><span class="word">but they will not</span><br /><span class="heb">וְלֹ֥א</span> <span class="translit">(wə·lō)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not, no</span><br /><br /><span class="word">find it.</span><br /><span class="heb">יִמְצָֽאוּ׃</span> <span class="translit">(yim·ṣā·’ū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_4672.htm">Strong's 4672: </a> </span><span class="str2">To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/amos/8-12.htm">Amos 8:12 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/amos/8-12.htm">OT Prophets: Amos 8:12 They will wander from sea to sea (Amo. Am) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/amos/8-11.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Amos 8:11"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Amos 8:11" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/amos/8-13.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Amos 8:13"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Amos 8:13" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>