SEV Biblia, Chapter 9:1
¶ Vi al Señor que estaba sobre el altar, y dijo: Hiere el umbral, y estremézcanse las puertas; y córtales en piezas la cabeza de todos; y al postrero de ellos mataré a cuchillo; no habrá de ellos quien se fugue, ni quien escape.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Amos 9:1
Verse 1. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar] As this is a continuation of the preceding prophecy, the altar here may be one of those either at Dan or Beer-sheba. Smite the lintel] Either the piece of timber that binds the wall above the door, or the upper part of the door frame, in which the cheeks, or side posts, are inserted, and which corresponds to the threshold, or lower part of the door frame.
And cut them in the head] Let all the lintels of all the doors of all those temples be thus cut, as a sign that the whole shall be thrown down and totally demolished. Or this may refer to their heads-chief men, who were principals in these transgressions. Mark their temples, their priests, their prophets, and their princes, for destruction.
He that fleeth-shall not flee away] He shall be caught before he can get out of the reach of danger.
And he that escapeth (that makes good his flight) shall not be delivered.] Captivity, famine, or sword, shall reach him even there.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. And I saw the Lord standing upon the altar , etc.] Either upon the altar of burnt offerings in the temple of Jerusalem, whither he had removed from the cherubim; signifying his being about to depart, and that he was displeased, and would not be appeased by sacrifice: so the Targum, “said Amos the prophet, I saw the glory of the Lord removing from the cherub, and it dwelt upon the altar;” and the vision may refer to the destruction of the Jews, their city and temple, either by the Chaldeans, or by the Romans: or rather, since the prophecy in general, and this vision in particular, seems to respect the ten tribes only, it was upon the altar at Bethel the Lord was seen standing, as offended at the sacrifices there offered, and to hinder them from sacrificing them, as well as to take vengeance on those that offered them, ( 1 Kings 13:1,2); and he said ; the Lord said, either to the prophet in vision, or to one of the angels, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or to the executioners of his vengeance, the enemies of the people of Israel: smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake ; the upper lintel, on which pomegranates and flowers were carved, and therefore called “caphtor”, as Kimchi thinks; this was the lintel of the door, either of the temple at Jerusalem, as the Jewish writers generally suppose; or rather of the temple at Bethel, (see 1 Kings 12:31 Amos 7:10,13); which was to be smitten with such three, that the posts thereof should shake; signifying the destruction of the whole building in a short time, and that none should be able to go in and out thereat: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword ; which shows that the lintel and doorposts are not to be taken literally, but figuratively; and that the smiting and cutting of them intend the destruction of men; by the “head”, the king, and the princes, and nobles, or the priests; and, by “the last of them”, the common people, the meanest sort, or those that were left of them, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away ; he that attempts to make his escape, and shall flee for his life, shall not get clear, but either be stopped, or pursued and taken: and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered ; he that does get out of the hands of those that destroy with the sword shall not be delivered from death, but shall die by famine or pestilence. The Targum is, “and he said, unless the people of the house of Israel return to the law, the candlestick shall be extinguished, King Josiah shall be killed, and the house destroyed, and the courts dissipated, and the vessels of the house of the sanctuary shall go into captivity; and the rest of them I will slay with the sword, etc.” referring the whole to the Jews, and to the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-10 - The prophet, in vision, saw the Lord standing upon the idolatrous alta at Bethel. Wherever sinners flee from God's justice, it will overtak them. Those whom God brings to heaven by his grace, shall never be cas down; but those who seek to climb thither by vain confidence i themselves, will be cast down and filled with shame. That which make escape impossible and ruin sure, is, that God will set his eyes upo them for evil, not for good. Wretched must those be on whom the Lor looks for evil, and not for good. The Lord would scatter the Jews, an visit them with calamities, as the corn is shaken in a sieve; but he would save some from among them. The astonishing preservation of the Jews as a distinct people, seems here foretold. If professors make themselves like the world, God will level them with the world. The sinners who thus flatter themselves, shall find that their professio will not protect them.
Original Hebrew
ראיתי 7200 את 853 אדני 136 נצב 5324 על 5921 המזבח 4196 ויאמר 559 הך 5221 הכפתור 3730 וירעשׁו 7493 הספים 5592 ובצעם 1214 בראשׁ 7218 כלם 3605 ואחריתם 319 בחרב 2719 אהרג 2026 לא 3808 ינוס 5127 להם נס 5127 ולא 3808 ימלט 4422 להם פליט׃ 6412
