Amos 5:12
“For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God knows their many great sins, afflicting the innocent, taking bribes, and denying the poor justice in court.
What Does Amos 5:12 Mean?
God declares that He knows the full extent of their sins, many and mighty. He names them plainly: they oppress the righteous, accept bribes that pervert judgment, and deny the poor their rightful case at the gate where justice should be done.
Nothing is hidden from the Lord. He sees every bribe slipped into a judge's hand, every poor person turned away from the justice owed them. This searching knowledge is both warning and comfort, warning to those who exploit, comfort to those exploited, for their cause is known on high even when no earthly court will hear it. The verse assures the reader that injustice never escapes God's notice, and that He is the final advocate of the wronged.