· Translation: KJV

Amos 5:3For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth one hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel."

The setting

Tekoa, Israel, ~760 BC. Amos gives specific numbers - 90% casualties in the coming war...

The emotion here: grim precision while delivering terrible statistics

The original word

eleph (אֶלֶף) — thousand, emphasizing the massive scale of coming loss

Why it matters

Archaeological evidence shows Israelite cities were indeed reduced by roughly 90% during Assyrian conquest

Read with care

What most readers miss in Amos 5:3

These weren't random numbers - Amos was giving precise military intelligence from God

Common misconceptionPeople think Old Testament prophecy is vague and symbolic, but Amos gives exact percentages that were literally fulfilled.

Bible Genome reading

Amos 5:3 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerGod
EraDivided Kingdom
Primary emotiongrieving
Literary typeprophecy
MarkProphecy

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability50%
Memorability60%
Crisis relevance80%
Standalone60%
Themes:divine judgmentdecimationconsequences

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Amos 5

Amos 5:3 comes from the book of Amos, written during the Divided Kingdom period. These words are attributed to God. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is prophetic. It belongs to the prophecy genre of biblical literature. Key themes include divine judgment, decimation, consequences. Notable phrases: thousand shall have a hundred; one hundred shall have ten. This verse contains prophecy.

Your reflection

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