Amos 5:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What does this indicate? It suggests either that they pushed away those who urged them toward righteousness and courageously offered sound counsel or that they shamelessly adjudicated the cases of the poor in a wrongful manner—conducting their affairs overtly and without any semblance of piety, fully indifferent to God’s law. They sank to such depths of iniquity and deception that even those who were wise and capable of discerning the truth saw no point in correcting or chastising the wicked, as the rebuked acted like the deaf and comparably treated those who wished to offer genuine help as adversaries. These individuals not only denounced the holy prophets but also caused them to endure hardships when they presented divine messages to the people. A case in point is Zedekiah, who imprisoned the prophet Jeremiah for declaring God’s intentions and cast him into a cistern, hoping he would perish in the mire. Consequently, it is vital to repent, even for minor transgressions, to avoid provoking God by compounding them with more significant faults. If sins are numerous and severe, it is certain that He will respond with righteous anger. We deem sins grievous and intolerable because, as the wise John states, not every sin leads to death (1 John 5:17).

To prevent Israel from thinking their suffering is merely due to idolatry, it is important to acknowledge other sins committed in abandoning true faith. As it is said, you have caused the downfall of the poor and seized the little they possessed, turning their valuable and beautiful possessions into your own. Thus, you used the wealth unlawfully acquired from the vulnerable to build your grand stone homes, and since your constructions are for both shelter and extravagance, you will not reside in them if calamity strikes. You have also cultivated splendid vineyards with the intent of future banquets, yet you will not sip their wine, for I know all your wrongdoings and egregious sins that have incited My anger.

You act as enemies of justice, receiving bribes and exploiting the defenseless in your judgments. Consequently, those who are righteous and prudent will see the judge’s corruption and remain silent, for it is a lean time. Or perhaps one might ask: what good does it serve now, as trouble approaches, to recount your sins when there is no remedy available and when your cities lie besieged by an enemy force? This same observation applies to the heretics who defraud the disadvantaged, striking them with violence, as indicated by the Greek term κατεκονδύλιζον, which means to "strike a poor man on the head."

Heretics only attack the humble who resist their threats, aiming their blows not at others but directly at the heart and true faith. By “the poor,” I mean those who, content in their simple belief, can counter the deception of heretics. If they do not stand firm against their foes, they will forfeit the good deeds they have prepared as offerings to God. These foes architecturally establish themselves through eloquent speeches to create their own safe havens, but they will not dwell in them, for they will face destruction and ruin from the faithful.

Moreover, they not only build their homes but also cultivate beautiful and desirable vineyards in false imitation of Christ’s commands; nevertheless, they will not taste the wine that flows from them, only the bitter fruit of their own folly. The Lord longed for these vineyards to yield good fruit, yet they produced thorns and sour berries, and instead of truth, they offered a clamor that blasphemes their Creator with reckless tongues. Therefore, they will not reside in their homes nor partake of their vineyards' wine, for the Lord sees their numerous sins. His knowledge does not refer to the understanding that "The Lord knoweth His own" but rather indicates that everything is bare before God, who is aware of all sinners' secrets.

"I know," says He, “the multitude of your iniquities,” which are not just plentiful but grievous, including oppression and trampling upon what is right. “And you take,” He states, “a recompense.” While it is often translated as “propitiation,” it conveys the meaning of a “gift”; in the language of Scripture, it signifies “payment,” as mentioned in the Gospel: “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” They also avoided the poor at the gates or, as Simmachus translates, “oppressed” them, selling judgments for money, contrary to true justice, thereby justifying the statement of Scripture: “Gifts blind the eyes of the wise.”

These illicit gifts are taken by heretics to alter the gravity of Scripture, turning proclamations of judgment into promises of abundance while offering strict treatment to the impoverished. Therefore, when a discerning member of the Church observes the multitude of transgressions within what is deemed God’s house—transgressions that are not only numerous but also grievous and capable of perverting justice—when he sees the frenzy of teachers who accept bribes, avoid the lowly, and refuse to heed them, let him be silent at that time. He should not cast sacred things before those who are unworthy, nor offer precious truths to those who would trample them underfoot, but instead emulate Jeremiah, who lamented as if consumed by sorrow, and what is expressed in the Psalms: “I am but one, until I pass away.”