Albert Barnes Commentary Amos 2:14-16

"And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver [himself]; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself; and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah." — Amos 2:14-16 (ASV)

Israel relied, against God, on its own strength. “Have we not,” they said, “taken to us horns by our own strength?” (Amos 6:13). Amos then tells them that every means of strength, resistance, flight, swiftness of foot, of horse, and place of refuge would fail them. Three times he repeats, as a sort of dirge, “he shall not deliver himself.”

Therefore the flight shall perish – (probably meaning a place of flight; Job 11:20; Psalms 142:5; Jeremiah 25:35). They had despised God as their “place of refuge,” so “the place of refuge, should perish from the swift,” as though it did not exist. He would flee with full speed, but there would be no “place to flee unto.”

God alone “renews strength;” therefore “the strong” man would not “strengthen his force or might,” would not be able to gather or “collect his strength,” as we say. Fear would disable him.

“The handler of the bow” , who by habit is a skilled archer, although himself out of the immediate reach of the enemy and able, unharmed, to annoy him and protect the fugitives, “shall not stand” (Nahum 2:8). Panic would overtake him.

The “mighty” man, the “fleet of foot” would “not deliver,” indeed, “the horseman” would not “deliver himself;” indeed, he who, “among the mighty,” was “strongest of his heart,” firm-souled among those of mightiest prowess, “shall flee away naked,” that is, bared of all armor or dress which might encumber his flight, “in that day” which the Lord made a day of terror, His own day.

Saith the Lord – This probably means, literally, “the secret utterance of the Lord.” Amos, more than Hosea, uses this special authentication of his words, which is so common in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.

He claims a knowledge that those around him did not possess, and he ratifies it by an express appeal to the direct, though secret, revelation of God. It is a revelation that those who are not of God would deny, whereas those who are of God would believe.