Charles Ellicott Commentary Amos 4:2

"The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that they shall take you away with hooks, and your residue with fish-hooks." — Amos 4:2 (ASV)

Fishhooks. —Descriptive of the suddenness and irresistible character of the seizure, by which, as a punishment for their wanton selfishness, the nobles were to be carried away as captives from their condition of fancied security. The strangeness of the imagery has led to a variety of interpretations. Döderlein translates, “you shall be driven into thorny districts, and among thorn bushes.”