John Calvin 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)

Yesterday, I explained the verse in which the Prophet says, in God's name, that the people were like a grievous and heavy burden, as though they were a wagon laden with many sheaves. I stated that many interpreters explain the Prophet’s words differently, offering the view that God compares Himself to a loaded wagon, under which the people were to be crushed.

However, no necessity compels us to take the same verb in two senses, active and neuter, as they do. Moreover, the comparison seems not quite suitable. It is better, as I have said, to understand that God complains He was loaded and pressed down under the people, rather than to interpret תחתיכם (tacheticm) as “In your place,” for this is an entirely strained interpretation.

Instead, the Prophet's meaning is most clear when understood as God's complaint: that it was a grievous thing to bear the burdens of the people, when He saw that they were men of levity and, at the same time, burdensome.

Therefore, the Prophet now denounces the vengeance they deserved. He says first, Perish shall flight from the swift, etc.; that is, no one will be so swift as to escape by fleeing. The valiant will accomplish nothing by fighting, for fighting is how one proves strength when resisting an adversary and repelling assaults.

The valiant, therefore, will fight with no advantage. Then, The strong shall not deliver his own life: he who holds the bow shall not stand; meaning, one who is equipped with a bow and repels his enemy from a distance will not be able to hold his ground.

He who is swift on foot shall not be able to flee, nor he who mounts a horse; which means that neither footmen nor horsemen will be able, by their speed, to escape death. And, lastly, he who is strong and fearless of heart among the valiant shall flee away naked, content with life alone and anxious only to ensure his own safety.

By all these words, the Prophet indicates that the slaughter of the people would be so grievous that it would be a miracle if anyone escaped.

So we now see how severely the Prophet, at the very beginning, dealt with this people. He undoubtedly observed their great obduracy, for he would not have assailed them so sharply at first if they had not been rebellious for a long time and had despised all warnings and threats.

Amos was not the first to address them; the Israelites had hardened themselves against all threats before he came to them. Therefore, it was fitting for him to reprove them sharply, as God deals with people according to their disposition. I come now to the third chapter.