Amos 4:4

Amos 4:4

Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

a. ASV: Come to Beth-el, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes every three days;

b. YLT: Enter ye Beth-El, and transgress, At Gilgal multiply transgression, And bring in every morning your sacrifices, Every third year your tithes.

c. Classic Amplified: Come to Bethel [where the golden calf is] and transgress; at Gilgal [another idol worship center] multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes every three days.

d. Septuagint: Ye went into Bethel, and sinned, and ye multiplied sin at Galgala; and ye brought your meat-offerings in the morning, [and] your tithes every third day. 

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: Come to Bethel and rebel greatly! Bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes for three days.

1. “Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression…”

a. Come [Strong: 935 bow' bo a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):--abide, apply, attain, X be, befall, + besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, X certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, X doubtless again, + eat, + employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, + follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, + have, X indeed, (in-)vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, X (well) stricken (in age), X surely, take (in), way.]

b. [to] Bethel [Strong: 1008 Beyth-'El bayth-ale' from 1004 and 410; house of God; Beth-El, a place in Palestine:--Beth-el.]

c. [and] transgress [Strong: 6586 pasha` paw-shah' a primitive root (identical with 6585 through the idea of expansion); to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel:--offend, rebel, revolt, transgress(-ion, -or).]

d. [at] Gilgal [Strong: 1537 Gilgal ghil-gawl' the same as 1536 (with the article as a properly, noun); Gilgal, the name of three places in Palestine:--Gilgal. See also 1019.]

e. multiply [Strong: 7235 rabah raw-baw' a primitive root; to increase (in whatever respect):--(bring in) abundance (X -antly), + archer (by mistake for 7232), be in authority, bring up, X continue, enlarge, excel, exceeding(-ly), be full of, (be, make) great(-er, -ly, X -ness), grow up, heap, increase, be long, (be, give, have, make, use) many (a time), (any, be, give, give the, have) more (in number), (ask, be, be so, gather, over, take, yield) much (greater, more), (make to) multiply, nourish, plenty(-eous), X process (of time), sore, store, thoroughly, very.]

f. transgression [Strong: 6586 pasha` paw-shah' a primitive root (identical with 6585 through the idea of expansion); to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel:--offend, rebel, revolt, transgress(-ion, -or).]

1). Amos prophesied during the reign of the king of Israel, Jeroboam II, who reigned for 41 years. Amos ministry was right after the ministry of Jonah. Both ministered in northern Israel.

a). 2 Kings 14:23-29  In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years.

14:24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

14:25 He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.

14:26 For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.

14:27 And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

14:28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

14:29 And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.

2). Bethel was one of the two sites that Jeroboam I, in his apostasy chose to set up golden calves for Israel. Jeroboam’s rebellion became known as “the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” 

a). 1 Kings 12:25-33  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.

12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:

12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

2). Jeroboam was ordained by God to reign over the 10 tribes that God took away from Solomon (1 Kings 11:26-39), because of his disobedience (1 Kings 11:1-13), but Jeroboam went into apostasy almost immediately after he was made king of the ten northern tribes.

2. “...and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:”

a. [and] bring [Strong: 935 bow' bo a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):--abide, apply, attain, X be, befall, + besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, X certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, X doubtless again, + eat, + employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, + follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, + have, X indeed, (in-)vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, X (well) stricken (in age), X surely, take (in), way.]

b. [your] sacrifices [Strong: 2077 zebach zeh'-bakh from 2076; properly, a slaughter, i.e. the flesh of an animal; by implication, a sacrifice (the victim or the act):--offer(- ing), sacrifice.]

c. [every] morning [Strong: 242 boqer bo'-ker from 1239; properly, dawn (as the break of day); generally, morning:--(+) day, early, morning, morrow.]

d. [and your] tithes [Strong: 4643 ma`aser mah-as-ayr' or maasar {mah-as-ar'}; and (in plural) feminine maasrah {mah-as-raw'}; from 6240; a tenth; especially a tithe:-- tenth (part), tithe(-ing).]

e. [after] three [Strong: 7969 shalowsh shaw-loshe' or shalosh {shaw-loshe'}; masculine shlowshah {shel-o-shaw'}; or shloshah {shel-o-shaw'}; a primitive number; three; occasionally (ordinal) third, or (multipl.) thrice:--+ fork, + often(-times), third, thir(-teen, -teenth), three, + thrice.] 

f. years [Strong: 3117 yowm yome from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.]