Jamieson, Fausset and Brown on Amos 8:12

12. they shall wander from sea to sea--that is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west.

from ... north ... to ... east--where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem for religious information. The circuit is traced as in Nu 34:3, &c., except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord" would not be from a sincere desire to obey God, but under the pressure of punishment.