John Trapp on Amos 7:17

Verſe 17. Therefore thus ſaith the Lord, Thy wife, &c.] Thou ſhalt bee ſure of thy ſhare in the common calamity, which thou wilt not hear of; but thou ſhalt hear and be aſhamed, &c. Eſay 26.11. So little is gotten by thwarting with God, and ſeeking to fruſtrate his counſell. With theſe froward pieces, God will ſhew himſelf froward: and if they walk contrary to him, he will alſo walk as croſſe to them: he will tame ſuch ſturdy rebels, as he did Pharaoh, Pſal. 16. Lev. 26. and that way raiſe him a name: all they ſhall get by him is but more weight of puniſhment; as when Jeboiakim had burnt Jeremies roul of curſes, all that he gained, was that the roul was renewed, and there were added beſides thereunto, many like words, Jer. 36.32. See the like, Ier. 20.2. 1 King. 13.4. and 22.25. Acts 5.38, 39.Dum devit[illegible: 1 letter] tur impletur. The counſel of God (ſaith Gregory) whiles ſhunned, is executed: the wiſdom of man may wriggle, but cannot eſcape.

Thy wife ſhall be an harlot in the city,] a common ſtrumpet,Kimchi. for a puniſhment of thy ſpirituall harlotry;Rev. 2.20 together with thy ſeducing my ſervants to commit fornication, and to eat things ſacrificed unto idols.

Or,Per vim ſtuprabitur. thy wife ſhall be an harlot,] that is, ſhe ſhall be raviſhed by the enemy before thy face; ſo Theodoret, Calvin, Mercer, &c. See Eſay 13.16. Lam. 5.11. The Iriſh rebels bound the husband to the bed-poſt, whiles they abuſed his wife before his face.

And thy ſonnes and thy daughters ſhall fall by the ſword,] becauſe thou haſt taken my ſonnes and my daughters, and theſe haſt thou ſacrificed unto devils to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a ſmall matter, that thou haſt ſlain my children, and brought them forth to the murtherer? Ezek. 16.20, 21. that thou haſt ſent ſo many ſouls to hell,Peremptores potius quam parentes. Bern. and nuzled up thine own ſons and daughters in ignorance and ſuperſtition, being therein, rather a parricide then a parent?

Thy land ſhall be divided by line,] thy purchaſes ſhall be parted among the enemies:Virg. Eclog. thine ill-gotten riches ſhall be made a ſpoil to the ſouldier. Impius haec, &c.

and thou ſhalt die in a polluted land,] i. e. In Aſſyria, filled with the uncleanneſſe of the inhabitants, from corner to corner, as Canaan was, Ezra 9.11. Lev. 26.38. Here thou ſhalt die for thine abominable idolatries, to thy great regret. Seldom do ſuch eſcape the viſible vengeance of God, as by virulent tongues, or violent hands perſecute his true Prophets. Whether Amos for his boldneſſe was firſt ſcourged by Amaziah, and then wounded to death by his ſon Ʋzziah (as ſome will) is uncertaine.

and Iſrael ſhall ſurely,] though thou wouldſt not beleeve it, verſe 11.