For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The text reveals a subtle but powerful shift: God isn't just listing sins, He's describing a pattern where legal systems are actively corrupted to benefit the wicked. The word translated "bribe" more accurately means "ransom," suggesting judges are extorting payment from criminals to let them go, while simultaneously denying justice to the poor who can't afford such a "price."
For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Amos is directly addressing the people of Israel, condemning their injustice and corruption, especially those in positions of power. He's just pronounced a judgment of woe upon them for their oppression, and this verse explains why that judgment is deserved. God declares He knows their deep-seated sins, specifically highlighting how they exploit the righteous, take bribes, and deny justice to the poor at the city gates where legal matters were decided.
Do you ever feel like your hidden sins or unfair dealings go unnoticed? Like you can get away with them in the eyes of the world? God wants you to know He sees it all.
The prophet Amos, speaking on behalf of God, begins this verse with a bold declaration: "For I know..." This isn't just a casual observation; it's God asserting His intimate knowledge of their manifold transgressions and mighty sins.
God's Perfect Awareness
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What happens when the very systems meant to protect the vulnerable become instruments of their oppression? Amos pulls back the curtain on this devastating reality.
Amos doesn't just speak generally about sin; he details specific actions that reveal the rotten core of Israel's society. The verse points to three critical abuses of power:
The Sins of the Gate
Afflicting the Righteous: This refers to the active persecution and mistreatment of those who are living justly and righteously. Instead of being protected, the good are targeted.
Taking a Bribe (Ransom): The original language here implies taking a payment – a 'ransom' – not necessarily to acquit the guilty, but often to let the guilty go free while denying justice to others. It was a corrupt transaction that perverted the course of law.
Turning Aside the Needy: The 'gate' was the place of public judgment and business. Here, the poor and needy, who could not afford bribes or exert influence, were deliberately denied their rightful claims. Their pleas were ignored, and their cases dismissed.
These weren't isolated incidents but systemic issues where the legal system, meant to uphold justice, was actively used to exploit and harm the innocent and the vulnerable, particularly the poor.
Understand the original words
pesha' · Hebrew Noun
In biblical law and prophecy, refers to acts of willful rebellion against God’s law, often involving a conscious breach of the covenant relationship. It suggests a movement beyond mere error into active opposition to God's standard.
chatta'ah · Hebrew Noun
In biblical usage, refers to missing the mark of God's perfect moral standard, whether through intentional disobedience, omission, or commission. It represents a state of being that alienates the individual from a holy God.
tsaddiq · Hebrew Adjective/Noun
Refers to the person who is morally upright, walking in accordance with God’s covenant requirements. In wisdom literature, this individual is contrasted with the wicked and is the recipient of God's favor.
kopher · Hebrew Noun
A corrupt payment intended to pervert justice. Biblical law strictly forbids this, as it blinds the eyes of judges and leads to the perversion of truth in the legal process.
sha'ar · Hebrew Noun
The public place in ancient Near Eastern cities where judicial, commercial, and social activities occurred. It was the center of legal life and the primary location for resolving disputes and administering justice.
Amos's message, delivered during a time of apparent prosperity for Israel, highlights how social injustice and corrupt legal systems are not minor issues but deeply offensive to God, forming the core of their transgressions.
c. 760-750 BC— this verse
Amos prophesies to Israel
Amos, a prophet from the southern kingdom of Judah, delivers a stark message of judgment to the northern kingdom of Israel during a time of outward prosperity but deep internal corruption.
c. 760 BC
Northern Kingdom enjoys prosperity
Israel, under King Jeroboam II, experiences a period of economic boom and military success, yet this wealth masks significant social injustice and religious syncretism.
c. 755 BC
Amos prophesies against injustice
Amos's prophecy directly confronts the powerful elite in Israel who exploit the poor, take bribes in courts, and pervert justice, highlighting their deep moral decay.
c. 740 BC
Assyrian power begins to rise
The Neo-Assyrian Empire starts its significant expansion, casting a looming shadow over the region that would eventually lead to the downfall of many kingdoms, including Israel.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria and the Northern Kingdom
The capital of the Northern Kingdom, Samaria, falls to the Assyrians, leading to the exile of the Israelites and the end of the kingdom as an independent entity.
This passage echoes Amos's condemnation of unjust leaders, specifically mentioning those who 'decree iniquitous decrees' and 'write oppression' to deprive the poor and needy of justice, highlighting the consistent theme of corrupt leadership in ancient Israel.
Proverbs 17:15This proverb directly addresses the sin of justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous, which is a core complaint in Amos 5:12, showing the timeless wisdom against judicial corruption.
Micah 3:9-11Micah, another prophet to the Northern Kingdom, directly accuses the leaders of building cities with blood and iniquity, of judging for a bribe, and of teaching for hire, mirroring the specific charges Amos brings against their society.
Exodus 23:6-8This passage from the Law explicitly warns against perverting justice, showing partiality to the poor, or accepting a bribe, setting the standard against which the actions described in Amos are a severe violation.
calvinAmos 5:12: "For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right."
- Quia cognosco magnas iniquitates vestras (vel, multas, rvym) et robusta scelera vestra; efflictores justi, sublatores redemptionis, et pauperes in porta declinare faciunt (hoc est, causa cadere faciunt.)
The Prophet introduces God here as the speaker, that the threatening might be more authoritative: for we know, at…
pulpitAmos 5:12: "For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right."
Verse 12. - Your punishment is richly deserved, for "I know how many are your transgressions and how mighty are your sins," especially, as it follows, your sins of oppression and injustice. They afflict the just. The construction is continuous: "afflicters of the just." Hostes justi (Vulgate); καταπατοῦντες δίκαιον, "tram…
The text reveals a subtle but powerful shift: God isn't just listing sins, He's describing a pattern where legal systems are actively corrupted to benefit the wicked. The word translated "bribe" more accurately means "ransom," suggesting judges are extorting payment from criminals to let them go, while simultaneously denying justice to the poor who can't afford such a "price."
Amos is directly addressing the people of Israel, condemning their injustice and corruption, especially those in positions of power. He's just pronounced a judgment of woe upon them for their oppression, and this verse explains why that judgment is deserved. God declares He knows their deep-seated sins, specifically highlighting how they exploit the righteous, take bribes, and deny justice to the poor at the city gates where legal matters were decided.
Amos is directly addressing the people of Israel, condemning their injustice and corruption, especially those in positions of power. He's just pronounced a judgment of woe upon them for their oppression, and this verse explains why that judgment is deserved. God declares He knows their deep-seated sins, specifically highlighting how they exploit the righteous, take bribes, and deny justice to the poor at the city gates where legal matters were decided.
"For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate." — The text reveals a subtle but powerful shift: God isn't just listing sins, He's describing a pattern where legal systems are actively corrupted to benefit the wicked. The word translated "bribe" mo…
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Last reviewed October 2026