Amos — Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters
Amos, the shepherd-prophet, is the most uncompromising voice for social justice in the Hebrew Bible — declaring that ritual worship without social justice is an abomination to God.
Amos of Tekoa (8th century BCE) is the first writing prophet and the most uncompromising voice for economic justice in the entire Hebrew Bible. Speaking to a prosperous, militarily strong Northern Kingdom of Israel, he condemns the exploitation of the poor with a passion that anticipates liberation theology by 2,700 years: 'They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals — they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth' (2:6-7). Most remarkably, Amos declares that God despises ritual worship unaccompanied by justice: 'I hate, I despise your feasts... But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream' (5:21-24). This is the prophetic proclamation that distinguishes the Hebrew prophetic tradition from virtually all ancient Near Eastern religion: the God of Israel cannot be appeased by sacrifice while the poor are exploited. Genuine worship of God requires justice in the human community.
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Liberation theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez's foundational text 'A Theology of Liberation' — which reads God's preferential option for the poor into the entire Hebrew Bible — drew directly on Amos and the prophetic tradition as its scriptural foundation, demonstrating the prophets' continuing relevance to social ethics.
Tanakh
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- What Judaism says about justice
Amos, a shepherd, told a prosperous kingdom that its worship was worthless while its dealings were corrupt. His image is a river rather than a trickle: justice is meant to arrive in volume.