Then Amaziah the priest of Beth El sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.
Some have found it amazing that Jeroboam II is not represented here as taking any action whatever against Amos; and we believe that this is evidence enough that he took none, a conclusion that might seem incredible. However, this man, Jeroboam II, had evidently known personally the prophet Jonah, upon whose prophecies he had relied when he came to the throne, and in accordance with which he had won the great military triumphs which had led so disastrously to the sin and overconfidence of Israel. Jeroboam's respect for the prophetic office must, therefore, have been very considerable.  In this light, Jamieson's conclusion is reasonable, "The king, however, did not give ear to Amaziah, probably from religious awe of the prophet of Jehovah."[32]  Barnes was also of this opinion, pointing out that Jeroboam would also have had knowledge "of the true prophecies of Elisha with reference to the successes of his father, Jeroboam I."[33]  The action of Amaziah in himself, taking the authority to forbid Amos to speak and ordering him to leave the country, does not nullify this; because it is exactly the kind of conduct one might have anticipated in a time-serving self-seeking pagan priest like Amaziah.  The next sub-section of this episode presents Amaziah's action against Amos.