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In the book of Amos, the exhortation, associated with vrd, appears four times and is concentrated in 5:4-5, 6, 14-15. Due to its infrequent occurrence, it has not received much attention in Amos studies. When it is studied, its meaning and function have been determined by the investigation of a larger pool of prophetic exhortations in general, which focused on issues of its origin (whether it stems from wisdom tradition or cultic background), its classifications (whether it should be considered as an independent category within prophetic speeches), or its intention within the overall prophetic message (whether it is used for calling hearers to repent before the coming divine judgment or is used in an ironic way to explain the reasons for the inevitable punishment of God). The present paper, however, concentrates on the role the exhortation plays in making the structure of Amos 5:1-17, which in turn influences the structure of chapters 3–6. The exhortation in chapter 5 brings forth the positive alternative to impending destruction dominating chapters 3–6 and determines 5:18-6:14 as consequences of failure to seek YHWH. Such force of exhortation would be repeated in the final programmatic statement of hope in 9:11-15, providing a counter balance of the message of judgment began in 1:2.