Eminent domain is one of the oldest tests of whether a government honors the property of its people. Scripture takes private inheritance seriously — Naboth would not sell his fathers' vineyard, and it was wicked Ahab and Jezebel, not a righteous king, who seized it. This amendment widens the state's power to take land for roads and transit and to do so by 'quick-take,' meaning the bulldozers can arrive before the courthouse has fixed the price. The stated compensation is fair market value, which is the constitutional floor; the real questions a discerning citizen should ask are whether 'transit purposes' becomes a loophole for taking homes and small businesses for politically favored projects, and whether the owner's leverage collapses once the government already holds the deed. Support the rights of the landowner; demand that any taking be truly necessary, narrowly drawn, and fully and promptly paid.
"And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee."
— 1 Kings 21:3 (KJV)