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Amos 6

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Woe to the Complacent Elite 1–7

1
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come! ​
2
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border? ​
3
—ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; ​
4
that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; ​
5
that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; ​
6
that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. ​
7
Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away. ​

God's Oath of Judgment and Desolation 8–11

8
The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. ​
9
And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
10
And when a man’s uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah. ​
11
For, behold, Jehovah commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

Perversion of Justice and Misplaced Pride 12–14

12
Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plowtherewith oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood; ​
13
ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? ​
14
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of the Arabah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Amos 6

Verse 1

at ease in Zion — 'Woe' (hoy) occurs in Amos only here and in 5:18. Zion (Judah) and 'the mountain of Samaria' are both named. 'At ease' matches Isa 32:9, 'women that are at ease'. 'Chief' (reshit) is the word also used of the 'chief ointments' in v.6.

Verse 2

Calneh… Hamath… Gath — Calneh is in the land of Shinar (Gen 10:10). Hamath is set beside Arpad in Isa 10:9, 'is not Hamath as Arpad?', and Gath's wall was broken down by Uzziah (2 Chr 26:6). Jeroboam II 'restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath' (2 Kgs 14:25).

Verse 3

put far away the evil day — The words of those who 'put far away' (nadah) the day are given in 9:10, 'The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us', and in Ezek 12:27, 'The vision that he seeth is for many days to come'. 'Violence' (chamas) is the word stored in the palaces in 3:10, here a 'seat' (shevet) brought near.

Verse 4

beds of ivory — The ivory of 3:15 appears here in furniture. 'Stretch themselves' is saruach, to extend oneself, the same verb as in v.7, 'them that stretched themselves'. They eat 'lambs out of the flock' and 'calves out of the midst of the stall', the choice animals.

Verse 5

chant to the sound of the viol — 'Chant' (parat) occurs nowhere else in Scripture. The 'viol' is the nevel, named in 5:23, 'the melody of thy viols', and in Isa 5:12. David's instruments were made 'to praise therewith' (1 Chr 23:5), and Amos's hearers invent theirs 'like David' while they drink wine (v.6).

Verse 6

wine in bowls — 'Bowls' is mizraq, the word used in the offerings of Num 7:13, 'one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary'. 'Chief ointments' uses reshit, as in v.1. 'Joseph' stands for the northern tribes, 'the remnant of Joseph' (5:15), and its 'affliction' (shever) is its breaking.

Verse 7

the first that go captive — 'With the first' is literally 'at the head' of the captives, so those who lay at ease lead the line. 'Banquet' is marzeach and 'stretched themselves' repeats saruach from v.4. The captivity is recorded in 2 Kgs 17:6, when the king of Assyria 'carried Israel away into Assyria'.

Verse 8

sworn by himself — 'By himself' is literally 'by his soul' (nephesh), as 'he sware by himself' in Heb 6:13. 'The excellency of Jacob' (ga'on) is what the LORD chose in Ps 47:4, 'the excellency of Jacob whom he loved', and here he 'abhors' it. 'Deliver up' (sagar) is the verb of 1:6, 9.

Verse 10

Hold thy tongue — 'Hold thy tongue' is the single word has, 'hush', also in Zeph 1:7, 'Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD', and Amos 8:3, 'they shall cast them forth with silence'. 'He that burneth him' brings out the bones, as the men of Jabesh 'burnt' Saul's body and 'buried' the bones (1 Sam 31:12–13). 'We may not make mention of the name of the LORD.'

Verse 12

turned judgment into gall — 'Gall' (rosh) and 'hemlock' (la'anah) are the pair of Deut 29:18, 'a root that beareth gall and wormwood', which grows where a heart 'turneth away … from the LORD'. 'Turned' is haphak, the verb of Sodom's overthrow in 4:11, and 5:7 says the same with 'wormwood', the same la'anah.

Verse 13

a thing of nought — The Hebrew lo davar sounds like a place-name, Lodebar (2 Sam 9:4), and 'horns' (qeren) like Karnaim (Gen 14:5, 'Ashteroth Karnaim'). 'By our own strength' (chozeq) is the boast that Deut 8:17 records, 'My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth', and a raised horn is the mark of pride: 'Lift not up the horn' (Ps 75:4).

Verse 14

raise up against you a nation — The nation is left unnamed here, and Isa 10:5–6 names Assyria, 'the rod of mine anger', sent 'against an hypocritical nation'. The border 'from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness' is the line Jeroboam II 'restored' in 2 Kgs 14:25, 'from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain', where both 'wilderness' and 'plain' are arabah.