Amos 6

1 Hoy to them that are complacent in Tziyon, and have their bitachon in Har Shomron, the notables of the foremost Goyim, to whom Bais Yisroel comes!

2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to great Chamat; then go down to Gat of the Pelishtim (Philistines); be they better than these mamlachot? Or their territory more vast than your territory?

3 Ye that put far away the Yom Rah, and cause the shevet chamas to come near;

4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the tzon, and the calves from the stall;

5 Who prattle to the tune of the nevel (harp); like Dovid [HaMelech] they invent string instruments.

6 That drink yayin in sacrificial bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest ointments; but they are not grieved for the shever Yosef (ruin of Yosef).

7 Therefore now shall they go into captivity at the head of the golus, and the merry shouting of the revellers will die.

8 Adonoi Hashem hath sworn by Himself, saith Hashem Elohei Tzva’os: I abhor the ga’on Ya’akov, and hate his fortresses; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain asarah anashim in one bais, they shall die.

10 And a man’s relative shall take him up, and he that burieth him, to carry out the bones out of the bais, and shall say unto him still hiding inside, Is there yet any with thee? And he shall say, Not one. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue; for the Shem Hashem is not to be invoked.

11 For, hinei, Hashem commandeth, and He will strike the bais hagadol into ruins, and the bais hakaton into pieces.

12 Do susim run upon the rock? Do men plow there with oxen? For ye have turned mishpat into poison, and the p’ri of tzedakah into wormwood;

13 Ye which rejoice over what is worthless, which say, Have we not taken to us horns [i.e., symbols of military resources] by chazekeinu (our own strength)?

14 But, hineni, I will raise up against you a Goy (Nation), O Bais Yisroel, saith Hashem Elohei Tzva’os; and they shall afflict you from the territory of Chamat unto the Wadi of the Aravah. T.N. Notice in the next chapter that Amos refuses to be intimidated by an apostate religious leader who dares to war against Scripture. Amos gives a prophetic prediction that this chalatan will be defrocked by Hashem by being dragged off to an unclean heathen land.

Amos 6 Commentary

Chapter 6

The danger of luxury and false security. (1-7) Punishments of sins. (8-14)

Verses 1-7 Those are looked upon as doing well for themselves, who do well for their bodies; but we are here told what their ease is, and what their woe is. Here is a description of the pride, security, and sensuality, for which God would reckon. Careless sinners are every where in danger; but those at ease in Zion, who are stupid, vainly confident, and abusing their privileges, are in the greatest danger. Yet many fancy themselves the people of God, who are living in sin, and in conformity to the world. But the examples of others' ruin forbid us to be secure. Those who are set upon their pleasures are commonly careless of the troubles of others, but this is great offence to God. Those who placed their happiness in the pleasures of sense, and set their hearts upon them, shall be deprived of those pleasures. Those who try to put the evil day far from them, find it nearest to them.

Verses 8-14 How dreadful, how miserable, is the case of those whose eternal ruin the Lord himself has sworn; for he can execute his purpose, and none can alter it! Those hearts are wretchedly hardened that will not be brought to mention God's name, and to worship him, when the hand of God is gone out against them, when sickness and death are in their families. Those that will not be tilled as fields, shall be abandoned as rocks. When our services of God are soured with sin, his providences will justly be made bitter to us. Men should take warning not to harden their hearts, for those who walk in pride, God will destroy.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 6

This chapter seems to be directed both to the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the ten tribes of Israel, under the names of Zion and Samaria, and to the principal men in both; who are reproved and threatened for their carnal security and self-confidence, being in no fear of the evil day, though they had no reason for it no more than other people, Am 6:1-3; are charged with wantonness, luxury, intemperance, and want of sympathy with those in distress, Am 6:4-6; therefore are threatened to be carried captive first, and their city to be delivered up; which, for the certainty of it, is not only said, but swore to, Am 6:7,8; and a great mortality in every house, and the destruction of all houses, both great and small, Am 6:9-11; and since a reformation of them seemed impracticable, and not to be expected, but they gloried in their wealth, and boasted of their strength, therefore they should be afflicted by a foreign nation raised against them, which affliction should be general, from one end of the country to the other, Am 6:12-14.