Amos 6:3-13

3 Those who put far away the evil day, And cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 Who lie on beds of ivory, And stretch themselves on their couches, And eat the lambs out of the flock, And the calves out of the midst of the stall;

5 Who strum on the strings of a harp; Who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

6 Who drink wine in bowls, And anoint themselves with the best oils; But they are not grieved for the affliction of Yosef.

7 Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; And the feasting and lounging will end.

8 "The Lord GOD has sworn by himself," says the LORD, the God Tzva'ot,: "I abhor the pride of Ya`akov, And detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

9 It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, That they shall die.

10 "When a man's relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, 'Is there yet any with you?' And he says, 'No;' then he will say, 'Hush! Indeed we must not mention the name of the LORD.'

11 "For, behold, the LORD commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, And the little house into bits.

12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, And the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;

13 You who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, 'Haven't we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?'

Amos 6:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

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.