6 Against the princes of Israel living in pleasure.
1 Woe to [a]them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, [b]which were famous at the beginning of the nations: and the house of Israel came to them.
2 Go you unto Calneh, and see: and from thence go you to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be [c]they better than these kingdoms? or the border of their land greater than your border,
3 Ye that put far away the [d]evil day, and approach to the seat of iniquity?
4 They lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their beds, and eat the lambs of the flock, and the calves out of the stall.
5 They sing to the sound of the viol: they invent to themselves instruments of music like [e]David.
6 They drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments, but no man is [f]sorry for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and [g]the sorrow of them that stretched themselves, is at hand.
8 [h]The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord God of hosts, I abhor [i]the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
9 And if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die.
10 And his uncle [j]shall take him up and burn him, to carry out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him, that is by the [k]sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? And he shall say, None. Then shall he say, [l]Hold thy tongue: for we may not remember the Name of the Lord.
11 For behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
12 Shall horses [m]run upon the rock? or will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into [n]wormwood.
13 Yet rejoice in a thing of nought: ye say, Have not we gotten us [o]horns by our own strength?
14 But behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord God of hosts: and they shall afflict you from the entering in of [p]Hamath unto the river of the wilderness.
Footnotes
- Amos 6:1 The Prophet threateneth the wealthy, which regarded not God’s plagues nor menaces by his Prophets.
- Amos 6:1 These two cities were famous by their first inhabitants the Canaanites: and seeing beforetime they did nothing avail them that were there born, why should you look that they should save you which were brought in to dwell in other men’s possessions?
- Amos 6:2 If God have destroyed these excellent cities in three divers kingdoms, as in Babylon, Syria, and of the Philistines, and hath brought their wide borders into a greater straightness than yours yet are, think you to be better, or to escape?
- Amos 6:3 Ye that continue still in your wickedness, and think that God’s plagues are not at hand, but give yourselves to all idleness, wantonness, and riot.
- Amos 6:5 As he caused divers kinds of instruments to be made to serve God’s glory, so these did contend to invent as many to serve their wanton affections and lusts.
- Amos 6:6 They pitied not their brethren, whereof now many were slain and carried away captive.
- Amos 6:7 Some read, the joy of them that stretch themselves, shall depart.
- Amos 6:8 Read Jer. 51:14.
- Amos 6:8 That is, the riches and pomp.
- Amos 6:10 The destruction shall be so great, that none shall almost be left to bury the dead: and therefore they shall burn them at home, to carry out the burnt ashes with more ease.
- Amos 6:10 That is, to some neighbor that dwelleth round about.
- Amos 6:10 They shall be so astonished at this destruction, that they shall boast no more of the Name of God, and that they are his people: but they shall be dumb when they hear God’s Name, and abhor it, as they that are desperate, or reprobate.
- Amos 6:12 He compareth them to barren rocks, whereupon it is in vain to bestow labor: showing that God’s benefits can have no place among them.
- Amos 6:12 Read Amos 5:7.
- Amos 6:13 That is, power and glory.
- Amos 6:14 From one corner of the country to another.