Amos 6

Amos 6:1

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in

the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Woe to those, that live securely and pleasurably in Zion, and that trust to the impregnable situation of the city of Samaria, the mountains whereof are held the strongest forts of that nation, whereto the house of Israel resorts!

Amos 6:2

Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

Look ye unto the most famous and best traded cities and countries, round about you: look to Calneh, that wealthy city of Assyria: look to the great city Antiochia; then take view of Gath, the well known city of the Philistines; and compare your blessings with theirs; and tell me whether these kingdoms be richer, and stronger, and larger than yours: yet these shall ye shortly see brought down.

Amos 6:3

Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near.

Yet ye are careless and confident, and put away from you all fear of danger; and thereupon grow outrageous and cruel, insomuch as ye strike into others a fear of your violence and oppression.

Amos 6:4

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.

Ye give up yourselves to pride, and ease, and delicacy; stretching yourselves upon your soft couches and beds of ivory, and pampering yourselves with the daintiest fare.

Amos 6:5

That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David.

They make themselves merry with the most pleasant music; and devise instruments of melody for their vain and wanton mirth, such as David invented for the praising and cheerful service of God.

Amos 6:6

That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

They let themselves loose to all intemperance and carnal pleasure, pouring in wine out of their large bowls, and anointing themselves with the most precious and fragrant ointments; but, in the mean time, they are not sensible of the miserable condition of God’s wrongfully oppressed servants.

Amos 6:7

Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

Therefore, since ye are the prime offenders, and, as it were, leaders of these sins, ye shall be the first in the punishment

Amos 6:8

I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

I abhor this proud excess of my people of Israel, and hate those their palaces, which they have built in blood and oppression; and therefore I will deliver up Samaria, and all that is therein, to the hands of the Assyrians.

Amos 6:10

And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

And a man shall not have a brother or a son left, to do him the last offices of his burial; but if his uncle or kinsman shall undertake to bring out his corpse, he, that is the overseer of these funeral rites of burning the dead, joining with him in that work, shall say to that one which is left alive in the house, Is there any more remaining of the whole number of the family? and he shall say, No. Then shall the other answer again, Rest thou humbly and silently in the just pleasure of the Almighty: this is his work: as for us, our sins have been so grievous, that, in the conscience thereof, it is not for us to call upon the name of the Lord, for a release or mitigation of his judgment.

Amos 6:11

For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

For, behold, the Lord, whom we have provoked, commandeth these executions from the hands of the Assyrians, and will by their arm smite both the small and the great.

Amos 6:12

Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

Is it possible, that horses should run upon the steep and craggy cliffs? or can it be, that the husbandman should draw his plough through those hard rocks? so impossible is it, that ye Israelites should continue to prosper, while ye remain thus sinful; for ye have corrupted judgment and justice, and made it hateful, and deadly to the innocent:

Amos 6:13

Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

Ye, which rejoice in your own strength, which is vain and nothing worth; and say, in the pride of your heart, Have we not made ourselves strong and impregnable by our wit and power?

Amos 6:14

But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of the wilderness.

But, behold, I will raise up against you, O house of Israel, a mighty nation, even that of Assyria; and they shall plague you, even from the one end of your country to the other; from Hamath, which is in the borders of the north, to Sihor the river of the wilderness, to the south.