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Amos 6:1-14 King James Version (KJV)

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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!

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?

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 chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

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

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

8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD 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 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.

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

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:

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

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 Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

Amos 6:1-14 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

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1 Woe H1945 to them that are at ease H7600 in Zion, H6726 and trust H982 in the mountain H2022 of Samaria, H8111 which are named H5344 chief H7225 of the nations, H1471 to whom the house H1004 of Israel H3478 came! H935

2 Pass H5674 ye unto Calneh, H3641 and see; H7200 and from thence go H3212 ye to Hamath H2574 the great: H7227 H2579 then go down H3381 to Gath H1661 of the Philistines: H6430 be they better H2896 than these kingdoms? H4467 or their border H1366 greater H7227 than your border? H1366

3 Ye that put far away H5077 the evil H7451 day, H3117 and cause the seat H7675 of violence H2555 to come near; H5066

4 That lie H7901 upon beds H4296 of ivory, H8127 and stretch H5628 themselves upon their couches, H6210 and eat H398 the lambs H3733 out of the flock, H6629 and the calves H5695 out of the midst H8432 of the stall; H4770

5 That chant H6527 to the sound H6310 of the viol, H5035 and invent H2803 to themselves instruments H3627 of musick, H7892 like David; H1732

6 That drink H8354 wine H3196 in bowls, H4219 and anoint H4886 themselves with the chief H7225 ointments: H8081 but they are not grieved H2470 for the affliction H7667 of Joseph. H3130

7 Therefore now shall they go captive H1540 with the first H7218 that go captive, H1540 and the banquet H4797 of them that stretched H5628 themselves shall be removed. H5493

8 The Lord H136 GOD H3069 hath sworn H7650 by himself, H5315 saith H5002 the LORD H3068 the God H430 of hosts, H6635 I abhor H8374 the excellency H1347 of Jacob, H3290 and hate H8130 his palaces: H759 therefore will I deliver up H5462 the city H5892 with all that is therein. H4393

9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain H3498 ten H6235 men H582 in one H259 house, H1004 that they shall die. H4191

10 And a man's uncle H1730 shall take him up, H5375 and he that burneth H5635 him, to bring out H3318 the bones H6106 out of the house, H1004 and shall say H559 unto him that is by the sides H3411 of the house, H1004 Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, H559 No. H657 Then shall he say, H559 Hold thy tongue: H2013 for we may not make mention H2142 of the name H8034 of the LORD. H3068

11 For, behold, the LORD H3068 commandeth, H6680 and he will smite H5221 the great H1419 house H1004 with breaches, H7447 and the little H6996 house H1004 with clefts. H1233

12 Shall horses H5483 run H7323 upon the rock? H5553 will one plow H2790 there with oxen? H1241 for ye have turned H2015 judgment H4941 into gall, H7219 and the fruit H6529 of righteousness H6666 into hemlock: H3939

13 Ye which rejoice H8056 in a thing H1697 of nought, H3808 which say, H559 Have we not taken H3947 to us horns H7161 by our own strength? H2392

14 But, behold, I will raise up H6965 against you a nation, H1471 O house H1004 of Israel, H3478 saith H5002 the LORD H3068 the God H430 of hosts; H6635 and they shall afflict H3905 you from the entering in H935 of Hemath H2574 unto the river H5158 of the wilderness. H6160

Amos 6:1-14 American Standard (ASV)

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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.

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.

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow `there' with 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.

Amos 6:1-14 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

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1 Wo `to' those secure in Zion, And those confident in the mount of Samaria, The marked of the chief of the nations, And come to them have the house of Israel.

2 Pass ye over `to' Calneh and see, And go thence `to' Hamath the great, And go down `to' Gath of the Philistines, Are `they' better than these kingdoms? Greater `is' their border than your border?

3 Who are putting away the day of evil, And ye bring nigh the seat of violence,

4 Who are lying down on beds of ivory, And are spread out on their couches, And are eating lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the stall,

5 Who are taking part according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music;

6 Who are drinking with bowls of wine, And `with' chief perfumes anoint `themselves', And have not been pained for the breach of Joseph.

7 Therefore now they remove at the head of the captives, And turned aside is the mourning-feast of stretched-out ones.

8 Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by Himself, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts: I am abominating the excellency of Jacob, And his high places I have hated, And I have delivered up the city and its fulness.

9 And if there are left ten persons in one house, It hath come to pass -- that they have died.

10 And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who `is' in the sides of the house, `Is there yet with thee?' And he said, `None,' then he said, `Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'

11 For lo, Jehovah is commanding, And He hath smitten the great house `with' breaches, And the little house `with' clefts.

12 Do horses run on a rock? Doth one plough `it' with oxen? For ye have turned to gall judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood.

13 O ye who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, `Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves horns?'

14 Surely, lo, I am raising against you a nation, O house of Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts, And they have oppressed you from the coming in to Hamath, Unto the stream of the desert.

Amos 6:1-14 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

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1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the renowned of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come.

2 Pass unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go to Hamath the great; and go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or 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 from the midst of the stall;

5 that chant to the sound of the lute, [and] invent them instruments of music, like David;

6 that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but are not grieved for the breach 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.

8 The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; and I will 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 a man's uncle, and he that should burn him, shall take him up to bring out the bones from the house, and shall say unto him that is in the inner parts of the house, Is there yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, None. And he will say, Silence! for we may not make mention of Jehovah's name.

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

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will [men] plough [thereon] with oxen? For ye have turned judgment 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 power by our own strength?

14 For behold, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah the God of hosts, I will raise up against you a nation; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath unto the torrent of the Arabah.

Amos 6:1-14 World English Bible (WEB)

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1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, And to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, The notable men of the chief of the nations, To whom the house of Israel come!

2 Go to Calneh, and see; And from there go 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 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 Joseph.

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

8 "The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself," says Yahweh, the God of hosts: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, 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 Yahweh.'

11 "For, behold, Yahweh 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?'

14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel," Says Yahweh, the God of hosts; "And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah."

Amos 6:1-14 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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1 Sorrow to those who are resting in comfort in Zion, and to those who have no fear of danger in the mountain of Samaria, the noted men of the chief of the nations, to whom the people of Israel come!

2 Go on to Calneh and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are you better than these kingdoms? or is your land wider than theirs?

3 You who put far away the evil day, causing the rule of the violent to come near;

4 Who are resting on beds of ivory, stretched out on soft seats, feasting on lambs from the flock and young oxen from the cattle-house;

5 Making foolish songs to the sound of corded instruments, and designing for themselves instruments of music, like David;

6 Drinking wine in basins, rubbing themselves with the best oils; but they have no grief for the destruction of Joseph.

7 So now they will go away prisoners with the first of those who are made prisoners, and the loud cry of those who were stretched out will come to an end.

8 The Lord God has taken an oath by himself, says the Lord, the God of armies: the pride of Jacob is disgusting to me, and I have hate for his great houses: so I will give up the town with everything in it.

9 Then it will come about that if there are still ten men in a house, death will overtake them.

10 And when a man's relation, even the one who is responsible for burning his body, lifting him up to take his bones out of the house, says to him who is in the inmost part of the house, Is there still anyone with you? and he says, No; then he will say, Keep quiet, for the name of the Lord may not be named.

11 For see, at the order of the Lord the great house will be full of cracks and the little house will be broken.

12 Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?

13 You whose joy is in a thing of no value, who say, Have we not taken for ourselves horns by the strength which is ours?

14 For see, I will send against you a nation, O Israel, says the Lord, the God of armies, ruling you cruelly from the way into Hamath as far as the stream of the Arabah.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Amos 6

Commentary on Amos 6 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 6

In this chapter we have,

  • I. A sinful people studying to put a slight upon God's threatenings and to make them appear trivial, confiding in their privileges and pre-eminences above other nations (v. 2, 3), and their power (v. 13), and wholly addicted to their pleasures (v. 4-6).
  • II. A serious prophet studying to put a weight upon God's threatenings and to make them appear terrible, by setting forth the severity of those judgments that were coming upon these sensualists (v. 7), God's abhorring them, and abandoning them and theirs to death (v. 8-11), and bringing utter desolation upon them, since they would not be wrought upon by the methods he had taken for their conviction (v. 12-14).

Amo 6:1-7

The first words of the chapter are the contents of these verses; but they sound very strangely, and contrary to the sentiments of a vain world: Woe to those that are at ease! We are ready to say, Happy are those that are at ease, that neither feel any trouble nor fear any, that lie soft and warm, and lay nothing to heart; and wise we think are those that do so, that bathe themselves in the delights of sense and care not how the world goes. Those are looked upon as doing well for themselves that do well for their bodies and make much of them; but against them this woe is denounced, and we are here told what their ease is, and what the woe is.

  • I. Here is a description of their pride, security, and sensuality, for which God would reckon with them.
    • 1. They were vainly conceited of their own dignities, and thought those would secure them from the judgments threatened and be their defence against the wrath both of God and man.
      • (1.) Those that dwelt in Zion thought that was honour and protection enough for them, and they might there be quiet from all fear of evil, because it was a strong city, well fortified both by nature and art (we read of Zion's strong-holds and her bulwarks), and because it was a royal city, where were set the thrones of the house of David (it was the head-city of Judah, and therefore truly great), and especially because it was the holy city, where the temple was, and the testimony of Israel; those that dwelt there doubted not but that God's sanctuary would be a sanctuary to them and would shelter them from his judgments. The temple of the Lord are these, Jer. 7:4. They are haughty because of the holy mountain, Zep. 3:11. Note, Many are puffed up with pride, and rocked asleep in carnal security, by their church-privileges, and the place they have in Zion.
      • (2.) Those that dwelt in the mountain of Samaria, though it was not a holy hill, like that of Zion, yet they trusted in it, because it was the metropolis of a potent kingdom, and perhaps, in imitation of Jerusalem, was the head-quarters of its religion; and by lapse of time the hill of Shemer became with them in as good repute as the hill of Zion ever was. They hoped for salvation from these hills and mountains.
      • (3.) Both these two kingdoms valued themselves upon their relation to Israel, that prince with God, which they looked upon as masking them the chief of the nations, more ancient and honourable than any of them; the first-fruits of the nations (so the word is), dedicated to God and sanctifying the whole harvest. The house of Israel came to them, that is, was divided into those kingdoms, of which Zion and Samaria were the mother cities. Those that were at ease were the princes and rulers, the great men, that were chief of the nations, chief of those two kingdoms, and to whom, having their residence in Zion and Samaria, the whole house of Israel applied for judgment. Note, It is hard to be great and not to be proud. Great nations and great men are apt to overvalue themselves, and to overlook their neighbours, because they think they a little overtop them. But, for a check to their pride and security, the prophet bids them take notice of those cities that were within the compass of their knowledge, that had been as illustrious in their time as ever Zion or Samaria was, and yet were destroyed, v. 2. "Go to Calneh (which was an ancient city built by Nimrod, Gen. 10:10), and see what has become of that, it is now in ruins; so is Hamath the great, one of the chief cities of Syria. Sennacherib boasts of destroying the gods of Hamath. Gath was likewise made desolate by Hazael, and not long ago, 2 Ki. 12:17. Now were they better than these kingdoms of Judah and Israel? Yes, they were, and their border greater than your border, so that they had more reason than you to be confident of their own safety; yet you see what has become of them, and dare you be secure? Art thou better than populous No?' Nah. 3:8. Note, The examples of others' ruin forbid us to be secure.
    • 2. They persisted in their wicked courses upon a presumption that they should never be called to an account for them (v. 3): "You put far away the evil day, the day of reckoning, as a thing that shall never come, or you look upon it as at such a distance that it makes no impression at all upon you; you put it far away, and think you can still put it yet further, and adjourn it de die in diem-from day to day, and therefore you cause the seat of violence to draw near; you venture upon all acts of injustice and oppression, and have fellowship with the throne of iniquity, which frames mischief by a law, Ps. 94:20. You cause that to come near, as if that would be your protection from these judgments which really ripens you for them.' Note, Therefore men take sin to be near them, because they take judgment to be far off from them; but those deceive themselves who thus mock God.
    • 3. They indulged themselves in all manner of sensual pleasures and delights, v. 4-6. These Israelites were perfect epicures and slaves to their appetites. Their dignities (in consideration of which they ought to have been examples of self-denial and mortification), they thought, would justify them in their sensuality; the gains of their oppression and violence, they thought, would bear the charge of it; and they put the evil day at a distance, that they might give them no disturbance in it. That which they are here charged with is not in itself sinful (these things might be soberly and moderately used), but they placed their happiness in the gratification of their carnal appetites; and though they were men in office, that had business to mind, they gave themselves up to their pleasures, spent their time in them, and threw away their thoughts, and cares, and estates upon them. They were in these enjoyments as in their element. Their hearts were upon them; they exceeded all bounds in them, and this at a time when God in his providence was calling them to weeping and mourning, Isa. 22:12, 13. When they were under guilt and wrath, and the judgments of God were ready to break in upon them, they called for wine and strong drink, presuming that to-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isa. 56:12), thus walking contrary to God and setting his justice at defiance.
      • (1.) They were extravagant in their furniture. Nothing would serve them but beds of ivory to sleep upon, or to sit on at their meat, when sackcloth and ashes would have become them better.
      • (2.) They were lazy, and humoured themselves in the love of ease. They did not only lie down, but stretched themselves upon their couches, when they should have stirred up themselves to their business; they were willingly slothful, and took a pride in doing nothing; they abound in superfluities (so the margin reads it), when many of their poor brethren wanted necessaries.
      • (3.) They were nice and curious in their diet, must have every thing of the best and abundance of it: They ate the lambs out of the flock (lambs by wholesale) and the calves out of the midst of the stall, the fattest they could lay their hand on; and these perhaps not out of their own flock and their own stall, but taken by oppression from the poor.
      • (4.) They were merry and jovial, and diverted themselves at their feasts with music and singing: They chant to the sound of the viol, sing and play in concert, and they invent new-fashioned instruments of music, striving herein, more than in any thing else, to excel their ancestors; they set their wits on work to contrive how to please their fancy. Some men never show their ingenuity but in their luxury; on that they bestow all their faculty of invention and contrivance. They invent instruments of music, like David, entertain themselves with that which formerly used to be the entertainment of kings only. Or it intimates their profaneness in their mirth; they mimicked the temple-music, and made a jest of that, because, it may be, it was old-fashioned, and they took a pride in bantering it as the Babylonians did when they urged the captives to sing to them the songs of Zion; such was Belshazzar's profaneness when he drank wine in temple-bowls, and such is theirs that sing vain and loose songs in psalm-tunes, on purpose to ridicule a divine institution.
      • (5.) They drank to excess, and never thought they could pour down enough: They drank wink in bowls, not in glasses, or cups (as Jer. 35:5); they hate to be stinted, and must have large draughts, and therefore make use of vessels that they can steal a draught out of.
      • (6.) They affected the strongest perfumes: They anoint themselves with the chief ointments, to please the smell, and to make them more in love with their own bodies, and to guard against those presages of putrefaction which they carry about with them while they live. No ordinary ointments would serve their turn; they must have the chief, such as were far-fetched and dear-bought, when cheaper would have served as well.
    • 4. They had no concern at all for the interests of the church of God, and of the nation, that were sinking and going to decay: They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph; the church of God, including both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (which are called Joseph, Ps. 80:1), was in distress, invaded, insulted, and broken in upon. As to their own kingdom which they were entrusted with the government of, the affairs of which they were directors of, the peace of which they were the conservators of, great breaches were made upon it, upon its peace and welfare; and they were so besotted that they were not aware of them, so indulgent of their pleasures that they never laid them to heart, and had such an aversion to the thing called business that they were in no care or concern to get them repaired. It is all one to them whether the nation sink or swim, so that they can but lie at ease and live in pleasure. Particular persons that belonged to Joseph were in affliction, and they took no cognizance of their case of the wrongs and hardships they sustained and the troubles they were in, nor took any care to relieve them, and right them, contrary to the temper of holy Job, who, when he was in prosperity, wept with him that was in misery and his soul was grieved for the poor, Job 30:25. Some think that, in calling the afflicted church Joseph, there is an allusion to the story of Pharaoh's butler, who, when he preferred to give the cup again into his master's hand, remembered not Joseph, but forgot him, Gen. 40:21, 23. Thus they drank wine in bowls, but were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Note, Those are commonly careless of the troubles of others who are set upon their own pleasures; and it is a great offence to God when his church is in affliction and we are not grieved for it, nor lay it to heart.
  • II. Here is the doom passed upon them (v. 7): Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and shall fall into all the miseries that attend captives; and the banquet of those that stretched themselves upon their couches shall be removed. Their plenty shall be taken from them, and they from it, because they made it the food and fuel of their lusts.
    • 1. Those who lived in luxury shall lose even their liberty; and by being brought into servitude shall be justly punished for the abuse of their dignity and dominion.
    • 2. Those who trusted in the delights and pleasures of their own land shall be carried away into a strange land, and so made ashamed of their pride and confidence; they shall go captive.
    • 3. Those who placed their happiness in the pleasures of sense, and set their hearts upon them, shall be deprived of those pleasures; their banquet shall be removed, and they shall know what it is to fare hard.
    • 4. Those who stretched themselves shall be made to contract themselves, and to come into a less compass.
    • 5. Those who put the evil day far from them shall find it nearer to them than it is to others; those shall go captive with the first who flattered themselves with hopes that if trouble did come they should be the last who should be seized by it. Those are ripening apace for trouble themselves who lay not to heart the trouble of others and of the church of God. Those who give themselves to mirth, when God calls them to mourning, will find it a sin that shall not go unpunished, Isa. 22:14.

Amo 6:8-14

In the former part of the chapter we had these secure Israelites loading themselves with pleasures, as if they could never be made merry enough; here we have God loading them with punishments, as if they could never be made miserable enough. And observe,

  • I. How strongly this burden is bound on, not to be shaken off by their presumption and security; for it is bound by the Lord the God of hosts, by his mighty, his almighty, hand, which none can resist; it is bound with an oath, which puts the sentence past revocation: The Lord God has sworn, and he will not repent, and, since he could swear by no greater, he has sworn by himself. How dreadful, how miserable, is the case of those whose ruin, whose eternal ruin, God himself has sworn, who can execute his purpose and cannot alter it!
  • II. How heavily this burden lies! Let us see the particulars.
    • 1. God will abhor and abandon them, and that implies misery enough, all misery: I abhor the excellency of Jacob, all that which they are proud of, and value themselves upon, and for which they call and count themselves the chief of nations. Their visible church-membership, and the privileges of that, their temple, altar, and priesthood, these were, more than any thing, the excellencies of Jacob; but, when these were profaned and polluted by sin, God abhorred them; he hated and despised them, ch. 5:21. Note, God abhors that form of godliness which hypocrites keep up, while they abhor the power of it. And if he abhors their temple, for the iniquity of that, no marvel that he hates their palaces, for the injustices and oppression he finds there. Note, that creature which we take such a complacency and put such a confidence in as to make it a rival with God is thereby made abominable to him. He hates the palaces of sinners, for the sake of wickedness of those that dwell therein. Prov. 3:33, The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked. And, if God abhor them, immediately it follows, He will deliver up the city with all that is therein, deliver it up into the hands of the enemy, that will lay it waste, and make a prey of all its wealth. Note, Those that are abhorred and abandoned of God are undone to all intents and purposes.
    • 2. There shall be a great and general mortality among them (v. 9): If there remain ten men in one house, that have escaped the sword of the enemy, yet they shall be met with another way; they shall all die by famine or pestilence. In the most sickly times, if there be ten in a house, one may hope that at least the one-half of them will escape, according to the proportion of two in a bed, one taken and the other left; but here not one of ten shall live to bury the rest. Another instance of the greatness of the mortality is (v. 10) that the nearest relations of the dead shall be forced with their own hands to wind up their bodies, and bury them, for want of other hands to be employed in it; that is all that the next of kin, to whom the right of redemption belongs, can do for them, and with great reluctance will they do that. It intimates that the young people shall be cut off soonest; for the uncle that survives is, ordinarily, the senior relation. "When the uncle comes with the sexton (or him that burns), to bring out the bones out of the house, he shall say to him that he sees next about the house, 'Is there any yet with thee? Are there any left alive?' And he shall say, 'No, this is the last; now the whole family is cut off by death, and neither root nor branch remains.'' But that which makes the judgment the more grievous is that their hearts seem to be hardened under it. "When he that is found by the sides of the house begin to enter into discourse with those that are carrying off the dead, they shall say, 'Hold thy tongue; do not stand preaching to us about the hand of Providence in this calamity, for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord; God is so angry with us that there is no speaking to him; he is so extreme to mark what we do amiss that we dare not so much as make mention of his name.'' Thus the foolishness of men perverts their way, and brings them into distress, and then their heart frets against the Lord. Even then they will not take notice of his hand, nor suffer those about them to do it. Perhaps it was forbidden by some of the idolatrous kings to make mention of the name of Jehovah, as by the law of Moses it was forbidden to make mention of the names of the heathen-gods: "We may not do it without incurring the penalty.' Note, Those hearts are wretchedly hardened indeed that will not be brought to make mention of God's name, and to worship him, when the hand of God has gone out against them, and when, as here, sickness and death are in their families. Thus those heap up wrath who cry not when God binds them.
    • 3. Their houses shall be destroyed, v. 11. God will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts; they shall both be cracked so as to lose their beauty and strength, and to be hastening towards a fall. The princes' palaces are not above the rebuke of divine justice, nor the poor men's cottages beneath it; neither shall escape. When sin has marked them for ruin God will find ways to bring it about. It is by order from him that breaches are made.
  • III. How justly they are thus burdened. If we understand the matter aright, we shall say, The Lord is righteous.
    • 1. The methods used for their reformation had been all fruitless and ineffectual (v. 12): Shall horses run upon the rock, to hurl or harrow the ground there? Or will one plough there with oxen? No, for there will be no profit to countervail the pains. God has sent them his prophets, to break up their fallow-ground; but they found them as hard and inflexible as the rock, rough and rugged, and they could do no good with them, nor work upon them, and therefore they shall not attempt it any more. They will not be reclaimed, and therefore shall not be reproved, but quite abandoned. Note, Those who will not be cultivated as fields and vineyards shall be rejected as barren rocks and deserts, Heb. 6:7, 8.
    • 2. They had abused their power to the wrong and oppression of many, whose injured cause the sovereign Judge would not only right, but revenge: You have turned judgment into gall, which is nauseous, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock, which is noxious; it would make one sick to see how those that were entrusted with the administration of public justice bore down equity with that power which they out to have defended and supported it, and so turned its own artillery against itself. Note, When our services of God are soured with sin his providences will justly be embittered to us.
    • 3. They had set the judgments of God at defiance, and, confiding in their own strength, thought themselves a match for Omnipotence, v. 13. They rejoiced in a thing of nought, pleased themselves with a fancy that no evil should befal them, though they had no ground at all for that confidence, nothing to trust to that would bear any weight. They said, "Have we not taken to us horns; have we not arrived to great dignity and dominion, have we not pushed down our enemies and pushed on our victories, and this by our own strength, our own skill and courage, our own wealth and military force? Who then need we be afraid of? Who then need we make court to? Not God himself.' Note, Prosperity and success commonly make men secure and haughty; and those that have done much think they can do any thing, any thing without God, nay, any thing against him. But those who trust in their own strength rejoice in a thing of nought, and so they will find. Probably they did not say this with their lips, totidem verbis-in so many words, but it was the language of their hearts and of their actions, both which God understands.
  • IV. How easily and effectually this burden shall be brought upon them, v. 14. He that brings it upon them is the Lord the God of hosts, who both may do and can do what he pleases, who has all creatures at his command, and who, when he has work to do, will not be at a loss for instruments to do it with; though they are the house of Israel, yet he will raise up against them a nation which they feared not, but had many a time hoped in, even the Assyrians, and this nation shall afflict them, bring them into straits, and put them to pain, from the entering in of Hamath, in the north, to the river of the wilderness, the river of Egypt, Sihor or Nile, in the south. The whole nation has shared in the iniquity, and therefore must expect to share in the calamity. Note, When men are in any way instruments of affliction to us we must see God raising them up against us, for they are in his hand-the rod, the sword, in his hand. The Lord has bidden Shimei curse David.