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.
Ye who are turning to wormwood judgment, And righteousness to the earth have put down,
They have spoken words, To swear falsehood in making a covenant, And flourished as a poisonous herb hath judgment, on the furrows of a field.
Therefore, because of your trampling on the poor, And the tribute of corn ye take from him, Houses of hewn work ye have built, And ye do not dwell in them, Desirable vineyards ye have planted, And ye do not drink their wine. For I have known -- many `are' your transgressions, And mighty your sins, Adversaries of the righteous, taking ransoms, And the needy in the gate ye turned aside.
And Jezebel his wife saith unto him, `Thou now dost execute rule over Israel! rise, eat bread, and let thy heart be glad, -- I do give to thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.' And she writeth letters in the name of Ahab, and sealeth with his seal, and sendeth the letters unto the elders, and unto the freemen, who are in his city, those dwelling with Naboth, and she writeth in the letters, saying, `Proclaim a fast, and cause Naboth to sit at the head of the people, and cause two men -- sons of worthlessness -- to sit over-against him, and they testify of him, saying, Thou hast blessed God and Melech; and they have brought him out, and stoned him, and he dieth.' And the men of his city, the elders and the freemen who are dwelling in his city, do as Jezebel hath sent unto them, as written in the letters that she sent unto them, they have proclaimed a fast, and caused Naboth to sit at the head of the people, and two men -- sons of worthlessness -- come in, and sit over-against him, and the men of worthlessness testify of him, even Naboth, before the people, saying, `Naboth blessed God and Melech;' and they take him out to the outside of the city, and stone him with stones, and he dieth;
Transgressing, and lying against Jehovah, And removing from after our God, Speaking oppression and apostacy, Conceiving and uttering from the heart Words of falsehood. And removed backward is judgment, And righteousness afar off standeth, For truth hath been feeble in the street, And straightforwardness is not able to enter,
From my knowing that thou art obstinate, And a sinew of iron thy neck, And thy forehead brass,
Jehovah, Thine eyes, are they not on stedfastness? Thou hast smitten them, and they have not grieved, Thou hast consumed them, They have refused to receive instruction, They made their faces harder than a rock, They have refused to turn back.
Ye have ploughed wickedness, Perversity ye have reaped, Ye have eaten the fruit of lying, For thou hast trusted in thy way, In the abundance of thy might.
On the evil `are' both hands to do `it' well, The prince is asking -- also the judge -- for recompence, And the great -- he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up.
Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence `are' before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift `itself' up, Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.
And they refuse to attend, And they give a refractory shoulder, And their ears have made heavy against hearing. And their heart they have made adamant, Against hearing the law, and the words, That Jehovah of Hosts sent by His Spirit, By the hand of the former prophets, And their is great wrath from Jehovah of Hosts.
`Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears! ye do always the Holy Spirit resist; as your fathers -- also ye; which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed those who declared before about the coming of the Righteous One, of whom now ye betrayers and murderers have become,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Amos 6
Commentary on Amos 6 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 6
In this chapter we have,
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.
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,