Amos 6
1599 Geneva Bible
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.
Amos 6
New King James Version
Warnings to Zion and Samaria
6 Woe (A)to you who are at (B)ease in Zion,
And (C)trust in Mount Samaria,
Notable persons in the (D)chief nation,
To whom the house of Israel comes!
2 (E)Go over to (F)Calneh and see;
And from there go to (G)Hamath the great;
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
(H)Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory?
3 Woe to you who (I)put far off the day of (J)doom,
(K)Who cause (L)the seat of violence to come near;
4 Who lie on beds of ivory,
Stretch out on your couches,
Eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall;
5 (M)Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments,
And invent for yourselves (N)musical instruments (O)like David;
6 Who (P)drink wine from bowls,
And anoint yourselves with the best ointments,
(Q)But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore they shall now go (R)captive as the first of the captives,
And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
8 (S)The Lord God has sworn by Himself,
The Lord God of hosts says:
“I abhor (T)the pride of Jacob,
And hate his palaces;
Therefore I will deliver up the city
And all that is in it.”
9 Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when [a]a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the [b]bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, “Are there any more with you?”
Then someone will say, “None.”
And he will say, (U)“Hold your tongue! (V)For we dare not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, (W)the Lord gives a command:
(X)He will break the great house into bits,
And the little house into pieces.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there with oxen?
Yet (Y)you have turned justice into gall,
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
13 You who rejoice over [c]Lo Debar,
Who say, “Have we not taken [d]Karnaim for ourselves
By our own strength?”
Amos 6
English Standard Version
Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
6 (A)“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on (B)the mountain of Samaria,
(C)the notable men of (D)the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
2 Pass over to (E)Calneh, and see,
and from there go to (F)Hamath the great;
then go down to (G)Gath of the Philistines.
(H)Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3 (I)O you who put far away the day of disaster
(J)and bring near the seat of violence?
4 “Woe to those (K)who lie on (L)beds of ivory
(M)and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
(N)and calves from the midst of the stall,
5 (O)who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David (P)invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 (Q)who drink wine in bowls
and (R)anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 (S)Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
8 (T)The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:
“I abhor (U)the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
(V)and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
9 And (W)if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one's relative, (X)the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, (Y)“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, the Lord commands,
and (Z)the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there[a] with oxen?
(AA)But you have turned justice into (AB)poison
(AC)and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood[b]—
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[c]
who say, (AD)“Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim[d] for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (AE)I will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from (AF)Lebo-hamath
to the Brook of (AG)the Arabah.”
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
