The Prophet Amos

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- Chapter 6 -

(Luke 6:24–26)

Woe to you who have been wealthy in Zion, and to you who have confidence in the mountain of Samaria: aristocrats, heads of the people, who advance with a retinue into the house of Israel.

Cross over to Calneh and see, and go from there into Hamath the great, and descend into Gath of the Philistines, and to the best kingdoms of these, if their limits are wider than your limits.

You have been set aside for the day of disaster, and you approach the throne of iniquity.

You sleep on beds of ivory, and you are lustful on your couches. You devour lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.

You sing to the sound of stringed instruments; they consider themselves to have the musical abilities of David.

You drink wine in bowls, and you anoint with the best ointments; and they suffer nothing over the grief of Joseph.

Because of this, now they will depart at the head of those who go into captivity; and the faction of the lustful will be removed.

The Pride of Israel

The Lord God has sworn by his own soul, the Lord God of hosts says: I detest the arrogance of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will hand over the city with its inhabitants.

For if there were ten men remaining in one house, even they will die.

And his closest relative will steal him away and will burn him, so that he may carry the bones out of the house. And he will say to him that is in the inner most rooms of the house, “Now is there any left that still belongs to you?”(a)

And he will answer, “It is finished.” And he will say to him, “Be silent and do not call to mind the name of the Lord.”

For behold, the Lord has commanded, and he will strike the greater house with catastrophes, and the lesser house with divisions.

Can horses gallop across rocks, or is anyone able to plough with gazelles? For you have turned judgment into bitterness and the fruit of justice into wormwood.

You rejoice in emptiness. You say, “Have we not, by our own strength, taken horns for ourselves?”(b)

(c)

For behold, house of Israel, I will raise up a people over you, says the Lord God of hosts, and they will crush you from the entrance of Hamath all the way to the burning of the desert.

Footnotes

(a)6:10 This last expression is obscure and could have several different possible meanings. The translation is phrased to leave open multiple possible interpretations. He could be asking if any persons are still left ‘penes,’ i.e. ‘under his power.’ Or, he could be asking if there is anything valuable, such as food, left in the house. The man who is in the inner most room of the house has locked himself in, but he cannot prevent the intruder from taking all his possessions and perhaps his loved ones as well.(Conte)

(b)6:14 The word ‘Numquid’ introduces a question whose answer is in the negative. But the speaker in this quote (following ‘qui dicitis’) clearly expects the answer to be ‘yes.’ The reason, then, that Numquid is still used is that the one presenting the quote, God, is saying that the true answer is ‘no.’ So, the sinners say, ‘Haven’t we done all this by our own strength?’ They think the answer is ‘yes.’ But God quotes them and their attitude using the word, ‘Numquid’ because the truth is that they have not done these things by their own strength. Everything they have is from God.(Conte)

(c)6:14 Horns in this context is metaphorical, standing for roles of leadership, or weapons, or other means (e.g. money) for obtaining things.(Conte)

(Luke 6:24–26)

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!

Go to Calneh, and see. From there go to Hamath the great. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? Is their border greater than your border?

Alas for you who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near,

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 middle of the stall,

who strum on the strings of a harp, who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive. The feasting and lounging will end.

The Pride of Israel

“The Lord GOD has sworn by himself,” says the LORD, the God of Armies: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

It will happen that if ten men remain in one house, they will die.

“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 LORD’s name.’

“For, behold, the LORD commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.

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,

you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’

For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel,” says the LORD, the God of Armies; “and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”