Amos 6-7
King James Version
6 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.
7 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
3 The Lord repented for this: It shall not be, saith the Lord.
4 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
5 Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
6 The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God.
7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
8 And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.
14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
Amos 6-7
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.
7 God showeth certain visions, whereby he signifieth the destruction of the people of Israel. 10 The false accusation of Amaziah, 12 His crafty counsel.
1 Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me, and behold, he formed [q]grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth: and lo, it was in the latter growth [r]after the King’s mowing.
2 And when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God, spare, I beseech thee: who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small.
3 So the Lord [s]repented for this. It shall not be, saith the Lord.
4 ¶ Thus also hath the Lord God showed unto me, and behold, the Lord God called to judgment by fire, [t]and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
5 Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: who shall raise up Jacob? for he is small.
6 So the Lord repented for this. This also shall not be, saith the Lord God.
7 ¶ Thus again he showed me, and behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by line [u]with a line in his hand.
8 And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a line in the midst of my people Israel, and will pass by them no more.
9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the temples of Israel shall be destroyed: and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
10 ¶ [v]Then Amaziah the Priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be led away captive out of their own land.
12 Also [w]Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou the Seer, go, flee thou away into the land of Judah, and there eat thy bread, and prophesy there.
13 But prophesy no more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.
14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no [x]Prophet, neither was I a Prophet’s son, but I was an herdsman, and a gatherer of wild figs.
15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go prophesy unto my people Israel.
16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord. Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and speak nothing against the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord, [y]Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line: and thou shalt die in a polluted land, and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
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 7:1 To devour the land: and he alludeth to the invading of the enemies.
- Amos 7:1 After the public commandment for mowing was given: or as some read, when the king’s sheep were shorn.
- Amos 7:3 That is, stayed this plague at my prayer.
- Amos 7:4 Meaning, that God’s indignation was inflamed against the stubbornness of this people.
- Amos 7:7 Signifying that this should be the last measuring of the people, and that he would defer his judgment no longer.
- Amos 7:10 That is, when Amos had prophesied that the king should be destroyed: for the wicked Priest more for hatred he bare to the Prophet than for love toward the king, thought this accusation sufficient to condemn him, whereas none other could take place.
- Amos 7:12 When this instrument of Satan was not able to compass his purpose by the king, he assayed by another practice, that was, to fear the Prophet, that he might depart, and not reprove their idolatry there openly, and so hinder his profit.
- Amos 7:14 Thus he showeth by his extraordinary vocation, that God had given him a charge, which he must needs execute.
- Amos 7:17 Thus God used to approve the authority of his Prophets, by his plagues and judgments against them which were malicious enemies, Jer. 28:12 and 29:21, 25, as this day he doeth against them that persecute the ministers of his Gospel.
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.
