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Amos Chapter
Six
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 6
This
chapter seems to be directed both to the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and
the ten tribes of Israel, under the names of Zion and Samaria, and to the
principal men in both; who are reproved and threatened for their carnal
security and self-confidence, being in no fear of the evil day, though they had
no reason for it no more than other people, Amos 6:1; are
charged with wantonness, luxury, intemperance, and want of sympathy with those
in distress, Amos 6:4; therefore
are threatened to be carried captive first, and their city to be delivered up;
which, for the certainty of it, is not only said, but swore to, Amos 6:7; and a
great mortality in every house, and the destruction of all houses, both great
and small, Amos 6:9; and since
a reformation of them seemed impracticable, and not to be expected, but they
gloried in their wealth, and boasted of their strength, therefore they should
be afflicted by a foreign nation raised against them, which affliction should
be general, from one end of the country to the other, Amos 6:12.
Amos 6:1 Woe to you who
are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the
chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes!
YLT
1Wo [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.
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,.... Or
"secure"F3השאננים "secure
sedentibus", Munster; "securos", Mercerus, Castalio, Burkius.
there; which was a strong hold, the city of David, the seat of the kings of
Judah; where their court was kept, and the princes and chief men resided and
thought themselves safe, the place being well fortified with walls, towers, and
bulwarks: or "at ease"; that is, in easy, prosperous, comfortable
circumstances of life; as Job was before his troubles, and others he mentions, Job 16:12; though
to be in such a state is not criminal, but a blessing of Providential goodness,
for which men should be thankful, and make use of it aright: but "woe to
the rich in Zion"F4"Opulentis", Tigurine version. ,
as the Vulgate Latin Version renders it, when they have nothing else but
temporal riches; this is all their portion, and the whole of their consolation,
Luke 6:24; when
they trust in these uncertain riches, and consume them on their lusts, as
described in the following verses; are unconcerned at the troubles of others,
and give them no relief, but despise them, Job 12:5; and even
are thoughtless about their own future state, and put away the evil day far
from them, Luke 12:19; and
such are they who like Moab are at ease from their youth as to their spiritual
state, Jeremiah 48:11;
never had any true sight of sin, or sense of danger; never complain of a body
of sin, or are concerned about sins of omission or commission; nor troubled
with the temptations of Satan, and have no fears and doubts about their happiness;
and such there be who yet are in Zion, or in a church state, which Zion often
signifies; and being there, trust in it, and in the privileges of it, and so
are secure, and at ease; such are the foolish virgins and hypocrites, who place
their confidence in a profession of religion, in being church members, and in
their submission to external ordinances, and so cry Peace, peace, to
themselves, when, destruction is at hand: and are moreover at ease, and wholly
unconcerned about the affairs of Zion, both temporal and spiritual, and
especially the latter; they do not trouble themselves about the doctrines they
hear, whether truth or error; and about the success of them, whether they are
made useful for conversion and edification; and about the continuance of a
Gospel ministry, and a succession in it; and about the discipline of the church
of God, and the walk of professors; or about what trials and afflictions are
like to come upon the churches; or about the judgments of God in the earth; and
therefore such carnal secure persons are either called upon to awake out of
their sleep, and come off of their beds of ease, and shake off their vain
confidence and carnal security; for the word may be rendered "ho"F5הוי "heus", Piscator, Tarnovius, Burkius. , as a
note of calling, as in Isaiah 55:1; or a
threatening of calamity is denounced upon them, that the day of the Lord should
come upon them as a thief in the night, or as a snare upon them that dwell on
earth, and they be surprised with the midnight cry, and with the terrors of
devouring flames, as the foolish virgins and hypocrite's in Zion will, Matthew 25:6. The
Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "who despise
Zion", or "neglect" her; and the word is sometimes used of
insolent persons, and to express their insolence; see Isaiah 37:29; and
so may be understood, not of the Jews in Jerusalem, but of the ten tribes, as
the following clause; who despised Zion, the city of solemnities, the temple;
and, the worship of God there, and set up the calves at Dan and Bethel, and
worshipped them; and therefore a woe is denounced upon them;
and trust in the mountain of Samaria; in the city
of Samaria, built on a mountain, a strong fortified city, where they thought
themselves safe; the royal city of the kings of Israel, the head of Ephraim,
and the metropolis of the ten tribes, who here are intended: though the words
may be rendered, and the sense given a little different from this, as woe to
the "confident" ones that ate in SamariaF6הבטחים בהר שמרון
"confidentibus qui habitant in monte Samariae", Liveleus;
"securis qui habitant in monte", Samariae, Drusius. ; not that put
their trust in Samaria, but dwell there; but, however, are confident in their
own strength, wealth, and might. The Targum is,
"that
trust in the fortress of Samaria;'
see
1 Kings 16:24;
which are named the
chief of the nations; the persons at ease in Zion, and trusted in Samaria, were the
principal men of both nations, Judah and Israel; or these cities of Zion and
Samaria were the chief of the said nations: Zion, Which was near Jerusalem, and
includes it, was the metropolis of Judea; as Samaria was the head city of Ephraim,
or the ten tribes. The Targum is, that
"put
the name of their children, as the name of the children of the nations;'
as
the Jews did in later times, giving their children the names of Alexander,
Antipater, &c.
to whom the house of Israel came; meaning not to the seven
nations, of which the two named cities were chief, into which Israel entered,
and took possession of, and dwelt in; for Samaria never belonged to them, but
was built by Omri king of Israel, long after the entrance of the Israelites into
the land of Canaan, 1 Kings 16:24; but
the cities of Zion and, Samaria, into which the whole house of Israel came, or
had recourse unto, at certain times: the ten tribes came to Samaria, where
their kings resided, the court was kept, and the seats of judgment were; and
the two tribes came to Zion, to Jerusalem, to the temple there, to worship the
Lord.
Amos 6:2 2 Go
over 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 their
territory greater than your territory?
YLT
2Pass 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?
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see,.... What is become of
that city, which was in the land of Shinar, an ancient city, as early as the
days of Nimrod, and built by him, and was with others the beginning of his
kingdom, Genesis 10:10; it
belonged to Babylon, and is by Jarchi here interpreted by it, being put for
Babel, as he supposes. According to JeromF7Quaest. in Gen. fol. 66.
M. , it is the same city, sometimes called Seleucia, in his days Ctesiphon;
very probably it had been lately taken by the king of Assyria, and therefore
made mention of; see Isaiah 10:9; where
it is called Calno;
and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; the same with
Antiochia, as Jarchi and Jerom; called the great, to distinguish it from Hamath
the less, sometimes called Epiphania; or from Hamathzobah, near Tadmor, or
Palmyra, in the wilderness, 2 Chronicles 8:3;
though it might be so called with respect to its own grandeur and magnificence;
as Sidon is called "Sidon the great", though there was no other, Joshua 11:8; for it
was a royal city; we read of Toi, king of Hamath, in the times of David, 2 Samuel 8:9. It is
placed by JosephusF8Antiqu. l. 9. c. 10. sect. 1. on the north of
the land of Canaan; and so it appears to be, and to be between Damascus and the
Mediterranean sea, from Ezekiel 47:15.
Abu'lfedaF9See the Universal History, vol. 2. p. 316. , a learned
prince, who reigned in Hamath, and should know its situation, places it on the
Orontes, between Hems and Apamea, that river surrounding it on the east and
north. The learned VitringaF11Comment. in Jessiam, c. 10. 9. thinks
that neither Antiochia nor Epiphania are meant, but the city Emissa; which
Ammianus MarcellinusF12Lib. 23. makes mention of along with
Damascus, as a famous city in Syria, equal to Tyre, Sidon, and Berytus: and of
the same opinion was TheodoretF13Comment. in Jer. ii. 15. and xlix.
23. among the ancients, and so CalmetF14Dictionary, in the word
"Hamath". of late. And so Hamath and Damascus are mentioned together
as recovered by Jeroboam, 2 Kings 14:28; very
probably the kingdom of Hamath became subject to the kings of Damascus; see Jeremiah 49:23;
but, be it what place it will, it is very likely it had been lately spoiled by
the king of Assyria; see Isaiah 37:13.
then go down to Gath of the Philistines; one of their
five principalities, and a chief one, so called to distinguish it from other
Gaths, as Gathhepher, Gathrimmon. It stood about five or six miles south of
Jamnia, about fourteen south of Joppa, and thirty two west of Jerusalem. A
village of this name as shown, as JeromF15De locis Hebr. fol. 92. A.
says, five miles from Eleutheropolis, as you go to Diospolis or Lydda, and is
taken to be the same place. It is famous for being the birthplace of Goliath;
and is called in 2 Samuel 8:1;
compared with 1 Chronicles 18:1,
Methegammah, or the bridle of Ammah, or Metheg and her mother; that is, Gath
and her daughters. RelandF16Palestina Illustrata, tom. 2. l. 3. p.
669. thinks Gath is the city Cadytis of HerodotusF17Euterpe, sive l.
2. c. 159. & Thalia, sive l. 3. c. 5. , who says it is a city of the
Syrians, called Palestines or Philistines, and speaks of the mountains of it;
and this city was not far from the mountainous country of Judea: now this city
had been taken by Hazael, king of Syria, and its wall was broke down by Uzziah,
king of Judah, 2 Kings 12:17;
be they better than
these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? that is, do
Calneh, Hamath, and Gath, excel in dignity and grandeur, in wealth and
strength, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah? or are they of a larger circumference,
and exceed them in length and breadth? no, they did not; and therefore the more
ungrateful were Israel and Judah to sin against the Lord as they had done, who
had given them such rich and large kingdoms, and therefore might expect to be
taken and spoiled as well as they: though some think there is a change of
number and persons in the text, and that the sense is, are you better than
these kingdoms, or your border greater than theirs? and, if not, you may expect
to fare as they; see a like expression in Nahum 3:8.
Amos 6:3 3 Woe to you who put far off the
day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near;
YLT
3Who are putting away the
day of evil, And ye bring nigh the seat of violence,
Ye that put far away the evil day,.... The day of Israel's
captivity, threatened by, the Lord, and prophesied of by the prophets; by this
prophet, and by Hoshea and others: this they endeavoured to put out of their
minds and thoughts, and supposed it to be at a great distance, yea, hoped it
never would be; and like the Jews, with respect to their captivity, and the
destruction of their city, said it was not near, but prolonged, yea, would
never come to pass, Ezekiel 11:3; so
some men put far from them the day of death; which though to a good man is
better than the day of his birth, yet to a wicked man is an evil and terrible
day; he do not care to hear or speak, or think of it, lest it should dampen his
carnal joys and pleasures: as also the day of Christ's coming to judgment;
which though a good man hastens to in his affections, desires, and prayers,
wicked men set at the greatest distance, yea, scoff at it, as believing it
never will be, and to show that they are in no pain or uneasiness about it; see
Isaiah 56:12. The
Vulgate Latin version renders it, "who are separated to the evil
day"; appointed to it; foreordained to this condemnation; destined to ruin
and destruction for their sins; see Proverbs 16:4;
and cause the seat of violence to come near; boldly
venture upon the commission of acts of injustice, rapine, and violence, on a
presumption the evil day threatened will never come; or place themselves on the
bench in courts of judicature, and there, without any manner of concern, commit
the greatest acts of unrighteousness, as believing they shall never be called
to an account for them by God or man.
Amos 6:4 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;
YLT
4Who 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,
That lie upon beds of ivory,.... That were made of
it, or inlaid with it, or covered with it, as the Targum; nor was it improbable
that these were made wholly of ivory, for such beds we read of: Timaeus saysF18Apud
Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 29. , the Agrigentines had beds entirely made of
ivory; and HoraceF19"----Rubro ubi cocco Tincta super lectos
cauderet vestis eburnos". Horat. Serm. l. 2. Satyr. 6. v. 102. also speaks
of such beds: and if any credit can be given to the Targums of Jonathan and
Jerusalem on Genesis 50:1.
Joseph made his father Jacob to lie on a bed of ivory. Indeed, the Latin
interpreters of these Targums render it a cedar bed; but BuxtorfF20Lexic.
Talmud. col. 2475. conjectures that ivory is meant by the word used; and so
BochartF21Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 24. col. 252. translates it;
on these they lay either for sleep and rest, or to eat their meals;
and stretch themselves upon their couches; for the same
purposes, living in great splendour, and indulging themselves in ease and
sloth; as it was the custom of the eastern countries, and is of the Arabs now;
that they make little or no use of chairs, but either sitting cross legged, or
lying at length, have couches to lie on at their meals; and when they indulge
to ease, they cover or spread their floors with carpets, which for the most
part are of the richest materials. Along the sides of the wall or floor, a
range of narrow beds or mattresses is often placed upon these carpets; and, for
their further ease and convenience, several velvet or damask bolsters are
placed upon these, or mattressesF23See Shaw's Travels, p. 209. Ed.
2. , to lean upon, and take their ease; see Ezekiel 13:18; and
thus, and in some such like manner, did the principal men of the people of
Israel indulge themselves. Some render it, "abound with
superfluities"; the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "are
lascivious"; and the Arabic version, "burn in lust"; and so some
of the Jewish writers interpret it of their committing adulteries, and all
uncleanness, on their beds and couches;
and eat the lambs out of the flock; pick the best and
fattest of them for their use: so the Targum,
"eat
the fat of the sheep:'
and the calves out of the midst of the stall; where they
are put, and kept to be fattened; from thence they took what they liked best,
and perhaps not out of theft own flocks and stalls, but out of others, and with
which they pampered themselves to excess.
Amos 6:5 5 Who
sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for
yourselves musical instruments like David;
YLT
5Who are taking part
according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments
of music;
That chant to the sound of the viol,.... Or psaltery; an
instrument of twelve cords, and that gave twelve sounds, as JosephusF24Antiqu.
l. 7. c. 19. sect. 3. says, being stricken with the fingers; and to these
sounds these men chanted or quivered, made like sounds with their voice, which
they raised higher or lower, according to the sound of the instrument: they
"particularized", as the word signifiesF25הפורטים "particularizantes", Montanus; "qui
particularia habent cantica", Pagninus; "qui particulatim
canunt", Vatablus, Mercerus; "variis modulationibus concinunt",
Tigurine version. ; or observed the divisions and distinctions of notes and
sounds, by the modulation of their voice:
and invent to themselves
instruments of music, like David: not content with old
ones, such as were used in former times, they invented new instruments and new
tunes, and new songs to sing to them; as David made songs and invented several
instruments of music to sing them upon and to, in religious worship, and for
the praise and glory of God; so these men invented new ones to indulge their
carnal mirth and jollity, in which they thought themselves to be justified by
the example of David.
Amos 6:6 6 Who
drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are
not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
YLT
6Who are drinking with bowls
of wine, And [with] chief perfumes anoint [themselves], And have not been
pained for the breach of Joseph.
That drink wine in bowls,.... Not in small cups or
glasses, but in large bowls, that they might drink freely, even to drunkenness;
hence we read of the drunkards of Ephraim, or the ten tribes, Isaiah 28:1; or
"drink in bowls of wine"; which is much to the: same sense. The
Targum is,
"that
drink wine in silver phials;'
and anoint themselves with the, chief ointments; which Jarchi
says was balsam, and the best is that which grew about Jericho; this they did
not for moderate refreshment, but for pleasure, and to indulge themselves in
luxury:
but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph; or the
"breach" of himF26על שבר "super contritione", Pagninus, Montanus;
"propter confractienem Josephi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator;
"ob fractionem Josephi", Cocceius. ; that was made upon him by some
enemy or another: either what had been already made; Kimchi thinks it respects
the carrying captive of some before the reign of Jeroboam; or it may regard the
distress Pul king of Assyria gave to Israel, in the times of Menahem; or the
carrying captive the inhabitants of several places by Tiglathpileser, king of
Assyria, in the times of Pekah, 2 Kings 15:19; or
else, as Jarchi thinks, this refers to some breach and affliction to come,
which these men were unconcerned about; even what they heard from the mouth of
the prophets should come to them; that the kingdom of the house of Israel
should case, and be utterly took away, Hosea 1:4; which
was fulfilled by Shalmaneser, who carried Israel captive into the cities of the
Medes, 2 Kings 17:6; but
the prophecy of this did not trouble them, or make them sick at heart, as the
wordF1לא נחלו
"neque afficiuntur argritudine", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Cocceius. signifies, nor any present affliction that might attend them; they
did not weep with them that weep, were men of hard hearts, that had no sympathy
with their brethren and fellow creatures. It is thought that here is some
allusion to the attitude of Joseph's brethren to him, when in the pit, and sold
by them into Egypt; or to the chief butler's forgetfulness of him, when
advanced, and amidst his cups.
Amos 6:7 7 Therefore
they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline
at banquets shall be removed.
YLT
7Therefore now they remove
at the head of the captives, And turned aside is the mourning-feast of
stretched-out ones.
Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive,.... That is,
these men, who were the first and chief in the nation, who would not believe
the day of Israel's captivity would ever come; or, however, had very distant
apprehensions of it; but indulged and gratified their several senses of
tasting, hearing, smelling, in a carnal way, and had no sympathy with and
compassion upon their afflicted brethren; these should be the first the enemy
should lay hold upon, and carry captive; as we find the royal family, the
princes and nobles, the courtiers and chief tradesmen, were the first that were
carried captive of the Jews, in Jeconiah's captivity, 2 Kings 24:12;
and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed; that
stretched themselves upon couches, Amos 6:4; they
shall have no more banquets or feasting bouts to attend to, by stretching
themselves out, and lying upon couches at their ease; these shall be taken from
them; and be glad of bread and water in an enemy's country, without a couch to
recline upon. Some understand this of a funeral banquet, as in Jeremiah 16:5; and
so the sense is, that when they die, they shall not have that honour done to
their memory, as to have a funeral feast provided for those that attend their
burial, as was customary. Kimchi interprets it, "the mourning of such
shall draw nigh"F2סר "ad
veniet", Munster; "appropinquabit", Mercerus;
"veniet", Calvin. So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 84. 2. ; and
according to his father, Joseph Kimchi, the word in the Arabic language
signifies to lift up the voice, either in mourning or joy; and so may signify,
that as all feasts, and the joy that attends them, should be removed, which is
the sense of the Targum, instead of that, mourning should take place; or they
should be deprived of the common ceremony at death of mourning men and women.
Amos 6:8 8 The
Lord God
has sworn by Himself, The Lord God of hosts says: “I
abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the
city And all that is in it.”
YLT
8Sworn 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.
The Lord God hath sworn by himself,.... Because he could
swear by no greater, Hebrews 6:13; which
shows the importance and certainty of the thing sworn to, and is as follows:
saith the Lord, the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob; or, "the
pride of Jacob"F3את גאון "superbiam", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus;
"fastium", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius. ; of Israel,
of the ten tribes, remarkable for their pride; hence called the crown of pride,
Isaiah 28:3; it may
include all that was glorious, valuable, and excellent among them, of which
they were proud; their kingdom, riches, wealth, and strength, their fortified
cities and towns: if Judah is comprehended in this, it may regard the temple,
which was their excellency, and in which they gloried. So the Targum
paraphrases it,
"the
house of the sanctuary of the house of Jacob;'
and
in like manner Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret it;
and hate his palaces; the palaces of the king
and nobles, and great men, which should fall into the enemy's hand, and be
plundered and destroyed; which is meant by the Lord's abhorrence and hatred of
them, this being an evidence of it;
therefore will I deliver up the city, with all that is therein; or,
"with its fulness"F4ומלאה
"et plenitudinem ejus", Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius. ; with all its
inhabitants and riches; according to Jarchi, the city of Jerusalem is meant;
though rather the city of Samaria, unless both are intended, city for cities;
since the chief men both of Israel and Judah seem to be addressed, Amos 6:1.
Amos 6:9 9 Then
it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.
YLT
9And if there are left ten
persons in one house, It hath come to pass -- that they have died.
And it shall come to pass,.... When the city is
delivered up and taken:
if there remain; who are not carried captive, or destroyed
by the sword:
ten men in one house; that is, many, a certain
number for an uncertain:
that they shall die; either with famine, or
by the pestilence, though they have escaped the other calamities; so general
shall the destruction be, by one means or another.
Amos 6:10 10 And
when a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies,
picks up the bodies[a] 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, “Hold your
tongue! For we dare not mention the name of the Lord.”
YLT
10And 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.'
And a man's uncle shall take him up,.... That is, his
father's brother, as Kimchi; or his near kinsman, as the Targum; to whom the
right of inheritance belongs, and also the care of his funeral; he shall take
up the dead man himself, in order to inter him, there being none to employ in
such service; the mortality being so universal, either through the pestilence
raging everywhere, or through the earthquake, men being killed by the fall of
houses upon them; which Aben Ezra takes to be the case here; see Amos 6:11;
and he that burneth him; which may be read
disjunctively, "or he that burneth him"F5ומסרפו "aut vespillo", Tigurine version;
"aut ustor ejus", Junius & Tremellius. ; his mother's brother,
according to Judah ben Karis in Aben Ezra; for which there seems to be no
foundation. The Targum renders it in connection with the preceding clause,
"shall
take him up from burning;'
and
so Jarchi interprets of a man's being found, and taken up in a house, burnt by
the enemy at the taking of the city: but it is best to understand it of one
whose business it was to burn the dead; which, though not commonly used among
the Jews, sometimes was, 1 Samuel 31:12; and
so should be at this time, partly because of the infection, and to stop the
contagion; and chiefly because a single man could not well carry whole bodies
to the grave, to bury them; and therefore first burnt their flesh, and then
buried their bones, as follows:
to bring out the bones out of the house; in order to
bury them:
and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house; or "in
the corner of it"F6בירכתי "in
penitissimis domus", Cocceius. , as the Targum; either the uncle shall say
to the burner, that is searching the house for the dead; or the uncle and
burner, being one and the same person, shall say to the only surviving one of
the ten, that is got into some corner of the house through fear or melancholy,
under such a sad calamity,
is there yet any
with thee? any dead corpse to be brought out and burned and buried?
and he shall say, no; there are no more: or
"there is an end" of them allF7אפס
"finis est", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Calvin, Drusius. ;
the last has been brought out: or, as the Targum,
"they
are perished;'
they
are all dead, and carried out:
then shall he say, hold thy tongue; lest the neighbours
should hear, and be discouraged at the number of the dead in one house; or say
not one word against the providence of God, nor murmur and repine at his hand,
since it is just and righteous:
for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord; being forbid
by their superiors; or it is not right to do it by way of complaint, since our
sins have deserved such judgments to come upon us; or it will be to no purpose
to make mention of the name of the Lord, and pray unto him to turn away his
hand, since destruction is determined, the decree is gone forth. The Targum is,
"he
shall say, remove (that is, the dead), since while they lived they did not pray
in the name of the Lord.'
And
so the Syriac and Arabic versions make this to be the reason of the mortality,
"because they remembered not the name of the Lord"; or, "called
not upon" it.
Amos 6:11 11 For
behold, the Lord
gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house
into pieces.
YLT
11For lo, Jehovah is
commanding, And He hath smitten the great house [with] breaches, And the little
house [with] clefts.
For, behold, the Lord commandeth,.... Hath determined and
ordered the judgment before, and what follows: Kimchi paraphrases it, hath
decreed the earthquake, as in Amos 3:15; of which
he understands the following:
and he will smite the great house with breaches; or
"droppings"F8רסיסים
"guttis, seu stillis", Piscator; ψεκαδες, "quae
est minuta et rorans pluvia", Drusius. ; so that the rain shall drop
through:
and the little house with clefts; so that it shall fall to
ruin; that is, he shall smite the houses both of great and small, of the
princes, and of the common people, either with an earthquake, so that they shall
part asunder and fall; or, being left without inhabitants, shall of course
become desolate, there being none to repair their breaches. Some understand, by
the "great house", the ten tribes of Israel; and, by the "little
house", the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; to which sense the Targum
seems to incline,
"he
will smite the great kingdom with a mighty stroke, and the little kingdom with
a weak stroke.'
Amos 6:12 12 Do
horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have
turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
YLT
12Do 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.
Shall horses run upon the rocks? or will one plough there
with oxen?.... Will any man be so weak and foolish, to propose or attempt a
race for horses upon rocks, where they and their riders would be in danger of
breaking their necks? or would any man act so unwise a part, as to take a yoke
of oxen to plough with them upon a rock, where no impression can be made? as
vain and fruitless a thing it would be to attempt to bring such persons under a
conviction of their sins, and to repentance for them, and reformation from
them, who are given up to a judicial hardness of heart, like that of a rock, as
are the persons described in the next clause; or as such methods with horses
and oxen would be contrary to all the rules of reason and prudence, so as
contrary a part do such persons act whose characters are next given, and there
is no probability of bringing them to better sense and practice of things;
for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of
righteousness into hemlock; that which would be beneficial to a nation,
than which nothing is more so, as the exercise of justice, and judgment, into
that which is bitter and pernicious to it, as injustice and oppression; see Amos 5:7.
Amos 6:13 13 You
who rejoice over Lo Debar,[b] Who say,
“Have we not taken Karnaim[c] for
ourselves By our own strength?”
YLT
13O ye who are rejoicing at
nothing, Who are saying, `Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves
horns?'
Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought,.... In their
wealth and riches, which are things that are not, because of the uncertainty of
them; and, in comparison of true riches, have no solidity and substance in
them, Proverbs 23:5; or in
any of the things of this world, the lusts of it, the honours of it, human
wisdom or strength; all are things of nought, of no worth, give no
satisfaction, and are of no continuance, and not to be gloried in, Jeremiah 9:23; or
in their idols, for an idol is nothing in the world, 1 Corinthians 8:4;
and yet they rejoiced in them, Acts 7:41; or in
their own works of righteousness, as men of a pharisaical temper do, as these
people were; these indeed are something, when done in obedience to the will of
God, and according to that, and from right principles, and in the exercise of
faith and love, and with a view to the glory of God, and as they are evidences
of true grace, and profitable to men, and tend to glorify God, and serve the
interest of religion; but they are things of nought, and not to be rejoiced and
gloried in, in the business of justification before God, and in the affair of
salvation: the same may be said of a mere outward profession of religion
depended on, and all external rites and ceremonies, or submission to outward
ordinances, whether legal or evangelical. The phrase may be rendered, "in
that which is no word"F9ללא דבר "in non verbo", Montanus. ; is not the word
of God, nor according to it; indeed everything short of Christ and his
righteousness, and salvation by him, are things of nought, and not to be
rejoiced in, Philemon 3:3;
which say, have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? by which we
have pushed our enemies, got victory over them, and obtained power, dominion,
and authority; all which horns are an emblem of. So SanchoniathoF11Apud
Euseb. Evangel. Prepar. l. 2. p. 38. says, Astarte put upon her own head a
bull's head, as an ensign of royalty, or a mark of sovereignty; by which, as
Bishop CumberlandF12Sanchoniatho's History, p. 35. thinks, is
plainly meant the bull's horns, since it is certain that a horn, in the eastern
languages, is an emblem or expression noting royal power, as in 1 Samuel 2:10; and
in other places; see Daniel 7:24; thus
the kings of Egypt wore horns, as Diodorus relates; and perhaps for the same
reason the Egyptians adorned Isis with hornsF13Vid. Pignorii Mensa
Isiaca, p. 30. . And all this they ascribed not to God, but to themselves. The
Targum interprets "horns" by riches; but it rather signifies victoryF14"Vieimus,
et domitum pedibus calcamus amorem, Venerunt capiti cornua sera meo".
Ovid. Amor. l. 3. Eleg. 10. , and power and government, which they took to
themselves, and imputed to their own strength, valour, and courage: very
probably here is an allusion to their ensigns, banners, shields, or helmets, on
which horns might be figured or engraven, being the arms of Ephraim, the son of
Joseph, the chief of the ten tribes, who are here spoken of Ephraim is often
put for the ten tribes, or the kingdom of Israel; and Joseph, whose son he was,
"his glory was like the firstling of a bullock, and his horns"
are said to be like "the horns of unicorns: with them", it is
promised, "he shall push the people together, to the ends of the earth,
and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of
Manasseh", Deuteronomy 33:17;
and it may be, as the lion seems to be the ensign of the tribe of Judah, to
which he is by Jacob compared; so the ox or the unicorn might be the ensign of
the tribe of Ephraim: and so the ancient Jews, as Aben Ezra on Numbers 2:2;
observes, say, that the form of a man was on the standard of Reuben; and the
form of a lion on the standard of Judah; and the form of an ox on the standard
of Ephraim, &c. and othersF15Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 178.
3. of them say that the standard of Joseph was dyed very black, and was figured
for the two princes of Ephraim and Manasseh; upon the standard of Ephraim was
figured an ox, because "the firstling of a bullock"; and on the
standard of Manasseh was figured an unicorn, because "his horns are like
the horns of unicorns". Now the Israelites, or those of the ten tribes, at
the head of which Ephraim was, set up their banners, not in the name of the
Lord, but in their own strength; and attributed their conquests and dominions
to their own conduct and courage, the horns of their own strength, and not to
GodF16Vid. Lydium de Re Militari, l. 4. c. 4. p. 164. . And this
also is the language of such persons, who ascribe regeneration and conversion,
faith, repentance, the cleansing of a man's heart, and the reformation of his
life, yea, his whole salvation, to the power and strength of his free will, when
man has no strength at all to effect any of these things; these are all vain
boasts, and very disagreeable and offensive to the Lord; and for such like
things persons stand here reproved by him, and threatened with woes; for woe
must be here supplied from Amos 6:1.
Amos 6:14 14 “But,
behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” Says the Lord God of hosts; “And
they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the Valley of the Arabah.”
YLT
14Surely, 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.
But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of
Israel, saith the Lord, the God of hosts,.... The Assyrian nation,
under its king, Shalmaneser; who invaded Israel, came up to Samaria, and after
a three years' siege took it, and carried Israel captive into foreign lands, 2 Kings 17:5;
and they shall afflict you; by battles, sieges,
forages, plunders, and burning of cities and towns, and putting the inhabitants
to the sword:
from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of the wilderness; from Hamath
the less, said by JosephusF17Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2. and JeromF18Comment
in Isa. x. fol. 20. G. & in Zech. ix. fol. 116. L. De locis Heb. fol. 88.
E. & Quaest. in Gen. fol. 67. B. to be called Epiphania, in their times,
from Antiochus Epiphanes; it was at the entrance on the land of Israel, and at
the northern border of it; so that "the river of the wilderness",
whatever is meant by it, lay to the south; by which it appears that this
affliction and distress would be very general, from one end of it to the other.
Some, by this river, understand the river of Egypt, at the entrance of Egypt in
the wilderness of Ethan; Sihor or Nile; which, Jarchi says, lay southwest of
Israel, as Hamath lay northwest of it. And a late travellerF19Dr.
Shaw's Travels, p. 287, 288. Ed. 2. observes, that the south and southwest
border of the tribe of Judah, containing within it the whole or the greatest
part of what was called the "way of the spies", Numbers 21:1; and
afterwards Idumea, extended itself from the Elenitic gulf of the Red sea, along
by that of Hieropolis, quite to the Nile westward; the Nile consequently, in
this view and situation, either with regard to the barrenness of the
Philistines, or to the position of it with respect to the land of promise, or
to the river Euphrates, may, with propriety enough, be called "the river
of the wilderness", Amos 6:14; as this
district, which lies beyond the eastern or Asiatic banks of the Nile, from the
parallel of Memphis, even to Pelusium, (the land of Goshen only excepted,) is
all of it dry, barren, and inhospitable; or if the situation be more regarded,
it may be called, as it is rendered by the Septuagint, the western torrent or
river. Though someF20See the Universal History, vol. 2. p. 427, 428.
take this to be the river Bosor or Bezor, that parts the tribes, of Judah and
Simeon, and discharges itself into the Mediterranean between Gaza, or rather
Majuma, and Anthedon. Though Kimchi takes this river to be the sea of the
plain, the same with the Salt or Dead sea, Deuteronomy 3:17;
which may seem likely, since Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, under
whom Amos prophesied, had restored the coast of Israel, from the entering of
Hamath unto the sea of the plain, 2 Kings 14:25; with
which they were elevated, and of which they boasted; but now they should have
affliction and distress in the same places, and which should extend as far.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)