The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(A)—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor(B) the pride of Jacob(C)
    and detest his fortresses;(D)
I will deliver up(E) the city
    and everything in it.(F)

If ten(G) people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[a](H) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(I) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For the Lord has given the command,
    and he will smash(J) the great house(K) into pieces
    and the small house into bits.(L)

12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea[b] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(M)
    and the fruit of righteousness(N) into bitterness(O)
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[c]
    and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[d] by our own strength?(P)

14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
    “I will stir up a nation(Q) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
    from Lebo Hamath(R) to the valley of the Arabah.(S)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
  2. Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
  3. Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
  4. Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, says:

“I despise the arrogance of Israel,[a]
    and I hate their fortresses.
I will give this city
    and everything in it to their enemies.”

(If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die. 10 And when a relative who is responsible to dispose of the dead[b] goes into the house to carry out the bodies, he will ask the last survivor, “Is anyone else with you?” When the person begins to swear, “No, by . . . ,” he will interrupt and say, “Stop! Don’t even mention the name of the Lord.”)

11 When the Lord gives the command,
    homes both great and small will be smashed to pieces.

12 Can horses gallop over boulders?
    Can oxen be used to plow them?
But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison
    and the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.
13 And you brag about your conquest of Lo-debar.[c]
    You boast, “Didn’t we take Karnaim[d] by our own strength?”

14 “O people of Israel, I am about to bring an enemy nation against you,”
    says the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
“They will oppress you throughout your land—
    from Lebo-hamath in the north
    to the Arabah Valley in the south.”

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Footnotes

  1. 6:8 Hebrew Jacob. See note on 3:13.
  2. 6:10 Or to burn the dead. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  3. 6:13a Lo-debar means “nothing.”
  4. 6:13b Karnaim means “horns,” a term that symbolizes strength.