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 Lord God has sworn by himself
(says the Lord, the God of hosts):
I abhor the pride of Jacob
    and hate his strongholds,
    and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.(A)

If ten people remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And if a relative, one who burns it,[a] takes up the body to bring it out of the house and says to someone in the innermost parts of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” the answer will come, “No.” Then the relative[b] shall say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For the Lord commands,
    and he will shatter the great house to bits
    and the little house to pieces.(B)
12 Do horses run on rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea with oxen?[c]
But you have turned justice into poison
    and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,(C)
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[d]
    who say, “Have we not by our own strength
    taken Karnaim[e] for ourselves?”
14 Indeed, I am raising up against you a nation,
    O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of hosts,
and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
    to the Wadi Arabah.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 6.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 6.10 Heb he
  3. 6.12 Or Does one plow them with oxen
  4. 6.13 Or in a thing of nothingness
  5. 6.13 Or horns