4 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;
5 who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.
KJVKing James Version
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.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
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 thrum on the psaltery, that devise for themselves instruments of music, like David;
6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the hurt of Joseph.
7 Therefore now shall they go captive at the head of them that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.
Isaiah 5:12(v5)The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh, neither have they…
Amos 5:23(v5)Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
Amos 3:12(v4)Yahweh says: “As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be…
Amos 7:11(v7)For Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’ ”
Amos 8:3(v5)The songs of the temple will be wailing in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh. “The dead bodies will be many. In every place they will throw…
Show all 49 cross-references
Genesis 31:27(v5)Why did you flee secretly, and deceive me, and didn’t tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine…
Genesis 49:22(v6)“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. His branches run over the wall.
1 Kings 20:16-20(v7)They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.…
1 Chronicles 15:16(v5)David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers with instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and…
1 Chronicles 23:5(v5)four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”
Job 21:11-12(v5)They send out their little ones like a flock. Their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the…
Ecclesiastes 2:8(v5)I also gathered silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces. I got myself male and female singers, and the…
Daniel 5:4-6(v7)They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour, the fingers of a…
Amos 5:5(v7)but don’t seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and don’t pass to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come…
1 Peter 4:3(v5)For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies,…
Revelation 18:22(v5)The voice of harpists, minstrels, flute players, and trumpeters will be heard no more at all in you. No craftsman, of whatever craft, will…
Genesis 37:25-28(v6)They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their…
Genesis 42:21-22(v6)They said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and…
Deuteronomy 28:41(v7)You will father sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity.
1 Samuel 25:36-38(v4)Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was…
2 Kings 15:29(v6)In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead,…
2 Kings 17:3-6(v6)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. The king of Assyria found…
Esther 3:15(v6)The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down…
Esther 5:8(v7)If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and…
Esther 5:12-14(v7)Haman also said, “Yes, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow I am…
Esther 7:1-2(v7)So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. The king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, “What…
Esther 7:8-10(v7)Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was.…
Psalms 73:7(v4)Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit.
Isaiah 5:11-12(v4)Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!…
Isaiah 21:4(v7)My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me.
Isaiah 22:13(v4)and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we will…
Jeremiah 30:7(v6)Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he will be saved out of it.
Ezekiel 9:4(v6)Yahweh said to him, “Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that…
Ezekiel 34:2-3(v4)“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and tell them, even the shepherds, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Woe to the…
Hosea 3:1(v6)Yahweh said to me, “Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they…
Amos 2:8(v6)and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who…
Amos 5:27(v7)Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of Armies.
Amos 7:17(v7)Therefore Yahweh says: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your…
Nahum 1:10(v7)For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.
Matthew 26:7-9(v6)a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when his…
Luke 12:19-20(v4)I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him,…
Luke 16:19(v4)“Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
Luke 21:24(v7)They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles,…
John 12:3(v6)Therefore Mary took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed Jesus’s feet and wiped his feet with her hair. The house…
Romans 12:15(v6)Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
1 Corinthians 12:26(v6)When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. When one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
1 Timothy 5:23(v6)Be no longer a drinker of water only, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.
James 5:5(v4)You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
Romans 13:13-14(v4)Let’s walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv4–7Amos still pursues the reproof we have noticed at…
Amos still pursues the reproof we have noticed at the beginning of the chapter, — that the chief men, of whom he speaks, cast away from them all cares and anxieties, and indulged in pleasures, while the whole country was miserably distressed. We must ever bear in mind what I have already said, — that luxury is not simply reprehended by the Prophet, as some incorrectly think, without sufficiently considering what is said, for it is not what the Prophet treats of; but he upbraids the Israelites for setting up an iron neck against God’s judgments, yea, for shamelessly trifling with God, while he was endeavoring to lead them by degrees to repentance. The Prophet complains that nothing availed with them.
He then says, first, that they slept on ivory beds. To use ivory beds was not in itself bad, except that excess is ever to be condemned; for, when we give up ourselves to pomps and pleasures, we certainly are not then free from sin: indeed, every desire for present things, which exceeds moderation, is ever justly reprehensible. And when men greedily seek splendor and display, or become ambitious and proud, or are given to delicacies, they are guilty of vices ever condemned by God. But it might be, that one used an ivory bed, who was yet willing to lie on the ground: for we know that there was then a great abundance of ivory, and that it was commonly used in Asia. Italy formerly knew not what it was to use a bed of ivory, that is, before the victory of Lucius Scipio: but after the king Antiochus was conquered, then Italy freely used ivory beds and fineries; and thus luxury broke down their courage and effeminated them.
Read full note →
I will come now to our Prophet: it might have been that ivory was not then so valuable in Judea: they might then have used ivory beds without blame. But Amos ever regards the miseries of those times. The rich then ought to have given up all their luxuries, and to have betaken themselves to dust and ashes, when they saw that God was incensed with them, when they saw that the fire of his vengeance was kindled. We now then perceive why Amos was so indignant against those who slept on ivory beds.
He adds, And who extend themselves on their beds: for סרח, sarech, is properly to extend; it means also to become fetid; and further, it means to be superfluous; and therefore some render the words, “upon ivory beds and superfluities;” but this is strained, and agrees not with what follows, upon their couches. The Prophet then, I have no doubt, points out here the manners of those who so heedlessly indulged themselves: “Ye extend,” he says, “your legs and your arms on your couches, as idle men, accustomed to indulgences, are wont to do. But the Lord will awaken you in a new way; his scourges ought to have roused you, but ye remain asleep. Hence, since God could not terrify you by his rods, nothing more remains but to draw you forth against your will to be punished.” This was the reason why the Prophet said that they extended themselves on their couches.
Ye eat also the lambs from the flock, and the calves from the midst of the rich pasture, or of the stall. I prefer taking מרבק, merebek, for folds. Since then they loved fat meat, the Prophet reproves this luxury: he had indeed in view, as it has been already said, the then calamitous time; for if the rich had in their usual way feasted, and had even taken fat meat, they would not have deserved so severe a punishment: but when the Lord called them to mourning, and when the signals of his wrath spread horror all around, it was a stupidity not to be endured, for them to continue their indulgences, which they ought, on the contrary, to have renounced. Indeed, this passage agrees with that of Isaiah, to which I have already referred. It now follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv5–7As he caused divers kinds of instruments to be…
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.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv4–7Amo 6:4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and…
Amo 6:4 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;
Ver. 4. That lie upon beds of ivory] Which was a commodity far fetched (even out of India), and dearly bought; precious and sumptuous, Eze 27:15. The wealthier sort used to deck their houses with such kind of beds decked with ivory ( lectis eburatis, as Plautus phraseth it), as Est 1:6, with gold and silver; hence their houses are called houses of ivory, Amo 3:15 1Ki 22:39. See Plin. lib. 33. cap. 11; Horat. l. 2. Sat. 6. Here, then, is condemned their luxury, and abuse of God’s good gifts, with neglect of the public welfare, and contempt of judgments threatened.
Read full note →
And stretch themselves upon their couches] Pandiculantur in suis cubilibus, so Rabbi Solomon. Others render it, redundantibus ac diffluentibus. Woe to them that delight in overlong and large coverlets, curtains, &c., superfluously hanging down on all sides upon the very ground: so Kimchi. The Seventy and Vulgate render it, Woe to those that wantonize upon their couches, melting in sensual pleasures. Kατασπαταλωντες. Lascivientes. Deliciantes. Compare 1Ti 5:6 Jas 5:5. God grudgeth not his people an honest affluence, Psa 23:4, but granteth them all things richly to enjoy, 1Ti 6:17. Howbeit he requireth them to be sober and watch; not making provision for the flesh, to live after the lusts thereof, but walking decently as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, Rom 13:13-14.
And eat the lambs out of the flock] E grege, id est, egregios ac optimos, the very best and fattest morsels, pampering their paunches; swinish belly gods.
And the calves out of the midst of the stall] The French call them high-grass-veals, Veaux de haute graisse. Nothing would down with them but tid bits, λιπαρα και λαμπρα, dainty and goodly, Rev 18:9. Those abbey lubbers of the Romish synagogue are compared to fed horses, pampered in their cloisters (as war horses in their stalls or stables), and prepared unto battle, Rev 9:7. Lawful it is, I grant, at some times to eat of the fat and drink of the sweet, Neh 8:10, and to please the appetite, Deu 4:26, to gratify it with what it liketh and lusteth after. But yet it must still be remembered, that it is a sin to feed without fear; and a shame for a servant of God to be a slave to his palate. "Eat such things as are set before you," παρατιθεμενα, saith Christ to his disciples, be it never so homely or wholesome, Luk 10:8. And Gen 9:3, after, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you," it is added, "even as the green herb have I given you all things," that is, soberly and without curiosity, to take and make use of such meats as are at hand, as Dr Willet interprets it. And this Nature seems to teach man, in giving him so narrow a mouth, throat, and belly; whereas to swine she hath given a wide mouth, a very thick neck, a large belly, and but a very little brains; that they might the sooner grow fat, and take no other thought but for the belly, saith Bodine.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv4–7The woe is to be added to them that,…
The woe is to be added to them that, either out of laziness or luxury, and to please the flesh, lay themselves to rest
upon beds of ivory; on beautiful, rich beds, bought with the gain of bribes and oppression.
Read full note →
Stretch themselves upon their couches: this somewhat explains the former; they did extremely indulge their pride and luxury, and on beds or couches laid themselves to feast, when God called them to mourn and weep.
Eat, with excess, as Mat 24:37,38; Lu 12:19,20.
The lambs out of the flock; the very best in all their flock, and probably they chose them out first, before they set out lambs for sacrifices; or else these gluttonous judges and rulers eat the best lambs, not of their own, but out of poor oppressed men’s flocks.
The calves, those that were fattest too,
out of the midst of the stall; kept on purpose to make them most delicious and nourishing meat.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv4–7That lie upon beds of ivory,.... That were made…
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 says (r), the Agrigentines had beds entirely made of ivory; and Horace (s) also speaks of such beds: and if any credit can be given to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem on Gen 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 Buxtorf (t) conjectures that ivory is meant by the word used; and so Bochart (u) 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 mattresses (w), to lean upon, and take their ease; see Eze 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;
Read full note →
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.
(r) Apud Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 29. (s) "----Rubro ubi cocco Tincta super lectos cauderet vestis eburnos". Horat. Serm. l. 2. Satyr. 6. v. 102. (t) Lexic. Talmud. col. 2475. (u) Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 24. col. 252. (w) See Shaw's Travels, p. 209. Ed. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv4–7That lie - That out of laziness or luxury,…
That lie - That out of laziness or luxury, lay themselves to rest. And eat - The very best in all their flock.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv4–7Verse 4. That lie upon beds of ivory] The…
Verse 4. That lie upon beds of ivory] The word הוי hoi, wo, is understood at the beginning of each of the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth verses. The beds mentioned here may be either sofas to recline on at table, or beds to sleep on; and these among the ancients were ornamented with ivory inlaid. They were called lectos eburatos by Plautus, lectos eburnos by Horace, "ivory beds." Probably those ornamented with shells, or mother-of-pearl, may be intended. Several works of this kind may be still seen in Palestine and other places. I have before me a cross brought from Jerusalem, incrusted all over with mother-of-pearl, and various figures chased on it.
There must have been a great deal of luxury and effeminacy among the Israelites at this time; and, consequently, abundance of riches. This was in the time of Jeroboam the second, when the kingdom had enjoyed a long peace. The description in the fourth, fifth, and sixth verses, is that of an Asiatic court even in the present day.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v7Amo 6:7-8. Therefore now shall they go captive with…
Amo 6:7-8. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first, &c. — As they were reckoned the first among the people, and claimed the preference in every thing, so now shall they be the first that shall be carried into captivity. And the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed — They who indulged themselves in ease and luxury shall have no more costly banquets spread before them: all their luxurious living shall be at an end. The Lord hath sworn by himself — And will not violate his oath; I abhor the excellency of Jacob — Whatever the kingdoms of Israel and Judah value themselves for is hateful to me, as having been abused by them, and made instrumental in dishonouring me. Or, the words should rather be rendered, I abhor the pride of Jacob. Inhumanity and hardness of heart, as well as many other vices, are generally the companions of pride; and therefore God always expresses, in the Scriptures, the utmost abhorrence of that sin. Therefore I will deliver up the city — Namely, the city of Samaria first, and then that of Jerusalem.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv4–7That lie upon beds (that is, sofas) of ivory…
That lie upon beds (that is, sofas) of ivory - that is, probably inlaid with ivory. The word might, in itself, express either the bed, in which they slept by night, or the divan, on which the Easterns lay at their meals; “and stretch themselves,” literally, “are poured” out , stretching their listless length, dissolved, unnerved, in luxury and sloth, “upon their couches,” perhaps under an awning: “and eat the lambs,” probably “fatted lambs (as in Deu 32:14; Psa 37:20; 1Sa 15:9; Jer 51:40), out of the flock,” chosen, selected out of it as the best, and “calves out of the midst of the stall;” that is, the place where they were tied up (as the word means) to be fatted. They were stall-fed, as we say, and these people had the best chosen for them.
: “He shews how they ‘draw nigh the seat of violence.’ They lay on beds or couches of ivory, and expended thereon the money wherewith their poor brethren were to be fed. Go now, I say not into the houses of nobles, but into any house of any rich man, see the gilded and worked couches, curtains woven of silk and gold, and walls covered with gold, while the poor of Christ are naked, shivering, shriveled with hunger. Yet stranger is it, that while this is everywhere, scarce anywhere is there who now blames it. Now I say, for there were formerly. ‘Ye array,’ Ambrose says , ‘walls with gold, men ye bare. The naked cries before your door and you neglect him; and are careful with what marbles you clothe your pavement. The poor seeketh money, and hath it not; man asketh for bread, and thy horse champeth gold. Thou delightest in costly ornaments, while others have not meal. What judgment thou heapest on thyself, thou man of wealth! Miserable, who hast power to keep so many souls from death, and hast not the will! The jewel of thy ring could maintain in life a whole population.’ If such things are not to be blamed now, then neither were they formerly.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv4–7Ivory, with which the beds for eating were adorned,…
Ivory, with which the beds for eating were adorned, ver. 7. (Calmet) --- Wanton. Hebrew, "stretch themselves out upon their," &c. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv4–7(See Amo 2:8).
(See Amo 2:8).
beds of ivory--that is, adorned, or inlaid, with ivory (Amo 3:15).
Read full note →
stretch themselves--in luxurious self-indulgence.
lambs out of the flock--picked out as the choicest, for their owners selfish gratification.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv4–74. That lie upon divans (Amo_3:12) of ivory] i.e.…
4. That lie upon divans (Amo_3:12) of ivory] i.e. divans, the frames of which were inlaid with ivory: cf. the “ivory couches,” and “great ivory seats,” which Sennacherib boasts that he received from Hezekiah (K.A.T[174][175] p. 293 bottom, referred to by Mitchell).
[174] .A.T. … Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T., ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.
Read full note →
[175] … Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T., ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.
and are stretched out upon their couches] The older custom in Israel was to sit while eating (Gen_27:19; Jdg_19:6; 1Sa_20:5; 1Sa_20:24; 1Ki_13:20), whether upon a rug or carpet spread out on the floor, or (2Ki_4:10) on a seat: the custom of reclining at table is first mentioned here; it was not impossibly a foreign fashion introduced from Syria, and is in any case viewed by the shepherd-prophet as a signal mark of effeminacy and luxury. Of course, in later times—probably through Greek or Aramaic influence—it became general (Sir_41:19; Mat_9:10; Mat_26:7, &c.).
lambs] Heb. kârîm, not the usual word for lambs, and denoting apparently such as, from their age or kind, were a special delicacy (cf. Deu_32:14; 1Sa_15:9).
and calves out of the midst of the stall] Brought directly from the place where they were tied up (such, as Arabic shews, is the meaning of the word) to be fatted. Cf. Luk_15:23.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv4–7(4) Of ivory—i.e., inlaid with that material.
(4) Of ivory—i.e., inlaid with that material.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv4–7That lie upon beds of ivory; couches inlaid with…
That lie upon beds of ivory; couches inlaid with ivory (see note on Amo_3:15) at meals. The prophet substantiates his denunciation by describing their selfish luxury and debauchery. Stretch themselves literally, are poured out; Septuagint, kataspatalwntev, wantoning. " Out of the midst of the stall. Calves put up to be fattened. They do this presumably net on festivals, when it would have been proper and excusable, but every day.
Vers. 4-7.
Read full note →
The sin of dissolute life.
A herdsman and gatherer of wild figs like Amos, brought into contact with the nobility and the courtiers of a wealthy and luxurious city like Samaria, was likely enough to be shocked and scandalized. The judgments he formed were naturally severe, but they were not unjust or passionate. His language remains a merited and everlasting rebuke to those in high station who live for their own gratification and indulgence.
I A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE IS A SHAMEFUL MISUSE OF PRECIOUS OPPORTUNITIES. It is sometimes judged that those who are "born in the purple," those who inherit great estates, great wealth, are to be excused if they form in youth, and retain in manhood, habits of expensive self-indulgence. But as all men are, above all, the children of God, endowed with a spiritual nature and entrusted with sacred opportunities, it is not to be for a moment admitted that the advantages of high station absolve them from the obligations involved in human nature and human life. A man has no right to pamper the body and exalt it to a lordship over the spirit; he has no right to gratify his tastes as though self-gratification were the great end of existence.
II A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE IS MORALLY DEBASING AND DEGRADING. No one can live below the appointed level of humanity without paying the inevitable penalty, without incurring the inevitable deterioration. The light burns dim; the fine gold turns to clay. The couch of indolence, the feast of gluttony, the voluptuous music, the brimming bowls of wine, the costly unguents, these are dangerous indulgences. Men may give them fine names, and call them the bounties of Divine providence. And it is quite true that the evil is not in the instruments of self-indulgence, but in the bad uses to which they are put. But none can live merely for bodily, for aesthetic, for social, enjoyment, without injuring his own character, without losing self-respect and the esteem of those whose esteem is worth having.
III A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE ON THE PART OF THE GREAT IS A BAD EXAMPLE TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. Bad habits penetrate from the so called upper to the so called lower class. When the nobility and gentry are self-indulgent, the tradespeople who grow wealthy are likely to follow their example, and the poor are likely enough to grow envious and discontented. The Samaritan chiefs were reproached for misleading the people, and justly. The ignorant and the thoughtless are naturally influenced by an example of selfishness, and none can altogether escape receiving some measure of harm.
IV A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE RENDERS THE GREAT INSENSIBLE TO THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE POOR AND OPPRESSED. The language of the prophet is very touching: the self indulgent "are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." Wrapped up in their own enjoyments, comforts, and luxuries, the great fail to sympathize with those whom we call "the masses." A self-denying and benevolent and public-spirited course of conduct would have precisely an opposite effect. There is no reason m the nature of things why nobles should not feel with and for the poor and unfortunate; as a matter of fact, they often do so. But those whose absorbing thought is of self have neither heart nor time to give to their less-favoured neighbours.
V A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE OFTEN INVOLVES A SPEEDY AND FEARFUL RETRIBUTION. The table of the epicure is overthrown. The sybarite is dragged from his palace, and sent away into exile. Those who have been worthless members of their own state become banished mourners in a strange land. And the song of pleasure is exchanged for the wail of woe. T.
Vers. 4-7.
Carnal indulgence.
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," etc. Here is a sketch of the way in which these leading men of the chief nations luxuriated in carnal pleasures and sensual indulgences. Observe two things.
I THE MORAL TORPOR OF CARNAL INDULGENCE. Observe two things.
1. These people wrought entirely for the senses. See how they slept! They provided themselves with "beds of ivory." They did not require rest for their weary limbs, otherwise beds of straw would have done. They wanted to be grand, they loved glitter, hence "beds of ivory." Here is the lust of the eye. See how they ate! "And stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall." They abounded in superfluities; they partook of the choicest dainties of nature, and that in a recumbent position. Here is the lust of the palate. See how they sang! "That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David." Musical sounds gratified their auricular sensibilities, and they chanted to the "viol." Here is the lust of the ear. See how they drank! They "drink wine in bowls." Small vessels would not do; they must take long, deep draughts of the pleasing beverage. Here again is the lust of the palate. See how they anointed themselves! With the chief ointments." They regaled their olfactory nerves with the choicest perfumes of nature. Here is the lust of the smell. See how indifferent they were to the suffering of the true Church of God! "They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." What a description this of a people that lived and wrought entirely for the senses! They were practical materialists. They had no spiritual vision, sensibilities, or experience. Their imperishable souls were submerged in the deep flowing sea of mere animal pleasures. Are there no such men now? For what do our prosperous tradesmen and the upper ten thousand live? For the most part, we fear, for the senses. Grand furniture of ivory;" choicest viands out of the flock, and calves out of the midst of the stall;" ravishing music to the sound of the viol;" delectable beverages the choicestwines in "bowls;" the most delicious aromas chief ointments." Has carnal indulgence been more rife in any land or age than this? Matter everywhere governs spirit; the body everywhere is the despot, men are "carnal, sold under sin.
2. These people wrought without conscience. In all this there is no effort of conscience recorded, no word uttered. There is, indeed, a reference to intellectual effort, for it is said "they invented to themselves instruments of music." Carnal indulgence has ever been and is now as much, if not more than ever, the great employer of man"s inventive faculties. Luxury in England today is the great employer of human ingenuity. But there is no conscience here. When conscience is touched in such a state of things, and startled by the sense of its guilt, it exclaims, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this sin and death?
II THE RETRIBUTIVE RESULT OF CARNAL INDULGENCE. The threat in the text is:
1. The loss of liberty. "Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive." Those who had taken the lead in revelry and all manner of wickedness were to be the first in the procession of captives. In such a position their disgrace would be more conspicuous. Luxury always leads to slavery: it is the eternal law of justice, that those who live to the flesh shall lose their freedom and be exiled into the region of tyranny. "Lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, bringeth forth death". (Jam_1:15)
2. The loss of provisions. "And the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed." They shall have scarcity, perhaps starvation, instead of the profusion of dainties with which their tables have been spread. All this carnal indulgence and voluptuousness, this luxury in ease, and diet, and music, and aroma will not go on forever. They are abnormal conditions of human nature; retribution will one day put an end to them.
O luxury, Bane of elated life, of affluent states, What ruin is not thine? Behind thee gapes Th" unfathomable gulf where Ashur lies O"erwhelmed, forgotten; and high boasting Cham: And Elam"s haughty pomp; and beauteous Greece; And the great queen of earth, imperial Rome. (Dyer.)
D.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v6They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Amo_6:6
They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Read full note →
Personal sympathy the only right basis for Christian effort
The term Joseph is here employed for the whole of the people of the kingdom of Israel. The term Ephraim is usually employed by way of reproach when the sin and rebellion of the whole people are referred to, while the more illustrious name of Joseph is apparently reserved for occasions that call for pity and compassion. The idea here appears to have been suggested by the heartless conduct of Josephs brethren when they made away with their brother, without pity for his youth or respect for his piety. So the prophet, describing the rich men and rulers of his time, says, They drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. In this chapter we have a terrible picture of a corrupt, degenerate commonwealth. The prophet, with a noble plea for patriotism, turning from the miseries of the lower to the heartless luxuries of the higher ranks, sees nothing in the future but national ruin. The principle he establishes is this,--The life of a nation depends on the healthy exercise of sympathy throughout all its parts, all its ranks and classes. How shall we apply this principle, and the warning that accompanies it, to ourselves? I am not one of those who would willingly indulge in reflections upon the character of the age in which we live. I do not see the wisdom of making a disadvantageous comparison between these and past times, as if our forefathers were in all respects wiser and better than we. But I am not bound to shut my eyes to the signs of the times, nor cease to reprove the evils of the times. Is not a want of union and sympathy throughout all ranks of the nation as characteristic of our age as of the age of Amos? Our divisions, political and religious, when taken in connection with our great prosperity and liberty, are the surprise and the ridicule of the whole world. Of all power in the world there is no force equal to the moral force of sympathy. This is the power that takes strongest hold, and enables us to wield empire over the hearts of men. Personal influence and kindness--thus we may form an estimate of tim comparative failure of so many of our benevolent institutions. Tried by these Divine rules of conduct, how does the benevolence of many who have earned a reputation for charity, pale before that which may never be able to go beyond kindly words and secret intercessory prayer. Charity ceases to be charity if it is unaccompanied by tenderness and courtesy. By sympathy is meant an entrance into the circumstances, a true realisation of the position of those whom we seek to benefit. Jesus came down at first from heaven, and still administers His way of salvation by the exercise of sympathy. The same mind that was in Christ Jesus must and will animate every true disciple. He will be impelled to seek out sinners, and lead them to their Saviour by kindly advice and loving persuasion; not by cold reproofs and pharisaic condemnation, but by brotherly sympathy, because he is like that Saviour who came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (Joseph Maskell.)
The ruin wrought by a selfish spirit
We belong to the greatest empire that this world has ever seen, and not only is this the vastest empire, but it is also the most opulent. Ours is an empire teeming with wealth, genius, and splendid possibilities, With this vast empire, with this rich and manifold civilisation, what is our particular peril? Let me say it in a word--selfishness. If historians are to be believed, selfish indulgence ruined the ancient empires; if some of the most capable and dispassionate critics living are correct, selfish indulgence is ruining France. Selfishness in various subtle forms is a far greater menace to this empire than any foe that threatens the silver streak. Selfishness is the worm to spoil your roses, whether they belong to York or Lancaster. Selfishness is the canker upon your gold; selfishness is the moth to fret your purple, and selfishness is the creeping paralysis that may eat out the strength of this empire and spoil its splendour and its fame. Wherein lies our safety? In spiritual magnanimity! If you want to take care of your empire, take care of your missions. It is a strange thing to say, but the guarantee for your splendour is your sacrifice. You are going to keep your wealth just as you give it away in noble causes. The tonic for your luxury is the generosity that does and dares for the perishing; and if you want to keep your place with the topmost nations you will keep your place at the top by taking a tremendous stoop to those who are at the base--the lost. When you bring your learning, or wealth, or political mastery, and when you associate them with pity, humanity, and magnanimity, you have got a supreme safeguard upon all your greatness and glory. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Endosed within self
There is a little pool in a mountain chasm, so completely enclosed within its high and rocky walls that no sound reaches it from the great outer world. Yet the slightest noise started within its environ ment--the cry of the heron, the splash of the muskrat, or the roll of the pebbles under the feet of the deer--reverberates over the water and is echoed from the cliff. Some minds are so enclosed within their own selfishness as to be silent to the great things which stir the world--the calls of human need, the summons of God to public duty, and all the onrolling cause of human progress in many lands. They live only among their own thoughts, desires, and prejudices. To them their little concerns are great. (L. A. Banks, D. D.)
Christian solicitude
When William Burns was asked the nature of his thoughts on finding himself among the Chinese, he turned to his interrogator and answered, The lost, and a Christ for them. When Henry Venn preached, such was his flaming fervour that men went down before him like slaked lime. It was the same yearning which drove John Brown to nightly and prevailing intercession for dead Haddington, and wicked, withered East Lothian; the same which wrung from Rowland Hill the cry, Oh that I were all heart and soul and spirit, to tell the glorious Gospel to perishing multitudes! Would that I burned out for Jesus with the same intense and ardent glow! (A. Smdlie.)
Careless indifference of Christians
I know a beautiful valley in Wales, guarded by well-wooded hills. Spring came there first, and summer lingered longest, and the clear river loitered through the rich pastures and the laughing orchards, as if loth to leave the enchanting scene. But the manufacturer came there; he built his chimneys and he lighted his furnaces, out of which belched forth poisonous fumes night and day. Every tree is dead, no flower blooms there now, the very grass has been eaten off the face of the earth; the beautiful river, in which the pebbles once lay as the pure thoughts in a maidens mind, is now foul, and the valley, scarred and bare, looks like the entrance into Tophet itself. And this human nature of ours, in which faith, and virtue, and godliness, and all sweet humanities might flourish, in miles of this London of ours, is what bad air, and the gin palace, and the careless indifference of a Christianity bent only upon saving itself, have made it. (Morlais Jones.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn vv4, 7Amo_6:4.] Luxury added to oppression. Stretch] Lit. pour themselves…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Amo_6:4.] Luxury added to oppression. Stretch] Lit. pour themselves out, “dissolved, unnerved, in luxury and sloth.” Beds] inlaid with ivory. Lambs] Choice and delicious in the East.
Read full note →
Amo_6:5.] like David they employ themselves with music, but for a different aim.
Amo_6:6.] Not satisfied with small cups, they took the bowls used for sprinkling of blood, to indulge in excess, and used the most costly oils, not for health and cleanliness, but wanton luxury. Grieved] not for calamities suffered in the past, or threatened in future.
A RECKLESS COMMUNITY.—Amo_6:4-6
Israel not only put away the day of Divine retribution, but multiplied the causes which produced it. Violence within will bring violence from without the land. When we put away God we invite destruction. Luxury, revelry, and debauchery describe a reckless community and reign in the present day. The special sins condemned are depicted in a peculiar manner.
I. Self-indulgence. Men betray their feelings and abuse their gifts, show they live like epicures, and pamper themselves like beasts. This selfish indulgence is seen—
1. In luxurious ease. “That lie upon beds of ivory.” Beds most expensive and scarce, splendid and far-fetched. They unnerved and relaxed themselves upon couches. They humoured themselves in idleness and wealth; indulged in personal gratification, abounded in superfluities, and robbed the poor of necessities.
2. In effeminate diet. The choicest lambs and calves fed out of the stall only satisfied their appetite. Some live to eat, and do not eat to live; feed without gratitude, and indulge in lust without restraint. “Whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame.”
II. Profane revelry. “That chant to the sound of the viol” They tried to lead a merry life and a happy one. They displayed ingenuity by inventing instruments to drive away dull care. As David improved and introduced musical instruments into the service of God, so these men devised and fitted them for luxury and sensuality. But artificial music creates no Divine harmony. It weakens the nature and ministers to the folly of men. When men sing instead of weeping, when mirth is unseasonable, unbridled, and licentious, it is void of everything that dignifies the mind and elevates the soul to God. “Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.”
“There’s not a string attuned to mirth
But has its chord in melancholy.”
III. Shameful debauchery. Luxury and selfishness lead to excess; sensuality and mirth, to irreverence. This is seen—
1. In profane conduct. They were not satisfied with ordinary vessels, but robbed the altars to “drink wine in bowls.” In former times princes of Israel manifested zeal in consecrating silver bowls to God, now they drink in honour of idolatry. They profaned the vessels of the sanctuary, and devoted to selfish what should have been for sacred uses.
2. In riotous excess. They drank out of large, not small cups. This they did habitually without measure or stint. They spent their wealth in pleasure and dissipation; employed their ingenuity to discover new methods of self-gratification, and drank wine to silence conscience, banish reflection, and harden the heart.
IV. Sinful apathy. They had no concern whatever for the nation sinking into decay and suffering under the judgment of God.
1. Their joy is unbridled. Their extravagance is seen in “the chief ointments with which they anoint themselves,” not for health and comfort, but wanton luxury. The custom of anointing was suspended in time of mourning (2Sa_14:2), but these neither grieve for themselves nor for the ruin of their country.
2. Their indifference is stolid. Bent on personal gratification of the most debasing kind, they were devoid of all patriotism and concern for the injury to the kingdom. “They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” They indulged in the heartless conduct of the sons of Jacob towards their brother, eating bread when Joseph was in the pit (Gen_37:24). Wrath had broken “out like a fire in the house of Joseph” (ch. Amo_5:6), but they were deaf to the warnings of God and the remonstrance of the poor. They spent their time in beds of indolence and ease; pampered their bodies with delicious viands; and delighted their souls in strains of music, excess of wine, and costly perfumes. Sensuality results in unnatural feeling for kindred and country; shuts out the sufferings of others, and leads to greater indulgence. “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Amo_6:5. The use and abuse of music.
1. Its use, when devoted to the worship of God and the welfare of men. Vocal and instrumental music may be of immense service in the culture of the heart and the training of the young. Our nature is adapted to harmony, and God has bestowed means for improvement.
“There is in souls a sympathy with sounds,
And as the mind is pitched the ear is pleased.”
2. Its abuse when employed in the service of Satan and ministering to licentiousness and lust. How often found in midnight revels and scenes of intemperance! “Debased music is a mark of a nation’s decay and promotes it,” says one. The constitution of nations may be affected by changing national music. “Give me the making of the nation’s ballads,” said Lord Chatham, “and I care not who makes the laws.” David consecrated lyre and harp to the service of God, now men gain reputation by comic songs and immodest dancing. “Bid lute and harp to awake to the glory of God.”
Like David. Men abuse gifts of God by the examples of saints. They stumble in their infirmities, and copy their actions in a wrong spirit. David a great lover of music, and employed it in the praise of God. Imitators use it for carnal pleasure.
Amo_6:6. True patriotism, grieving for Joseph.
1. A country is often deeply afflicted by inward calamities and outward dangers.
2. A lover of his country will grieve for its affliction. David and Jeremiah noble examples.
3. Selfish indulgence deprives men of sympathy with others, renders them ungrateful and unpatriotic. “How many dwell in ceiled houses, and sing to the sound of the harp, and feast on the richest dainties, and care nothing for the sorrows of Christ, and his Church, nay, rather rejoice in them!” (Rev_11:10) [Wordsworth].
“Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!” [Scott.]
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3
Amo_6:4-6. Pleasure. Would you judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasures, take this rule:—Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself [Southey].
“In this fool’s paradise he drank delight.” [G. Crabbe.]
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v7The Destruction of the Kingdom Foretold
The Destruction of the Kingdom Foretold
v. 7. Therefore now shall they, those who indulged themselves in this manner while their country was getting ready for dissolution, go captive with the first that go captive, this being said in bitter irony concerning the position of the rulers in the procession of captives, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves, reclining in careless ease, shall be removed, so that they could no more indulge in feasts and drinking-bouts.
Read full note →
v. 8. The Lord God hath sworn by Himself, saith the Lord God of hosts, a most solemn oath, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, the pride which they exhibited regarding their prosperity and power, and hate his palaces, as one evidence of such pride; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein, both houses and men being delivered into the hands of the enemy to be destroyed.
v. 9. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die, that is, no matter how large the number, not one would escape.
v. 10. And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, literally, "his cousin and his burier," that is, a near relative who had the duty of providing for his burial, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, a last survivor hiding in the innermost recesses of the house, Is there yet any with thee? And he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue, quickly cautioning him not to say any more; for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord, he should not utter Jehovah’s name, lest, by doing so, he call the Lord’s attention and bring down judgment upon himself.
v. 11. For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and He will smite the great house with breaches, so that it would become a total ruin, and the little house with clefts, so that it would be reduced to splinters. Such would be the punishment which would strike the people, which they would not be able to avert by any reliance upon their own might.
v. 12. Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? As little as either feat is possible, so little is it possible that one, by perverting right and justice into the opposite, can bring deliverance to himself and his country. For ye have turned judgment into gall, justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock, the tree which ought to prosper in their midst into wormwood;
v. 13. ye which rejoice in a thing of naught, depending upon something which does not exist, except in their own imagination, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? trusting in the strength of their armies by which they hoped to overcome all enemies.
v. 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, by overthrowing and oppressing them, from the entering in of Hemath, the northernmost boundary, where the invading army of the Assyrians would enter, unto the river of the wilderness, literally, "the brook of the desert," here most likely that which formed the boundary between Moab and Edom, on the southeastern corner of the Dead Sea. Warfare is one means in the hands of the Lord by which He punishes the pride of nations.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv5, 7they improvise on instruments
they improvise on instruments
Possible meanings: 1) they invent new songs and ways of playing the instruments or 2) they invent new instruments.
Read full note →
drink wine from bowls
This implies that they drink a lot of wine because they drink it from a large bowl rather than a regular wine cup. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph
Here "Joseph" represents his descendants. AT: "they do not grieve about the descendants of Joseph whom enemies will soon destroy" (See: Metonymy)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv4–66:4 Meat was typically used to honor distinguished guests.…
6:4 Meat was typically used to honor distinguished guests. The common food was bread, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. The everyday use of meat shows the opulence of the wealthy classes.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Amos still pursues the reproof we have noticed at…
Amos still pursues the reproof we have noticed at the beginning of the chapter, — that the chief men, of whom he speaks, cast away from them all cares and anxieties, and indulged in pleasures, while the whole country was miserably distressed. We must ever bear in mind what I have already said, — that luxury is not simply reprehended by the Prophet, as some incorrectly think, without sufficiently considering what is said, for it is not what the Prophet treats of; but he upbraids the Israelites for setting up an iron neck against God’s judgments, yea, for shamelessly trifling with God, while he was endeavoring to lead them by degrees to repentance. The Prophet complains that nothing availed with them.
He then says, first, that they slept on ivory beds. To use ivory beds was not in itself bad, except that excess is ever to be condemned; for, when we give up ourselves to pomps and pleasures, we certainly are not then free from sin: indeed, every desire for present things, which exceeds moderation, is ever justly reprehensible. And when men greedily seek splendor and display, or become ambitious and proud, or are given to delicacies, they are guilty of vices ever condemned by God. But it might be, that one used an ivory bed, who was yet willing to lie on the ground: for we know that there was then a great abundance of ivory, and that it was commonly used in Asia. Italy formerly knew not what it was to use a bed of ivory, that is, before the victory of Lucius Scipio: but after the king Antiochus was conquered, then Italy freely used ivory beds and fineries; and thus luxury broke down their courage and effeminated them.
Read full note →
I will come now to our Prophet: it might have been that ivory was not then so valuable in Judea: they might then have used ivory beds without blame. But Amos ever regards the miseries of those times. The rich then ought to have given up all their luxuries, and to have betaken themselves to dust and ashes, when they saw that God was incensed with them, when they saw that the fire of his vengeance was kindled. We now then perceive why Amos was so indignant against those who slept on ivory beds.
He adds, And who extend themselves on their beds: for סרח, sarech, is properly to extend; it means also to become fetid; and further, it means to be superfluous; and therefore some render the words, “upon ivory beds and superfluities;” but this is strained, and agrees not with what follows, upon their couches. The Prophet then, I have no doubt, points out here the manners of those who so heedlessly indulged themselves: “Ye extend,” he says, “your legs and your arms on your couches, as idle men, accustomed to indulgences, are wont to do. But the Lord will awaken you in a new way; his scourges ought to have roused you, but ye remain asleep. Hence, since God could not terrify you by his rods, nothing more remains but to draw you forth against your will to be punished.” This was the reason why the Prophet said that they extended themselves on their couches.
Ye eat also the lambs from the flock, and the calves from the midst of the rich pasture, or of the stall. I prefer taking מרבק, merebek, for folds. Since then they loved fat meat, the Prophet reproves this luxury: he had indeed in view, as it has been already said, the then calamitous time; for if the rich had in their usual way feasted, and had even taken fat meat, they would not have deserved so severe a punishment: but when the Lord called them to mourning, and when the signals of his wrath spread horror all around, it was a stupidity not to be endured, for them to continue their indulgences, which they ought, on the contrary, to have renounced. Indeed, this passage agrees with that of Isaiah, to which I have already referred. It now follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5–7 As he caused divers kinds of instruments to be…
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.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Amo 6:4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and…
Amo 6:4 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;
Ver. 4. That lie upon beds of ivory] Which was a commodity far fetched (even out of India), and dearly bought; precious and sumptuous, Eze 27:15. The wealthier sort used to deck their houses with such kind of beds decked with ivory ( lectis eburatis, as Plautus phraseth it), as Est 1:6, with gold and silver; hence their houses are called houses of ivory, Amo 3:15 1Ki 22:39. See Plin. lib. 33. cap. 11; Horat. l. 2. Sat. 6. Here, then, is condemned their luxury, and abuse of God’s good gifts, with neglect of the public welfare, and contempt of judgments threatened.
Read full note →
And stretch themselves upon their couches] Pandiculantur in suis cubilibus, so Rabbi Solomon. Others render it, redundantibus ac diffluentibus. Woe to them that delight in overlong and large coverlets, curtains, &c., superfluously hanging down on all sides upon the very ground: so Kimchi. The Seventy and Vulgate render it, Woe to those that wantonize upon their couches, melting in sensual pleasures. Kατασπαταλωντες. Lascivientes. Deliciantes. Compare 1Ti 5:6 Jas 5:5. God grudgeth not his people an honest affluence, Psa 23:4, but granteth them all things richly to enjoy, 1Ti 6:17. Howbeit he requireth them to be sober and watch; not making provision for the flesh, to live after the lusts thereof, but walking decently as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, Rom 13:13-14.
And eat the lambs out of the flock] E grege, id est, egregios ac optimos, the very best and fattest morsels, pampering their paunches; swinish belly gods.
And the calves out of the midst of the stall] The French call them high-grass-veals, Veaux de haute graisse. Nothing would down with them but tid bits, λιπαρα και λαμπρα, dainty and goodly, Rev 18:9. Those abbey lubbers of the Romish synagogue are compared to fed horses, pampered in their cloisters (as war horses in their stalls or stables), and prepared unto battle, Rev 9:7. Lawful it is, I grant, at some times to eat of the fat and drink of the sweet, Neh 8:10, and to please the appetite, Deu 4:26, to gratify it with what it liketh and lusteth after. But yet it must still be remembered, that it is a sin to feed without fear; and a shame for a servant of God to be a slave to his palate. "Eat such things as are set before you," παρατιθεμενα, saith Christ to his disciples, be it never so homely or wholesome, Luk 10:8. And Gen 9:3, after, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you," it is added, "even as the green herb have I given you all things," that is, soberly and without curiosity, to take and make use of such meats as are at hand, as Dr Willet interprets it. And this Nature seems to teach man, in giving him so narrow a mouth, throat, and belly; whereas to swine she hath given a wide mouth, a very thick neck, a large belly, and but a very little brains; that they might the sooner grow fat, and take no other thought but for the belly, saith Bodine.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–7 The woe is to be added to them that,…
The woe is to be added to them that, either out of laziness or luxury, and to please the flesh, lay themselves to rest
upon beds of ivory; on beautiful, rich beds, bought with the gain of bribes and oppression.
Read full note →
Stretch themselves upon their couches: this somewhat explains the former; they did extremely indulge their pride and luxury, and on beds or couches laid themselves to feast, when God called them to mourn and weep.
Eat, with excess, as Mat 24:37,38; Lu 12:19,20.
The lambs out of the flock; the very best in all their flock, and probably they chose them out first, before they set out lambs for sacrifices; or else these gluttonous judges and rulers eat the best lambs, not of their own, but out of poor oppressed men’s flocks.
The calves, those that were fattest too,
out of the midst of the stall; kept on purpose to make them most delicious and nourishing meat.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–7 That lie upon beds of ivory,.... That were made…
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 says (r), the Agrigentines had beds entirely made of ivory; and Horace (s) also speaks of such beds: and if any credit can be given to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem on Gen 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 Buxtorf (t) conjectures that ivory is meant by the word used; and so Bochart (u) 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 mattresses (w), to lean upon, and take their ease; see Eze 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;
Read full note →
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.
(r) Apud Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 29. (s) "----Rubro ubi cocco Tincta super lectos cauderet vestis eburnos". Horat. Serm. l. 2. Satyr. 6. v. 102. (t) Lexic. Talmud. col. 2475. (u) Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 24. col. 252. (w) See Shaw's Travels, p. 209. Ed. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4–7 That lie - That out of laziness or luxury,…
That lie - That out of laziness or luxury, lay themselves to rest. And eat - The very best in all their flock.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Verse 4. That lie upon beds of ivory] The…
Verse 4. That lie upon beds of ivory] The word הוי hoi, wo, is understood at the beginning of each of the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth verses. The beds mentioned here may be either sofas to recline on at table, or beds to sleep on; and these among the ancients were ornamented with ivory inlaid. They were called lectos eburatos by Plautus, lectos eburnos by Horace, "ivory beds." Probably those ornamented with shells, or mother-of-pearl, may be intended. Several works of this kind may be still seen in Palestine and other places. I have before me a cross brought from Jerusalem, incrusted all over with mother-of-pearl, and various figures chased on it.
There must have been a great deal of luxury and effeminacy among the Israelites at this time; and, consequently, abundance of riches. This was in the time of Jeroboam the second, when the kingdom had enjoyed a long peace. The description in the fourth, fifth, and sixth verses, is that of an Asiatic court even in the present day.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v7 Amo 6:7-8. Therefore now shall they go captive with…
Amo 6:7-8. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first, &c. — As they were reckoned the first among the people, and claimed the preference in every thing, so now shall they be the first that shall be carried into captivity. And the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed — They who indulged themselves in ease and luxury shall have no more costly banquets spread before them: all their luxurious living shall be at an end. The Lord hath sworn by himself — And will not violate his oath; I abhor the excellency of Jacob — Whatever the kingdoms of Israel and Judah value themselves for is hateful to me, as having been abused by them, and made instrumental in dishonouring me. Or, the words should rather be rendered, I abhor the pride of Jacob. Inhumanity and hardness of heart, as well as many other vices, are generally the companions of pride; and therefore God always expresses, in the Scriptures, the utmost abhorrence of that sin. Therefore I will deliver up the city — Namely, the city of Samaria first, and then that of Jerusalem.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–7 That lie upon beds (that is, sofas) of ivory…
That lie upon beds (that is, sofas) of ivory - that is, probably inlaid with ivory. The word might, in itself, express either the bed, in which they slept by night, or the divan, on which the Easterns lay at their meals; “and stretch themselves,” literally, “are poured” out , stretching their listless length, dissolved, unnerved, in luxury and sloth, “upon their couches,” perhaps under an awning: “and eat the lambs,” probably “fatted lambs (as in Deu 32:14; Psa 37:20; 1Sa 15:9; Jer 51:40), out of the flock,” chosen, selected out of it as the best, and “calves out of the midst of the stall;” that is, the place where they were tied up (as the word means) to be fatted. They were stall-fed, as we say, and these people had the best chosen for them.
: “He shews how they ‘draw nigh the seat of violence.’ They lay on beds or couches of ivory, and expended thereon the money wherewith their poor brethren were to be fed. Go now, I say not into the houses of nobles, but into any house of any rich man, see the gilded and worked couches, curtains woven of silk and gold, and walls covered with gold, while the poor of Christ are naked, shivering, shriveled with hunger. Yet stranger is it, that while this is everywhere, scarce anywhere is there who now blames it. Now I say, for there were formerly. ‘Ye array,’ Ambrose says , ‘walls with gold, men ye bare. The naked cries before your door and you neglect him; and are careful with what marbles you clothe your pavement. The poor seeketh money, and hath it not; man asketh for bread, and thy horse champeth gold. Thou delightest in costly ornaments, while others have not meal. What judgment thou heapest on thyself, thou man of wealth! Miserable, who hast power to keep so many souls from death, and hast not the will! The jewel of thy ring could maintain in life a whole population.’ If such things are not to be blamed now, then neither were they formerly.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv4–7 Ivory, with which the beds for eating were adorned,…
Ivory, with which the beds for eating were adorned, ver. 7. (Calmet) --- Wanton. Hebrew, "stretch themselves out upon their," &c. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4–7 (See Amo 2:8).
(See Amo 2:8).
beds of ivory--that is, adorned, or inlaid, with ivory (Amo 3:15).
Read full note →
stretch themselves--in luxurious self-indulgence.
lambs out of the flock--picked out as the choicest, for their owners selfish gratification.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–7 4. That lie upon divans (Amo_3:12) of ivory] i.e.…
4. That lie upon divans (Amo_3:12) of ivory] i.e. divans, the frames of which were inlaid with ivory: cf. the “ivory couches,” and “great ivory seats,” which Sennacherib boasts that he received from Hezekiah (K.A.T[174][175] p. 293 bottom, referred to by Mitchell).
[174] .A.T. … Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T., ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.
Read full note →
[175] … Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T., ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.
and are stretched out upon their couches] The older custom in Israel was to sit while eating (Gen_27:19; Jdg_19:6; 1Sa_20:5; 1Sa_20:24; 1Ki_13:20), whether upon a rug or carpet spread out on the floor, or (2Ki_4:10) on a seat: the custom of reclining at table is first mentioned here; it was not impossibly a foreign fashion introduced from Syria, and is in any case viewed by the shepherd-prophet as a signal mark of effeminacy and luxury. Of course, in later times—probably through Greek or Aramaic influence—it became general (Sir_41:19; Mat_9:10; Mat_26:7, &c.).
lambs] Heb. kârîm, not the usual word for lambs, and denoting apparently such as, from their age or kind, were a special delicacy (cf. Deu_32:14; 1Sa_15:9).
and calves out of the midst of the stall] Brought directly from the place where they were tied up (such, as Arabic shews, is the meaning of the word) to be fatted. Cf. Luk_15:23.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–7 (4) Of ivory—i.e., inlaid with that material.
(4) Of ivory—i.e., inlaid with that material.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4–7 That lie upon beds of ivory; couches inlaid with…
That lie upon beds of ivory; couches inlaid with ivory (see note on Amo_3:15) at meals. The prophet substantiates his denunciation by describing their selfish luxury and debauchery. Stretch themselves literally, are poured out; Septuagint, kataspatalwntev, wantoning. " Out of the midst of the stall. Calves put up to be fattened. They do this presumably net on festivals, when it would have been proper and excusable, but every day.
Vers. 4-7.
Read full note →
The sin of dissolute life.
A herdsman and gatherer of wild figs like Amos, brought into contact with the nobility and the courtiers of a wealthy and luxurious city like Samaria, was likely enough to be shocked and scandalized. The judgments he formed were naturally severe, but they were not unjust or passionate. His language remains a merited and everlasting rebuke to those in high station who live for their own gratification and indulgence.
I A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE IS A SHAMEFUL MISUSE OF PRECIOUS OPPORTUNITIES. It is sometimes judged that those who are "born in the purple," those who inherit great estates, great wealth, are to be excused if they form in youth, and retain in manhood, habits of expensive self-indulgence. But as all men are, above all, the children of God, endowed with a spiritual nature and entrusted with sacred opportunities, it is not to be for a moment admitted that the advantages of high station absolve them from the obligations involved in human nature and human life. A man has no right to pamper the body and exalt it to a lordship over the spirit; he has no right to gratify his tastes as though self-gratification were the great end of existence.
II A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE IS MORALLY DEBASING AND DEGRADING. No one can live below the appointed level of humanity without paying the inevitable penalty, without incurring the inevitable deterioration. The light burns dim; the fine gold turns to clay. The couch of indolence, the feast of gluttony, the voluptuous music, the brimming bowls of wine, the costly unguents, these are dangerous indulgences. Men may give them fine names, and call them the bounties of Divine providence. And it is quite true that the evil is not in the instruments of self-indulgence, but in the bad uses to which they are put. But none can live merely for bodily, for aesthetic, for social, enjoyment, without injuring his own character, without losing self-respect and the esteem of those whose esteem is worth having.
III A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE ON THE PART OF THE GREAT IS A BAD EXAMPLE TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. Bad habits penetrate from the so called upper to the so called lower class. When the nobility and gentry are self-indulgent, the tradespeople who grow wealthy are likely to follow their example, and the poor are likely enough to grow envious and discontented. The Samaritan chiefs were reproached for misleading the people, and justly. The ignorant and the thoughtless are naturally influenced by an example of selfishness, and none can altogether escape receiving some measure of harm.
IV A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE RENDERS THE GREAT INSENSIBLE TO THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE POOR AND OPPRESSED. The language of the prophet is very touching: the self indulgent "are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." Wrapped up in their own enjoyments, comforts, and luxuries, the great fail to sympathize with those whom we call "the masses." A self-denying and benevolent and public-spirited course of conduct would have precisely an opposite effect. There is no reason m the nature of things why nobles should not feel with and for the poor and unfortunate; as a matter of fact, they often do so. But those whose absorbing thought is of self have neither heart nor time to give to their less-favoured neighbours.
V A LUXURIOUS AND DISSOLUTE LIFE OFTEN INVOLVES A SPEEDY AND FEARFUL RETRIBUTION. The table of the epicure is overthrown. The sybarite is dragged from his palace, and sent away into exile. Those who have been worthless members of their own state become banished mourners in a strange land. And the song of pleasure is exchanged for the wail of woe. T.
Vers. 4-7.
Carnal indulgence.
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," etc. Here is a sketch of the way in which these leading men of the chief nations luxuriated in carnal pleasures and sensual indulgences. Observe two things.
I THE MORAL TORPOR OF CARNAL INDULGENCE. Observe two things.
1. These people wrought entirely for the senses. See how they slept! They provided themselves with "beds of ivory." They did not require rest for their weary limbs, otherwise beds of straw would have done. They wanted to be grand, they loved glitter, hence "beds of ivory." Here is the lust of the eye. See how they ate! "And stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall." They abounded in superfluities; they partook of the choicest dainties of nature, and that in a recumbent position. Here is the lust of the palate. See how they sang! "That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David." Musical sounds gratified their auricular sensibilities, and they chanted to the "viol." Here is the lust of the ear. See how they drank! They "drink wine in bowls." Small vessels would not do; they must take long, deep draughts of the pleasing beverage. Here again is the lust of the palate. See how they anointed themselves! With the chief ointments." They regaled their olfactory nerves with the choicest perfumes of nature. Here is the lust of the smell. See how indifferent they were to the suffering of the true Church of God! "They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." What a description this of a people that lived and wrought entirely for the senses! They were practical materialists. They had no spiritual vision, sensibilities, or experience. Their imperishable souls were submerged in the deep flowing sea of mere animal pleasures. Are there no such men now? For what do our prosperous tradesmen and the upper ten thousand live? For the most part, we fear, for the senses. Grand furniture of ivory;" choicest viands out of the flock, and calves out of the midst of the stall;" ravishing music to the sound of the viol;" delectable beverages the choicestwines in "bowls;" the most delicious aromas chief ointments." Has carnal indulgence been more rife in any land or age than this? Matter everywhere governs spirit; the body everywhere is the despot, men are "carnal, sold under sin.
2. These people wrought without conscience. In all this there is no effort of conscience recorded, no word uttered. There is, indeed, a reference to intellectual effort, for it is said "they invented to themselves instruments of music." Carnal indulgence has ever been and is now as much, if not more than ever, the great employer of man"s inventive faculties. Luxury in England today is the great employer of human ingenuity. But there is no conscience here. When conscience is touched in such a state of things, and startled by the sense of its guilt, it exclaims, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this sin and death?
II THE RETRIBUTIVE RESULT OF CARNAL INDULGENCE. The threat in the text is:
1. The loss of liberty. "Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive." Those who had taken the lead in revelry and all manner of wickedness were to be the first in the procession of captives. In such a position their disgrace would be more conspicuous. Luxury always leads to slavery: it is the eternal law of justice, that those who live to the flesh shall lose their freedom and be exiled into the region of tyranny. "Lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, bringeth forth death". (Jam_1:15)
2. The loss of provisions. "And the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed." They shall have scarcity, perhaps starvation, instead of the profusion of dainties with which their tables have been spread. All this carnal indulgence and voluptuousness, this luxury in ease, and diet, and music, and aroma will not go on forever. They are abnormal conditions of human nature; retribution will one day put an end to them.
O luxury, Bane of elated life, of affluent states, What ruin is not thine? Behind thee gapes Th" unfathomable gulf where Ashur lies O"erwhelmed, forgotten; and high boasting Cham: And Elam"s haughty pomp; and beauteous Greece; And the great queen of earth, imperial Rome. (Dyer.)
D.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v6 They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Amo_6:6
They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Read full note →
Personal sympathy the only right basis for Christian effort
The term Joseph is here employed for the whole of the people of the kingdom of Israel. The term Ephraim is usually employed by way of reproach when the sin and rebellion of the whole people are referred to, while the more illustrious name of Joseph is apparently reserved for occasions that call for pity and compassion. The idea here appears to have been suggested by the heartless conduct of Josephs brethren when they made away with their brother, without pity for his youth or respect for his piety. So the prophet, describing the rich men and rulers of his time, says, They drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. In this chapter we have a terrible picture of a corrupt, degenerate commonwealth. The prophet, with a noble plea for patriotism, turning from the miseries of the lower to the heartless luxuries of the higher ranks, sees nothing in the future but national ruin. The principle he establishes is this,--The life of a nation depends on the healthy exercise of sympathy throughout all its parts, all its ranks and classes. How shall we apply this principle, and the warning that accompanies it, to ourselves? I am not one of those who would willingly indulge in reflections upon the character of the age in which we live. I do not see the wisdom of making a disadvantageous comparison between these and past times, as if our forefathers were in all respects wiser and better than we. But I am not bound to shut my eyes to the signs of the times, nor cease to reprove the evils of the times. Is not a want of union and sympathy throughout all ranks of the nation as characteristic of our age as of the age of Amos? Our divisions, political and religious, when taken in connection with our great prosperity and liberty, are the surprise and the ridicule of the whole world. Of all power in the world there is no force equal to the moral force of sympathy. This is the power that takes strongest hold, and enables us to wield empire over the hearts of men. Personal influence and kindness--thus we may form an estimate of tim comparative failure of so many of our benevolent institutions. Tried by these Divine rules of conduct, how does the benevolence of many who have earned a reputation for charity, pale before that which may never be able to go beyond kindly words and secret intercessory prayer. Charity ceases to be charity if it is unaccompanied by tenderness and courtesy. By sympathy is meant an entrance into the circumstances, a true realisation of the position of those whom we seek to benefit. Jesus came down at first from heaven, and still administers His way of salvation by the exercise of sympathy. The same mind that was in Christ Jesus must and will animate every true disciple. He will be impelled to seek out sinners, and lead them to their Saviour by kindly advice and loving persuasion; not by cold reproofs and pharisaic condemnation, but by brotherly sympathy, because he is like that Saviour who came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (Joseph Maskell.)
The ruin wrought by a selfish spirit
We belong to the greatest empire that this world has ever seen, and not only is this the vastest empire, but it is also the most opulent. Ours is an empire teeming with wealth, genius, and splendid possibilities, With this vast empire, with this rich and manifold civilisation, what is our particular peril? Let me say it in a word--selfishness. If historians are to be believed, selfish indulgence ruined the ancient empires; if some of the most capable and dispassionate critics living are correct, selfish indulgence is ruining France. Selfishness in various subtle forms is a far greater menace to this empire than any foe that threatens the silver streak. Selfishness is the worm to spoil your roses, whether they belong to York or Lancaster. Selfishness is the canker upon your gold; selfishness is the moth to fret your purple, and selfishness is the creeping paralysis that may eat out the strength of this empire and spoil its splendour and its fame. Wherein lies our safety? In spiritual magnanimity! If you want to take care of your empire, take care of your missions. It is a strange thing to say, but the guarantee for your splendour is your sacrifice. You are going to keep your wealth just as you give it away in noble causes. The tonic for your luxury is the generosity that does and dares for the perishing; and if you want to keep your place with the topmost nations you will keep your place at the top by taking a tremendous stoop to those who are at the base--the lost. When you bring your learning, or wealth, or political mastery, and when you associate them with pity, humanity, and magnanimity, you have got a supreme safeguard upon all your greatness and glory. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Endosed within self
There is a little pool in a mountain chasm, so completely enclosed within its high and rocky walls that no sound reaches it from the great outer world. Yet the slightest noise started within its environ ment--the cry of the heron, the splash of the muskrat, or the roll of the pebbles under the feet of the deer--reverberates over the water and is echoed from the cliff. Some minds are so enclosed within their own selfishness as to be silent to the great things which stir the world--the calls of human need, the summons of God to public duty, and all the onrolling cause of human progress in many lands. They live only among their own thoughts, desires, and prejudices. To them their little concerns are great. (L. A. Banks, D. D.)
Christian solicitude
When William Burns was asked the nature of his thoughts on finding himself among the Chinese, he turned to his interrogator and answered, The lost, and a Christ for them. When Henry Venn preached, such was his flaming fervour that men went down before him like slaked lime. It was the same yearning which drove John Brown to nightly and prevailing intercession for dead Haddington, and wicked, withered East Lothian; the same which wrung from Rowland Hill the cry, Oh that I were all heart and soul and spirit, to tell the glorious Gospel to perishing multitudes! Would that I burned out for Jesus with the same intense and ardent glow! (A. Smdlie.)
Careless indifference of Christians
I know a beautiful valley in Wales, guarded by well-wooded hills. Spring came there first, and summer lingered longest, and the clear river loitered through the rich pastures and the laughing orchards, as if loth to leave the enchanting scene. But the manufacturer came there; he built his chimneys and he lighted his furnaces, out of which belched forth poisonous fumes night and day. Every tree is dead, no flower blooms there now, the very grass has been eaten off the face of the earth; the beautiful river, in which the pebbles once lay as the pure thoughts in a maidens mind, is now foul, and the valley, scarred and bare, looks like the entrance into Tophet itself. And this human nature of ours, in which faith, and virtue, and godliness, and all sweet humanities might flourish, in miles of this London of ours, is what bad air, and the gin palace, and the careless indifference of a Christianity bent only upon saving itself, have made it. (Morlais Jones.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv4, 7 Amo_6:4.] Luxury added to oppression. Stretch] Lit. pour themselves…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Amo_6:4.] Luxury added to oppression. Stretch] Lit. pour themselves out, “dissolved, unnerved, in luxury and sloth.” Beds] inlaid with ivory. Lambs] Choice and delicious in the East.
Read full note →
Amo_6:5.] like David they employ themselves with music, but for a different aim.
Amo_6:6.] Not satisfied with small cups, they took the bowls used for sprinkling of blood, to indulge in excess, and used the most costly oils, not for health and cleanliness, but wanton luxury. Grieved] not for calamities suffered in the past, or threatened in future.
A RECKLESS COMMUNITY.—Amo_6:4-6
Israel not only put away the day of Divine retribution, but multiplied the causes which produced it. Violence within will bring violence from without the land. When we put away God we invite destruction. Luxury, revelry, and debauchery describe a reckless community and reign in the present day. The special sins condemned are depicted in a peculiar manner.
I. Self-indulgence. Men betray their feelings and abuse their gifts, show they live like epicures, and pamper themselves like beasts. This selfish indulgence is seen—
1. In luxurious ease. “That lie upon beds of ivory.” Beds most expensive and scarce, splendid and far-fetched. They unnerved and relaxed themselves upon couches. They humoured themselves in idleness and wealth; indulged in personal gratification, abounded in superfluities, and robbed the poor of necessities.
2. In effeminate diet. The choicest lambs and calves fed out of the stall only satisfied their appetite. Some live to eat, and do not eat to live; feed without gratitude, and indulge in lust without restraint. “Whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame.”
II. Profane revelry. “That chant to the sound of the viol” They tried to lead a merry life and a happy one. They displayed ingenuity by inventing instruments to drive away dull care. As David improved and introduced musical instruments into the service of God, so these men devised and fitted them for luxury and sensuality. But artificial music creates no Divine harmony. It weakens the nature and ministers to the folly of men. When men sing instead of weeping, when mirth is unseasonable, unbridled, and licentious, it is void of everything that dignifies the mind and elevates the soul to God. “Admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.”
“There’s not a string attuned to mirth
But has its chord in melancholy.”
III. Shameful debauchery. Luxury and selfishness lead to excess; sensuality and mirth, to irreverence. This is seen—
1. In profane conduct. They were not satisfied with ordinary vessels, but robbed the altars to “drink wine in bowls.” In former times princes of Israel manifested zeal in consecrating silver bowls to God, now they drink in honour of idolatry. They profaned the vessels of the sanctuary, and devoted to selfish what should have been for sacred uses.
2. In riotous excess. They drank out of large, not small cups. This they did habitually without measure or stint. They spent their wealth in pleasure and dissipation; employed their ingenuity to discover new methods of self-gratification, and drank wine to silence conscience, banish reflection, and harden the heart.
IV. Sinful apathy. They had no concern whatever for the nation sinking into decay and suffering under the judgment of God.
1. Their joy is unbridled. Their extravagance is seen in “the chief ointments with which they anoint themselves,” not for health and comfort, but wanton luxury. The custom of anointing was suspended in time of mourning (2Sa_14:2), but these neither grieve for themselves nor for the ruin of their country.
2. Their indifference is stolid. Bent on personal gratification of the most debasing kind, they were devoid of all patriotism and concern for the injury to the kingdom. “They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” They indulged in the heartless conduct of the sons of Jacob towards their brother, eating bread when Joseph was in the pit (Gen_37:24). Wrath had broken “out like a fire in the house of Joseph” (ch. Amo_5:6), but they were deaf to the warnings of God and the remonstrance of the poor. They spent their time in beds of indolence and ease; pampered their bodies with delicious viands; and delighted their souls in strains of music, excess of wine, and costly perfumes. Sensuality results in unnatural feeling for kindred and country; shuts out the sufferings of others, and leads to greater indulgence. “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Amo_6:5. The use and abuse of music.
1. Its use, when devoted to the worship of God and the welfare of men. Vocal and instrumental music may be of immense service in the culture of the heart and the training of the young. Our nature is adapted to harmony, and God has bestowed means for improvement.
“There is in souls a sympathy with sounds,
And as the mind is pitched the ear is pleased.”
2. Its abuse when employed in the service of Satan and ministering to licentiousness and lust. How often found in midnight revels and scenes of intemperance! “Debased music is a mark of a nation’s decay and promotes it,” says one. The constitution of nations may be affected by changing national music. “Give me the making of the nation’s ballads,” said Lord Chatham, “and I care not who makes the laws.” David consecrated lyre and harp to the service of God, now men gain reputation by comic songs and immodest dancing. “Bid lute and harp to awake to the glory of God.”
Like David. Men abuse gifts of God by the examples of saints. They stumble in their infirmities, and copy their actions in a wrong spirit. David a great lover of music, and employed it in the praise of God. Imitators use it for carnal pleasure.
Amo_6:6. True patriotism, grieving for Joseph.
1. A country is often deeply afflicted by inward calamities and outward dangers.
2. A lover of his country will grieve for its affliction. David and Jeremiah noble examples.
3. Selfish indulgence deprives men of sympathy with others, renders them ungrateful and unpatriotic. “How many dwell in ceiled houses, and sing to the sound of the harp, and feast on the richest dainties, and care nothing for the sorrows of Christ, and his Church, nay, rather rejoice in them!” (Rev_11:10) [Wordsworth].
“Breathes there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land!” [Scott.]
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3
Amo_6:4-6. Pleasure. Would you judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasures, take this rule:—Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself [Southey].
“In this fool’s paradise he drank delight.” [G. Crabbe.]
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v7 The Destruction of the Kingdom Foretold
The Destruction of the Kingdom Foretold
v. 7. Therefore now shall they, those who indulged themselves in this manner while their country was getting ready for dissolution, go captive with the first that go captive, this being said in bitter irony concerning the position of the rulers in the procession of captives, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves, reclining in careless ease, shall be removed, so that they could no more indulge in feasts and drinking-bouts.
Read full note →
v. 8. The Lord God hath sworn by Himself, saith the Lord God of hosts, a most solemn oath, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, the pride which they exhibited regarding their prosperity and power, and hate his palaces, as one evidence of such pride; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein, both houses and men being delivered into the hands of the enemy to be destroyed.
v. 9. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die, that is, no matter how large the number, not one would escape.
v. 10. And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, literally, "his cousin and his burier," that is, a near relative who had the duty of providing for his burial, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, a last survivor hiding in the innermost recesses of the house, Is there yet any with thee? And he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue, quickly cautioning him not to say any more; for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord, he should not utter Jehovah’s name, lest, by doing so, he call the Lord’s attention and bring down judgment upon himself.
v. 11. For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and He will smite the great house with breaches, so that it would become a total ruin, and the little house with clefts, so that it would be reduced to splinters. Such would be the punishment which would strike the people, which they would not be able to avert by any reliance upon their own might.
v. 12. Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? As little as either feat is possible, so little is it possible that one, by perverting right and justice into the opposite, can bring deliverance to himself and his country. For ye have turned judgment into gall, justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock, the tree which ought to prosper in their midst into wormwood;
v. 13. ye which rejoice in a thing of naught, depending upon something which does not exist, except in their own imagination, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? trusting in the strength of their armies by which they hoped to overcome all enemies.
v. 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, by overthrowing and oppressing them, from the entering in of Hemath, the northernmost boundary, where the invading army of the Assyrians would enter, unto the river of the wilderness, literally, "the brook of the desert," here most likely that which formed the boundary between Moab and Edom, on the southeastern corner of the Dead Sea. Warfare is one means in the hands of the Lord by which He punishes the pride of nations.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 7 they improvise on instruments
they improvise on instruments
Possible meanings: 1) they invent new songs and ways of playing the instruments or 2) they invent new instruments.
Read full note →
drink wine from bowls
This implies that they drink a lot of wine because they drink it from a large bowl rather than a regular wine cup. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph
Here "Joseph" represents his descendants. AT: "they do not grieve about the descendants of Joseph whom enemies will soon destroy" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
fool
harp
David
wine
anoint
oil
ruin
Joseph (OT)
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4–6 6:4 Meat was typically used to honor distinguished guests.…
6:4 Meat was typically used to honor distinguished guests. The common food was bread, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. The everyday use of meat shows the opulence of the wealthy classes.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.