Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Amos
Chapter 6: At Ease in Zion
Amos 6 pronounces a woe on the comfortable. The leaders of Israel are 'at ease in Zion,' secure in their prosperity, reclining on 'beds of ivory,' feasting on the choicest lambs, drinking wine 'in bowls,' and inventing music 'like David', yet 'they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.' Their sin is not merely luxury but the callousness that luxury breeds, comfort that has grown numb to a dying nation. So God swears 'by himself': He abhors 'the excellency of Jacob,' and the first to lounge will be the first to go 'captive.' They 'rejoice in a thing of nought' and boast, 'Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?', and against that pride the God of hosts will raise up a nation to afflict them. It is a chapter about the deadly danger of ease.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Amos chapter 6, the woe on those at ease and the judgment on national pride. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. The chapter warns against the callousness bred by comfort and the folly of trusting our own strength. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Beds of Ivory
A ruling class lost in luxury and self-indulgence.
Not Grieved for Joseph
Comfort numb to a nation's affliction.
I Abhor the Excellency of Jacob
God swears by Himself against their pride.
By Our Own Strength
A nation boasting in what it cannot keep.
Not Grieved for the Affliction of Joseph (Amos 6:1-7)
Amos pronounces woe on the self-secure leaders who lounge in luxury, feasting and singing while blind to the ruin closing in; because they feel no grief for their dying nation, they will be the first to go into exile.
Woe to Them That Are at Ease in Zion
"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; 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; That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed."
Hebrew Study
"them that are at ease in Zion," sha'anan (שַׁאֲנָן), at ease, secure, complacent. The word can describe a good, God-given peace, but here it names a false, self-satisfied security, people so comfortable they feel no danger and no urgency. They "trust in the mountain of Samaria," resting in their defenses and prosperity. This is the sleep of the spiritually complacent, "when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them" (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Ease is one of the soul's greatest dangers, for a comfortable heart rarely watches, rarely prays, and rarely feels the peril it is in.
"they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." Here is the heart of the indictment. The sin of these luxurious men is not only what they enjoy but what they fail to feel: "Joseph" (the northern kingdom) is afflicted and dying, and they are "not grieved" (literally, "not made sick") over it. Their comfort has anesthetized their compassion. This is the callousness that wealth and ease so easily breed, the rich man feasting "sumptuously every day" while Lazarus starves at his gate (Luke 16:19-21). God takes note not only of the harm we do but of the grief we fail to feel; a heart untouched by others' affliction has grown cold toward God Himself.
Explanation
The chapter opens with "Woe", a funeral cry, aimed at "them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria." These are the leaders of both kingdoms, the "chief of the nations" in their own eyes, sunk in complacency. Amos tells them to look at Calneh, Hamath, and Gath, cities that also seemed secure and yet fell: are you "better than these kingdoms"? Their false security is an illusion.
He then paints their decadence in detail. They "put far away the evil day", refusing to think judgment could come, while their violence brings it nearer. They "lie upon beds of ivory," feast on the best "lambs" and fattened "calves," lounge and "chant to the sound of the viol," fancying themselves musicians "like David," drink wine "in bowls" (not cups, but basins), and douse themselves in "the chief ointments." Every sense is indulged, and yet, the damning phrase, "they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." Their nation is bleeding and they cannot be bothered to care. Therefore the sentence is exact and ironic: those first in luxury will be "first that go captive," and "the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed." The feast ends in exile.
Gospel Focus
This woe searches the comfortable, and few of us escape it. The sin condemned here is not enjoying good things but letting comfort make us callous, "not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." It is possible to feast while others starve, to relax while a nation, a neighbor, a soul, perishes, and to feel nothing. God notices that numbness. The gospel gives us a Savior who was moved with compassion, who "wept" at a grave and over a city, and who calls His people to "weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15). A heart conformed to Christ cannot be at ease while others suffer.
And the chapter exposes the danger of "ease" itself, the false peace of those who "put far away the evil day." Comfort dulls the watchfulness the soul needs; the prosperous rarely feel their need of God. "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life" (Luke 21:34). Do not let a soft life soften your love for God or your grief for the lost. Enjoy God's gifts with gratitude, but stay awake, stay tender, and let the affliction of others move you as it moved your Lord.
By Our Own Strength (Amos 6:8-14)
God swears by Himself that He abhors the pride of Jacob and will deliver up the city; the coming devastation will silence even the mention of His name, for they have perverted justice and boasted in a strength that is nothing, so God will raise a nation to afflict them from end to end.
Have We Not Taken to Us Horns by Our Own Strength?
"The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness."
Hebrew Study
"I abhor the excellency of Jacob," ga'on (גָּאוֹן), pride, majesty, arrogance. The word can mean glory or, as here, arrogant pride. What Israel counted as their "excellency", their wealth, their strength, their palaces, God "abhors." He "hath sworn by himself", the most solemn oath possible, for there is none greater to swear by (Hebrews 6:13), that He will "deliver up the city." God is the unrelenting enemy of human pride: "Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 16:5); "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6). The very things a proud people boast in are the things God most opposes.
"Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?" "Horns" are the biblical symbol of power and victory. Israel boasted that they had won their strength themselves, "by our own strength," rejoicing "in a thing of nought" (in what is really nothing). This is the essence of pride: crediting ourselves for what only God gives, and glorying in what cannot last. God answers by promising to "raise up a nation" to sweep them "from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness", from one end of the land to the other. All their self-won "horns" will be broken. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6); to boast in our own strength is to boast in what God can remove in a day.
Explanation
God now speaks with the most solemn oath in Scripture, swearing "by himself" (for He can swear by none greater): "I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces." The very grandeur Israel prized, He detests, and He will "deliver up the city." The coming devastation is pictured in a chilling scene: a house where ten men die of plague, and a relative gathering the bones finds no survivor, and in the terror whispers, "Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD." Judgment has grown so heavy that even to speak God's name feels dangerous, a picture of a people crushed and silenced under His hand.
The LORD "commandeth," and every house, great and small, is smashed "with breaches" and "clefts." Then Amos exposes the absurdity of their sin with two questions from nature: "Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen?" Of course not, it is against nature, and just as unnatural is what Israel has done, turning "judgment into gall" and "the fruit of righteousness into hemlock", making justice bitter and poisonous. Worst of all is their pride: they "rejoice in a thing of nought" and brag, "Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?" Against that boast God pledges to "raise up... a nation" to afflict them across the whole land. Self-won strength is no match for the God of hosts.
Gospel Focus
God's oath, "I abhor the excellency of Jacob," reveals how He feels about human pride. The things people most glory in, wealth, status, achievement, "palaces", can be the very things God opposes, when they become the ground of a proud, self-sufficient heart. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." This is a mercy as well as a warning, for the way of escape is simply to humble ourselves: the grace God withholds from the proud He lavishes on the lowly. "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (James 4:10).
And "Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?" is the lie at the root of pride, taking credit for what God alone gives. Every strength we have, every victory, every good thing, is a gift, "what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1 Corinthians 4:7). To boast in our own strength is both false and fragile, for God can raise up a nation and sweep it all away. The gospel calls us to a better boast: "he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31). Lay down the boast in your own "horns," confess that all you have is from God, and take your stand not on strength that can be broken but on grace that cannot fail.
Chapter 6 in Review
Amos 6 sounds a woe over the comfortable. Israel's leaders are "at ease in Zion," reclining on "beds of ivory," feasting, singing, and drinking, while "they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." Their comfort has numbed their compassion, and so the first in luxury will be "first that go captive." Then God swears "by himself" that He abhors "the excellency of Jacob," and the coming judgment will crush house and pride together, until men dare not even "make mention of the name of the LORD." They had turned justice into poison and boasted, "Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?", so the God of hosts will raise up a nation to afflict them from end to end.
For the Apostolic reader this chapter warns against two subtle sins that thrive in prosperity: the callousness that comfort breeds, and the pride that credits self for what God gives. It calls us to stay tender toward the affliction of others, as Christ was moved with compassion, and to stay watchful rather than lulled by ease. And it calls us to humble ourselves, for "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." Every "horn" we have is a gift; let us not boast in strength that can be broken, but glory only in the Lord.
- Ease and false security are spiritual dangers: "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion" (6:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:3).
- Comfort can breed callousness: "not grieved for the affliction of Joseph" (6:6; Luke 16:19-21).
- God's people should be moved by others' suffering, as Christ was (Romans 12:15).
- God abhors human pride and swears against "the excellency of Jacob" (6:8; Proverbs 16:5; James 4:6).
- Boasting "by our own strength" is a lie; all we have is a gift (6:13; 1 Corinthians 4:7).
- Self-won strength cannot stand; glory only in the Lord (6:14; Zechariah 4:6; 1 Corinthians 1:31).
Questions for Reflection
- Has comfort ever made you numb to the suffering of others?
- Are you "at ease," putting far away the thought of God's coming, instead of staying watchful?
- Where are you tempted to credit your own strength for what God has given?
- What would it look like to humble yourself and "glory in the Lord" instead?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Key terms: sha'anan ("at ease," complacent, verse 1); ga'on ("excellency," pride, verse 8). The danger of ease and false security: Isaiah 32:9-11; Zephaniah 1:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:3; Luke 12:19-20. Luxury that ignores the suffering: Amos 4:1; Luke 16:19-31; James 5:1-6; 1 John 3:17. Compassion as the mark of God's people, following Christ: Matthew 9:36; John 11:35; Luke 19:41; Romans 12:15; Hebrews 13:3. God's oath by Himself: Genesis 22:16; Hebrews 6:13. God's opposition to pride: Proverbs 16:5, 18; Isaiah 2:11-17; James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5:5-6. Trusting God's strength, not our own: Psalm 20:7; 33:16-17; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Zechariah 4:6; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 4:7. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The woe on the comfortable who are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph: Amos 6:1-7; Luke 16:19-21; Romans 12:15.
- God's oath against the pride of Jacob and the folly of boasting in our own strength: Amos 6:8-14; James 4:6; 1 Corinthians 4:7.