Passage

Amos 6.7

Book: Amos · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

5. that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; 6. that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

7. Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.

The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, 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. 9. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. (Amos 6:5-9, ASV)

WEB

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.

“The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it. 9. It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. (Amos 6:5-9, WEB)

KJV

5. That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; ^{chant: or, quaver} 6. That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. ^{wine: or, in bowls of wine} ^{affliction: Heb. breach}

7. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

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. ^{that: Heb. the fulness thereof} 9. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. (Amos 6:5-9, KJV)

YLT

5. Who are taking part according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music; 6. Who are drinking with bowls of wine, And [with] chief perfumes anoint [themselves], And have not been pained for the breach of Joseph.

7. Therefore now they remove at the head of the captives, And turned aside is the mourning-feast of stretched-out ones.

Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by Himself, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts: I am abominating the excellency of Jacob, And his high places I have hated, And I have delivered up the city and its fulness. 9. And if there are left ten persons in one house, It hath come to pass, that they have died. (Amos 6:5-9, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Amos of Tekoa, a herdsman (noqed, sheep breeder) and tender of sycamore figs from Judah, speaking the word of the LORD.
Audience: The northern kingdom of Israel, addressed at the height of its prosperity under Jeroboam II.
Location: Delivered in the northern kingdom, principally at Bethel, the royal sanctuary and state temple (Amos 7:13).
Time period: c. 760-750 BC, in the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel, "two years before the earthquake" (Amos 1:1). Amos is generally reckoned the earliest of the writing prophets.

Theological reading

First in, first out. The verse closes the woe of 6:1-6 with a play on words. The leaders were "the notable men of the chief of the nations" (6:1) and anointed themselves "with the chief oils" (6:6). Now they will "go captive with the first that go captive." Those who claimed first place will have it at the head of the line into exile.

The banquet ends. "The revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away." The word rendered "revelry" (KJV "banquet") is mirzach, which occurs only here; its closely related form appears in Jeremiah 16:5 as "the house of mourning," where the KJV margin gives "mourning feast." It names an organized feast, and "them that stretched themselves" looks back to those who "stretch themselves upon their couches" (6:4).

"Therefore." The judgment follows from the charge in the previous verse: they "are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph" (6:6). Those who would not grieve over the nation's ruin will share it. The exile came when "the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria" (2 Kings 17:6).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

H7218 - rosh, rosh, Strong's H7218

Quoted in

Passages:

Amos 6.1

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.