Amos 6: Woe to the Complacent
Amos pronounces woe on those at ease in Zion and secure in Samaria, who feast in luxury yet feel nothing for the ruin of their nation.
Amos 6 (WEB)
1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
2 Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
3 Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
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 midst 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.
8 “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.
10 “When a man’s relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is there yet any with you?’ And he says, ‘No;’ then he will say, ‘Hush! Indeed we must not mention Yahweh’s name.’
11 “For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
13 you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’
14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies; “and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”
Amos 6 (KJV)
1 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!
2 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?
3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
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.
8 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.
9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
10 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.
11 For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
12 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:
13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
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 from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
Amos 6 (ASV)
1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
3 —ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
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 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.
8 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.
10 And when a man’s uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.
11 For, behold, Jehovah commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plowtherewith oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;
13 ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of the Arabah.
Summary
Amos pronounces woe on those who are “at ease in Zion” and feel “secure on the mountain of Samaria,” the notable men who imagine themselves the foremost of nations. He sends them to look at fallen cities like Calneh, Hamath, and Gath—are you really better than they were? These complacent leaders push away the thought of any evil day while drawing violence near. They lie on beds of ivory, sprawl on their couches, eat choice lambs and calves, strum idle music like David, drink wine by the bowlful, and anoint themselves with the finest oils—yet they “are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” Their crowning sin is heartlessness: surrounded by injustice and impending ruin, they feel nothing. Therefore they will be the first to go into exile, and their feasting will end. God swears by himself that he abhors the pride of Jacob and will deliver up the city. The judgment will be so severe that survivors will fear even to mention Yahweh's name. God will smash the great house and the little house alike. Israel has turned justice into poison and boasts in its own strength, so God will raise up a nation to afflict them from one end of the land to the other.
Key Figures
- Yahweh (the LORD), God of Armies — The God who abhors the pride of Jacob, swears by himself to deliver up the city, and raises up a nation to afflict complacent Israel.
- The notable men of Samaria — The complacent leaders at ease in Zion and secure in Samaria, lounging in luxury and feeling nothing for the affliction of Joseph.
- Amos — The prophet who pronounces woe on the self-satisfied rich and points them to fallen cities as a warning of their own coming ruin.
Key Verse
Amos 6:1 (WEB)
Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
Lessons Learned
- Comfort and security can become spiritual dangers that lull us into complacency.
- Luxury becomes sin when it leaves us indifferent to the suffering of others.
- Pride and self-reliance set us against the God who alone gives strength.
- God's judgment unsettles every false confidence, sparing neither great house nor small.
- Ease can be a snare. “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria” (Amos 6:1, WEB). False security blinds us to our true condition before God.
- Indifference to suffering is sin. They feast in luxury “but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph” (Amos 6:6, WEB). A heart untouched by others' pain has grown cold to God.
- God opposes proud self-reliance. “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses” (Amos 6:8, WEB). Boasting in our own strength provokes the Lord who gives all things.
- Corrupted justice brings bitter fruit. “You have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness” (Amos 6:12, WEB). When the good is twisted, the result is ruin.
- Why does Amos pronounce woe on those who are “at ease” and “secure” (verse 1)? What is dangerous about comfort?
- Why does God send the complacent to look at fallen cities like Calneh and Gath (verse 2)?
- What is the most serious indictment in the description of their luxury (verses 4-6)?
- What does it mean that they have “turned justice into poison” and boast in their own strength (verses 12-13)?
- Where might comfort or security be dulling your sensitivity to God or to the needs of others?
- Amos warns the “at ease” and “secure” (6:1) because their comfort had bred a dangerous complacency. They felt no urgency about their sin or the coming judgment. Comfort is a snare when it convinces us all is well and quiets the conscience that should be alert to God.
- By pointing to once-great cities now fallen (6:2), Amos punctures Israel's sense of superiority. If those kingdoms were not spared, why should Israel assume it will be? The lesson is that no nation's greatness or security guarantees it against the judgment of God.
- Amid all the descriptions of ivory beds, choice meat, music, wine, and fine oils, the climactic charge is that “they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph” (6:6). The deepest sin is not the luxury itself but the heartlessness it produced—indifference to their suffering nation.
- They had twisted justice into something poisonous and harmful (6:12), and they boasted that their conquests came “by our own strength” (6:13). This pairs corruption with arrogant self-reliance—they distorted what was good and credited themselves rather than God, inviting his judgment.
- This is a personal-application question. Encourage members to examine, honestly and without shame, where ease has made them spiritually drowsy or numb to others' needs. Point them to Christ, who was deeply moved by the suffering of others, as the model and source of a tender heart.