Amos 6:11

Amos 6:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
• New International Version (NIV)For the Lord has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For behold, the Lord commands, and the great house shall be struck down into fragments, and the little house into bits.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For behold, the Lord gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house into pieces.

Context of Amos 6:11

9And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war]. 10Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, shall come to bring the [disease-infected] body out of the house, [to cremate it], and he will say to another in the farthest part of the house, “Is there anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will respond, “Hush! Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned [even casually, for fear that we might invoke even more punishment].” For behold, the Lord is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments. 12Do horses run on rocks? Do men plow rocks with oxen? [Of course not!] Yet you have turned justice into poison And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (bitterness), 13You who [self-confidently] rejoice in Lo-debar (Nothing), Who say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim (Strength) for ourselves?”

Amos 6:11 word by word

כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֤ה יְהוָה֙ מְצַוֶּ֔ה וְהִכָּ֛ה הַבַּ֥יִת הַגָּד֖וֹל רְסִיסִ֑ים וְהַבַּ֥יִת הַקָּטֹ֖ן בְּקִעִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For, behold, the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• commandethצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• and he will smiteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• the greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• with breachesרָסִיסrâsîys · fragmentH7447
• and the littleקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
• with cleftsבְּקִיעַbeqîya‛ · breachH1233

Cross-references for Amos 6:11

• Amos 3:6If a trumpet is blown in a city [warning of danger] will not the people tremble? If a disaster or misfortune occurs in a city has not the Lord caused it?
• Amos 9:1I saw [in a vision] the Lord standing at the altar, and He said, “Destroy the capitals (tops) of the pillars so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of all of the people! Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will get away, Or a survivor who will escape.
• Psalms 105:16And He called for a famine upon the land [of Egypt]; He cut off every source of bread.
• Isaiah 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger [against Israel], The staff in whose hand is My indignation and fury [against Israel’s disobedience]!
• Isaiah 13:3I [the Lord] have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My great warriors, My proudly exulting ones [the Medes and the Persians who triumph for My honor]— To execute My anger.
• Isaiah 46:10Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, And from ancient times the things which have not [yet] been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose,’
• Isaiah 55:11So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
• Ezekiel 29:18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].”
• Nahum 1:14The Lord has given a command concerning you [O king of Nineveh]: “Your name will no longer be perpetuated. I will cut off the carved idols and cast images From the temple of your gods; I will prepare your grave, For you are vile and unworthy.”
• Amos 6:8The Lord God has sworn [an oath] by Himself—the Lord God of hosts, says: “I loathe and reject the [self-centered] arrogance of Jacob (Israel), And I hate his palaces and citadels; Therefore, I shall hand over the [idolatrous] city [of Samaria] with all that it contains [to the Assyrian invaders].”
• Amos 3:15And I shall tear down the winter house with the summer house; And the houses of ivory shall also perish And the great houses shall come to an end,” Says the Lord.
• 2 Kings 25:9He burned the house (temple) of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.
• Hosea 13:16Samaria will be found guilty [and become desolate], Because she rebelled against her God; They will fall by the sword, Their infants will be dashed in pieces, And their pregnant women will be ripped open.
• Zechariah 14:2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished; and half of the city will be exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
• Luke 19:44and they will level you to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you. They will not leave in you one stone on another, all because you did not [come progressively to] recognize [from observation and personal experience] the time of your visitation [when God was gracious toward you and offered you salvation].”
• Ecclesiastes 10:18Through laziness the rafters [of state affairs] decay and the roof sags, and through idleness [the roof of] the house leaks.

Commentaries on Amos 6:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11He will smote the great house with breaches - The great and small shall equally suffer; no distinction shall be made; rich and poor shall fall together; death has received his commission, and he will spare none. Horace has a sentiment precisely like this, Carm. Lib. i., Od. iv., 5:13. Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum Tabernas, Regumque Turres. With equal pace impartial fate Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate. But this may refer particularly…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11The Lord commandeth and He will smite - Jerome: “If He commandeth, how doth He smite? If He smiteth, how doth He command? In that thing which He “commands” and enjoins His ministers, He Himself is seen to “smite.” In Egypt the Lord declares that He killed the first-born, who, we read, were slain by “the destroyer” Exodus 12:23. The “breaches” denote probably the larger, “the cleft” the smaller ruin. The greater pile was the more greatly destroyed.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-14Verses 8-14 How dreadful, how miserable, is the case of those whose eternal ruin the Lord himself has sworn; for he can execute his purpose, and none can alter it! Those hearts are wretchedly hardened that will not be brought to mention God's name, and to worship him, when the hand of God is gone out against them, when sickness and death are in their families. Those that will not be tilled as fields, shall be abandoned as rocks. When our services of God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-14The pronouncements of sorrow in this section develop two main themes: Israel’s apostasy (turning away from God) would make the day of the Lord a day of judgment, not salvation; and Judah’s spiritual complacency (feeling satisfied and unconcerned about faithfulness to God) would also bring judgment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. commandeth, and he will smite--His word of command, when once given, cannot but be fulfilled (Is 55:11). His mere word is enough to smite with destruction. great house ... little house--He will spare none, great or small (Am 3:15). Jerome interprets "the great house" as Israel, and "the small house" as Judah: the former being reduced to branches or ruins, literally, "small drops"; the latter, though injured with "clefts" or rents, which threaten its…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Banquet
• Chant
• Ease

Commentaries on Amos 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings