Amos 6:12

Amos 6:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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:
• New International Version (NIV)Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

Context of Amos 6:12

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].” 11For behold, the Lord is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments. Do 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?” 14“For behold, I am going to stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” says the Lord, the God of hosts, “And they will afflict and torment you [to the entire limits of Israel] from the entrance of Hamath [in the north] To the brook of the Arabah [in the south].”

Amos 6:12 word by word

הַיְרֻצ֤וּן בַּסֶּ֙לַע֙ סוּסִ֔ים אִֽם־יַחֲר֖וֹשׁ בַּבְּקָרִ֑ים כִּֽי־הֲפַכְתֶּ֤ם לְרֹאשׁ֙ מִשְׁפָּ֔ט וּפְרִ֥י צְדָקָ֖ה לְלַעֲנָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Shall horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• runרוּץrûts · to run: runH7323
• upon the rockסֶ֫לַעsela‛ · cragH5553
• plowחָרַשׁchârash · to plow/plotH2790
• with oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
• for ye have turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• into gallרֹאשׁrô'sh rôsh · poisonH7219
• and the fruitפְּרִיperîy · fruitH6529
• of righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
• into hemlockלַעֲנָהla‛ănâh · wormwoodH3939

Cross-references for Amos 6:12

• Isaiah 48:4Because I know that you are obstinate, And your neck is an iron tendon And your brow is bronze [both unyielding],
• Jeremiah 5:3O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You [have seen their faithless heart and] have stricken them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction or instruction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent and return to You.
• Jeremiah 6:29The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain they continue refining, But the wicked are not separated and removed.
• Zechariah 7:11But they refused to listen and pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder [stiffening themselves in resistance] and stopped up their ears.
• Amos 5:7For those [shall be consumed] who turn justice into wormwood (bitterness) And cast righteousness down to the earth.”
• 1 Kings 21:7Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now reign over Israel? Get up, eat food, and let your heart rejoice; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
• Psalms 94:20Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, One which frames and devises mischief by decree [under the sacred name of law]?
• Isaiah 59:13Rebelling against and denying the Lord, Turning away from [following] our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and muttering from the heart lying words.
• Hosea 10:4They have spoken empty (disingenuous) words, Swearing falsely to make covenants [they intend to break]; Therefore, judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
• Micah 7:3Concerning evil, both of their hands pursue it and do it diligently and thoroughly; The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, And a great man speaks the [evil] desire of his soul. So they twist the course of justice between them.
• Habakkuk 1:3Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? For destruction and violence are before me; Strife continues and contention arises.
• Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked and stubborn people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did.

Commentaries on Amos 6:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Shall horses run upon the rock - First, they could not do it, because they were unshod; for the shoeing of horses with iron was not then known. Secondly, If they did run on the rock, it would be useless to their owner, and hurtful to themselves. Thirdly, And it would be as useless to plough on the rock with oxen; for there it would be impossible to sow with any advantage. Fourthly, Just as useless and injurious would it be to put gall in the place of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12The two images both represent a toil, which people would condemn as absurd, destructive, as well as fruitless. The horse‘s hoofs or his limbs would be broken; the plowing-gear would be destroyed. The prophet gains the attention by the question. What then? they ask. The answer is implied by the for, which follows. Ye are they, who are so doing. As absurd is it to seek gain from injustice and oppression, to which God had annexed loss and woe, temporal and…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. 12Running horses over cliffs is unwise because unshod horses can damage their hooves on rocks. Obviously, oxen cannot plow the sea either. A slight change in the Hebrew text asks Can oxen be used to plow them [as in cliffs], which is equally absurd. But you have turned: The comparisons highlight Israel's own absurdity in moral matters. justice into poison: The people twisted what is just and right, making it toxic and bitter (see also Amos 5:7).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. In turning "judgment (justice) into gall (poison), and ... righteousness into hemlock" (or wormwood, bitter and noxious), ye act as perversely as if one were to make "horses run upon the rock" or to "plough with oxen there" [Maurer]. As horses and oxen are useless on a rock, so ye are incapable of fulfilling justice [Grotius]. Ye impede the course of God's benefits, because ye are as it were a hard rock on which His favor cannot run. "Those that will…Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 6:12

• Hemlock
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Banquet
• Chant
• Ease
• Hemlock
• Poison
• Wormwood
• Amos (1)
• Calf, Golden
• Gall
• Judge

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