American Standard Version
Amos 6:12
12Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plowtherewith oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;
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
10And 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. 11For, behold, Jehovah commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts. Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plowtherewith oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood; 13ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? 14For, 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.
Read all of Amos 6Amos 6:12 word by word
הַיְרֻצ֤וּן בַּסֶּ֙לַע֙ סוּסִ֔ים אִֽם־יַחֲר֖וֹשׁ בַּבְּקָרִ֑ים כִּֽי־הֲפַכְתֶּ֤ם לְרֹאשׁ֙ מִשְׁפָּ֔ט וּפְרִ֥י צְדָקָ֖ה לְלַעֲנָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- horsesסוּסsûs sûs · swallowH5483
- runרוּץrûts · to run: runH7323
- rockסֶ֫לַעsela‛ · rockH5553
- plowחָרַשׁchârash · to plow/plotH2790
- oxenבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
- turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
- justiceמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- fruitפְּרִיperîy · fruitH6529
- righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
- wormwoodלַעֲנָהla‛ănâh · wormwoodH3939
Cross-references for Amos 6:12
- Isaiah 48:4Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
- Jeremiah 5:3O Jehovah, do not thine eyes look upon truth? thou hast stricken them, but they were not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
- Jeremiah 6:29The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away.
- Zechariah 7:11But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
- Amos 5:7Ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,
- 1 Kings 21:7And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
- Psalms 94:20Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with thee, Which frameth mischief by statute?
- Isaiah 59:13transgressing and denying Jehovah, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
- Hosea 10:4They speakvainwords, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
- Micah 7:3Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together.
- Habakkuk 1:3Why dost thou show me iniquity, and look upon perverseness? for destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up.
- Acts 7:51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
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
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries