Amos 6:2

Amos 6:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Go over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory?

Context of Amos 6:2

1Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria — the notable people in this first of the nations, those the house of Israel comes to. Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours? 3You dismiss any thought of the evil day and bring in a reign of violence. 4They lie on beds inlaid with ivory, sprawled out on their couches, and dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.

Amos 6:2 word by word

עִבְר֤וּ כַֽלְנֵה֙ וּרְא֔וּ וּלְכ֥וּ מִשָּׁ֖ם חֲמַ֣ת רַבָּ֑ה וּרְד֣וּ גַת־פְּלִשְׁתּ֗ים הֲטוֹבִים֙ מִן־הַמַּמְלָכ֣וֹת הָאֵ֔לֶּה אִם־רַ֥ב גְּבוּלָ֖ם מִגְּבֻלְכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Passעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• ye unto Calnehכַּלְנֶהkalneh kalnêh kalnô · CalnehH3641
• and seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and from thence goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• ye to Hamathחֲמָתchămâth · HamathH2574
• the greatחֲמַת רַבָּהchămath rabbâh · Hamath the greatH2579
• the greatרַבrab · manyH7227
• then go downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• to Gathגַּתgath · GathH1661
• of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• than these kingdomsמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh · kingdomH4467
• or their borderגְּבוּלgebûl gebûl · border: areaH1366
• greaterרַבrab · manyH7227

Cross-references for Amos 6:2

• Jeremiah 2:10Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and take a look. Send someone to Kedar and consider carefully; see if there has ever been anything like this:
• Nahum 3:8Are you better than Thebes that sat along the Nile with water surrounding her, whose rampart was the sea, the river her wall?
• Genesis 10:10His kingdom started with Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
• Isaiah 10:9Isn’t Calno like Carchemish? Isn’t Hamath like Arpad? Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?
• 2 Kings 17:24Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
• 2 Kings 18:34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my power?
• 2 Kings 19:13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’”
• 1 Samuel 17:4Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall
• 2 Chronicles 26:6Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. Then he built cities in the vicinity of Ashdod and among the Philistines.
• Isaiah 36:18Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us.’ Has any one of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?
• Isaiah 37:12Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them — Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar?
• Ezekiel 31:2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes, ‘Who are you like in your greatness?

Commentaries on Amos 6:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Pass ye unto Calneh - This is, says Calmet, the Ctesiphon on the river Tigris. Hamath - The same as Emesa. Hamath was a city on the Orontes, in Syria. Gath - A well-known town, and head of one of the five seignories of the Philistines. Be they better - You have no more reason to expect exemption from the consequences of your sins than they had. They have been punished; so shall you. Why then will ye trust in their gods, that could not save their own…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Pass over to Calneh - He bids them behold, east, north, and west, survey three neighboring kingdoms, and see whether God had not, even in the gifts of this world, dealt better with Israel. Why then so requite Him? “Calneh” (which Isaiah calls “Calno” Isaiah 10:9, Ezekiel, “Canneh Ezekiel 27:23), was one of the four cities, built by Nimrod “in the land of Shinar Genesis 10:10, the beginning of his kingdom.” From that time, until this of Amos, no mention of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Calneh and Hamath were Aramean city-states influenced by Israel (see 2 Kings 14:28). Calneh fell to Assyria in 738 BC, and Hamath had to pay tribute soon after. Uzziah had destroyed the wall of Gath (2 Chronicles 26:6), but it also fell to Assyria in 711 BC. Are you better: Israel itself fell in 722 BC.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Calneh--on the east bank of the Tigris. Once powerful, but recently subjugated by Assyria (Is 10:9; about 794 B.C.). Hameth--subjugated by Jeroboam II (2Ki 14:25). Also by Assyria subsequently (2Ki 18:34). Compare Am 6:14. Gath--subjugated by Uzziah (2Ch 26:6). be they better--no. Their so recent subjugation renders it needless for Me to tell you they are not. And yet they once were; still they could not defend themselves against the enemy. How vain…Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 6:2

• Amusements and Worldly Pleasures
• Calneh
• Confidence
• Gath
• Hamath
• Rich, the

In the dictionaries

• Gath
• Hamath
• Philistines
• Gath, Gittite
• Hamath, Hamathites, Lebo Hamath
• Banquet
• Calneh
• Chant
• Ease
• Amos (1)

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