God’s Word Translation
Amos 6:12
12Do horses run on rocks? Does a farmer plow the sea with oxen? Yet, you have turned justice into something deadly and what is righteous into poison.
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
10If a relative or a mortician comes to take the dead bodies out of the house and asks someone who is inside the house, “Is there anyone else with you?” that person will answer, “No.” “Hush,” he will add. “We shouldn’t mention the name of the Lord!” 11The Lord is going to give the command to level big houses and flatten little houses. Do horses run on rocks? Does a farmer plow the sea with oxen? Yet, you have turned justice into something deadly and what is righteous into poison. 13How horrible it will be for those who rejoice over Lo Debar and who say, “We were strong enough to capture Karnaim by ourselves.” 14I am going to lead a nation to attack you, nation of Israel, declares the Lord God of the Armies of the Nations. They will oppress you from the border of Hamath to the valley of 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
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 48:4I know that you are stubborn. Like iron, you are hardheaded. Like bronze, nothing gets through your thick skull.
- Jeremiah 5:3Lord, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don’t feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.
- Jeremiah 6:29The bellows of the blast furnace blow fiercely to make the fire melt away the lead. It is useless to go on refining because the impurities can’t be removed.
- Zechariah 7:11“But people refused to pay attention. They shrugged their shoulders at me and shut their ears so that they couldn’t hear.
- Amos 5:7You, Israel, turn justice into poison and throw righteousness on the ground.
- 1 Kings 21:7His wife Jezebel said to him, “Aren’t you king of Israel? Get up, eat, and cheer up. I’ll give you the vineyard belonging to Naboth from Jezreel.”
- Psalms 94:20Are wicked rulers who use the law to do unlawful things able to be your partners?
- Isaiah 59:13We have rebelled and denied the Lord. We have turned away from our God. We have spoken about oppression and revolt. We have conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.
- Hosea 10:4They say many things. They lie when they take oaths, and they make promises they don’t intend to keep. That’s why lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
- Micah 7:3Their hands are skilled in doing evil. Officials ask for gifts. Judges accept bribes. Powerful people dictate what they want. So they scheme together.
- Habakkuk 1:3Why do you make me see wrongdoing? And why do you watch wickedness? Destruction and violence are in front of me. Quarrels and disputes arise.
- Acts 7:51“How stubborn can you be? How can you be so heartless and disobedient? You’re just like your ancestors. They always opposed the Holy Spirit, and so do you!
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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