New International Version
Amos 4:1
1Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
Amos 4:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!'
- New King James Version (NKJV)Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, “Bring wine, let us drink!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Listen to me, you fat cows living in Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, and who are always calling to your husbands, “Bring us another drink!”
Context of Amos 4:1
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!” 2The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness: “The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks. 3You will each go straight out through breaches in the wall, and you will be cast out toward Harmon,” declares the Lord.
Read all of Amos 4Amos 4:1 word by word
שִׁמְע֞וּ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה פָּר֤וֹת הַבָּשָׁן֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּהַ֣ר שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן הָעֹשְׁק֣וֹת דַּלִּ֔ים הָרֹצְצ֖וֹת אֶבְיוֹנִ֑ים הָאֹמְרֹ֥ת לַאֲדֹֽנֵיהֶ֖ם הָבִ֥יאָה וְנִשְׁתֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- this wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- ye kineפָּרָהpârâh · heiferH6510
- of Bashanבָּשָׁןbâshân · BashanH1316
- in the mountainהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- of Samariaשֹׁמְרוֹןshômerôn · SamariaH8111
- which oppressעָשַׁק‛âshaq · to oppressH6231
- the poorדַּלdal · poorH1800
- which crushרָצַץrâtsats · to crushH7533
- the needyאֶבְיוֹן'ebyôn · needyH34
- which sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- to their mastersאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- Bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- and let us drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
Cross-references for Amos 4:1
- Deuteronomy 32:14with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats, with choice rams of Bashan and the finest kernels of wheat. You drank the foaming blood of the grape.
- Psalms 22:12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
- Jeremiah 50:11“Because you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain and neigh like stallions,
- Ezekiel 39:18You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.
- Amos 6:1Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!
- 1 Kings 16:24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.
- Amos 2:6This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 3:9Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.”
- Amos 5:11You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.
- Amos 8:4Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,
- Exodus 22:21“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 15:9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.
- Psalms 12:5“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
- Psalms 140:12I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.
- Proverbs 22:22Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,
- Proverbs 23:10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
Commentaries on Amos 4:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan - Such an address was quite natural from the herdsman of Tekoa. Bashan was famous for the fertility of its soil, and its flocks and herds; and the prophet here represents the iniquitous, opulent, idle, lazy drones, whether men or women, under the idea of fatted bullocks, which were shortly to be led out to the slaughter.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Hear ye this, ye kine of Bashan - The pastures of Bashan were very rich, and it had its name probably from its richness of soil. The Batanea of later times was a province only of the kingdom of Bashan, which, with half of Gilead, was given to the half tribe of Manasseh. For the Bashan of Og included Golan Deuteronomy 4:43, (the capital of the subsequent Gaulonitis, now Jaulan) Beeshterah Joshua 21:27, (or Ashtaroth) 1 Chronicles 6:71, very probably Bostra…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Israel is reproved. (1-5) Their impenitence shown. (6-13) Verses 1-5 What is got by extortion is commonly used to provide for the flesh, and to fulfil the lusts thereof. What is got by oppression cannot be enjoyed with satisfaction. How miserable are those whose confidence in unscriptural observances only prove that they believe a lie! Let us see to it that our faith, hope, and worship, are warranted by the Divine word.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1you cows of Bashan: Bashan was famous for its fierce, fat bulls (Psalm 22:12; Ezekiel 39:18). Amos uses the feminine form (cows) to describe Israel’s wealthy wives, who ignored the poor. They only cared about taking enough wealth from the needy to support their own lifestyles.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-131. kine of Bashan--fat and wanton cattle such as the rich pasture of Bashan (east of Jordan, between Hermon and Gilead) was famed for (De 32:14; Psa 22:12; Eze 39:18). Figurative for those luxurious nobles mentioned, Am 3:9, 10, 12, 15. The feminine, kine, or cows, not bulls, expresses their effeminacy. This accounts for masculine forms in the Hebrew being intermixed with feminine; the latter being figurative, the former the real persons meant. say to…Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 4:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Amos 4
- 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries