New International Version
Amos 6:12
12Do 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—
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:
- 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,
- New Living Translation (NLT)Can horses gallop over boulders? Can oxen be used to plow them? But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison and the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.
Context of Amos 6:12
10And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.” 11For the Lord has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits. 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— 13you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, “Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?” 14For the Lord God Almighty declares, “I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley 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
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 48:4For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze.
- Jeremiah 5:3Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
- Jeremiah 6:29The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.
- Zechariah 7:11“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.
- 1 Kings 21:7Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
- Psalms 94:20Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?
- Isaiah 59:13rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
- Hosea 10:4They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
- Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together.
- Habakkuk 1:3Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.
- Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
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
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