The Meaning of Amos 6:12 Explained

Amos 6:12

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:

YLT: Do horses run on a rock? Doth one plough it with oxen? For ye have turned to gall judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood.

Darby: Shall horses run upon the rock? will men plough thereon with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

ASV: Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;

Discover Amos 6:12

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Amos 6:12?

MEANING: What does Amos 6:12 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Amos 6:12 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Amos 6:12?

What is the context of Amos 6:12?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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:

What does Amos 6:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

It was as unnatural for Israel"s leaders to live as they did as it was for horses to run on rocky crags or oxen to plow rocks. Horses normally ran on rock-free ground, and oxen plowed fields from which farmers had removed the rocks. Yet these leaders had replaced justice with corrupt courtroom decisions that had killed the defendants just as though they had taken poison. Righteousness in the rulers should have resulted in grace for the dependent that would have been sweet to their taste, but the treatment they received instead was bitter to their souls.

Context Summary

Amos 6:1-14 - "woe To Them That Are At Ease In Zion!"

Zion is included with Samaria in this prophecy and the nobles are especially condemned for their drunkenness, gluttony, and insolence. The prophet quotes the example of great neighboring peoples as a warning that the abuse of God's good gifts leads to their withdrawal. Calneh on the Tigris, and Hamath, had fallen before Assyria; Gath, also, had been recently overwhelmed-how unlikely, therefore, that Israel, eaten through by extravagance and luxury, could endure. National dissolution is not far away, when palaces are filled with riot while the poor rot in neglect. It was thus that Joseph's brethren ate their food at the pit's mouth, while Joseph lay beneath. Many professing Christians are similarly "at ease," indifferent to their brother's woe.

The greatness of approaching judgment is illustrated by a simple incident. A household of eleven is smitten by plague; ten die, one only survives. So great has been the mortality that no nearer relative than an uncle is left to carry out the dead for cremation; and when the matter of a funeral service is broached, the suggestion is instantly met by the remark, "Those old customs cannot be observed amid the stress of such a time; we do not now mention God's name." Funeral rites would pass out of use. God's dealings with His people had been as useless as plowing rocks would be. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 6

¹ The wantonness of Israel,
⁷ shall be plagued with desolation;
¹² and their incorrigibleness shall end in affliction

What do the individual words in Amos 6:12 mean?

Do run on rocks horses Or Does [one] plow [there] with oxen yet you have turned into gall justice and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood

הַיְרֻצ֤וּן ؟ בַּסֶּ֙לַע֙ סוּסִ֔ים אִֽם־ יַחֲר֖וֹשׁ ؟ בַּבְּקָרִ֑ים כִּֽי־ הֲפַכְתֶּ֤ם לְרֹאשׁ֙ מִשְׁפָּ֔ט וּפְרִ֥י צְדָקָ֖ה לְלַעֲנָֽה

הַיְרֻצ֤וּן	Do run
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun Root: רוּץ Sense: to run.
؟ בַּסֶּ֙לַע֙	on rocks
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: סֶלַע Sense: crag, cliff, rock.
סוּסִ֔ים	horses
Parse: Noun, masculine plural Root: סוּס Sense: swallow, swift.
יַחֲר֖וֹשׁ	Does [one] plow [there]
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: חָרַשׁ Sense: to cut in, plough, engrave, devise.
؟ בַּבְּקָרִ֑ים	with oxen
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural Root: בָּקָר Sense: cattle, herd, oxen, ox.
כִּֽי־	yet
Parse: Conjunction Root: כִּי Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הֲפַכְתֶּ֤ם	you have turned
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural Root: הָפַךְ Sense: to turn, overthrow, overturn.
לְרֹאשׁ֙	into gall
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular Root: רֹאשׁ Sense: gall, venom, bitter, poisonous.
מִשְׁפָּ֔ט	justice
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: מִשְׁפָּט Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
וּפְרִ֥י	and the fruit
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct Root: פְּרִי Sense: fruit.
צְדָקָ֖ה	of righteousness
Parse: Noun, feminine singular Root: צְדָקָה Sense: justice, righteousness.
לְלַעֲנָֽה	into wormwood
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular Root: לַעֲנָה Sense: wormwood.

What are the major concepts related to Amos 6:12?

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Similar Scriptures for Amos 6:12

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