the Week of Proper 14 / Ordinary 19
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Bishop's Bible
Amos 6:12
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- InternationalParallel Translations
Do horses gallop on the cliffs?Does anyone plow there with oxen?Yet you have turned justice into poisonand the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, And the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
Shall horses runne vpon the rocke? wil one plow there with oxen? for ye haue turned iudgement into gall, and the fruite of righteousnesse into hemlocke.
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:
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—
Do horses run on rocks? Or does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Horses do not run on rocks, and people do not plow rocks with oxen. But you have changed fairness into poison; you have changed what is right into a bitter taste.
Do horses run on rocks? Do men plow rocks with oxen? [Of course not!] Yet you have turned justice into poison And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (bitterness),
Shal horses runne vpon the rocke? or wil one plowe there with oxen? for yee haue turned iudgement into gall, and the fruite of righteousnes into wormewood.
Do horses run on rocks? Or does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Do horses run on rocks?Or does one plow them with oxen?Yet you have overturned justice into gallAnd the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
"Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood-
Horses can't gallop on rocks; oceans can't be plowed. But you have turned justice and fairness into bitter poison.
Do horses run on rock? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitter wormwood.
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,
Do horses run over loose rocks? No, and people don't use cows for plowing. But you turned everything upside down. You changed justice and goodness to bitter poison.
Do horses run upon rocks? Or does one plough with horses? For you have turned justice into bitterness, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;
Do horses gallop on rocks? Does anyone plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison, and right into wrong.
Do horses run on rocks, or does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood!
Shall horses run on the rock? Or will one plow there with oxen? For you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
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;
Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?
Do horses run upon the rocks? Doth one plow there with oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;
For, behold, the Lord commands, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with rents.
Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? that ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood:
Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, And the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
Whether horsis moun renne in stoonys, ether it mai be eerid with wielde oxun? For ye turneden doom in to bitternesse, and the fruyt of riytfulnesse in to wermod.
Shall horses run on the rock? will one plow [there] with oxen? that you have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;
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:
Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.
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,
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.
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned what is fair into poison. You have turned what is right and good into something bitter.
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
Shall horses run upon crag? or will a man plough there with oxen? For ye have turned to poison the sentence of justice, and the fruit of righteousness, to wormwood:
(6-13) Can horses run upon the rocks, or can any one plough with buffles? for you have turned judgment into bitterness, and the fruit of justice into wormwood.
Do horses run upon rocks? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood--
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.
Who can runne with horses, or plowe wt oxen vpon the harde rockes off stone? For why, ye haue turned true iudgment in to bytternesse, and the frute of rightuousnesse in to wormwod:
Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks? Do you plow the sea with oxen? You'd cripple the horses and drown the oxen. And yet you've made a shambles of justice, a bloated corpse of righteousness, Bragging of your trivial pursuits, beating up on the weak and crowing, "Look what I've done!"
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
horses: Isaiah 48:4, Jeremiah 5:3, Jeremiah 6:29, Jeremiah 6:30, Zechariah 7:11, Zechariah 7:12
for: Amos 5:7, Amos 5:11, Amos 5:12, 1 Kings 21:7-13, Psalms 94:20, Psalms 94:21, Isaiah 59:13, Isaiah 59:14, Hosea 10:4, Hosea 10:13, Micah 7:3, Habakkuk 1:3, Habakkuk 1:4, Acts 7:51, Acts 7:52
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 29:18 - among you a root Esther 5:9 - joyful Proverbs 16:10 - transgresseth Proverbs 17:15 - that justifieth Ecclesiastes 5:8 - regardeth Amos 5:15 - establish Amos 6:3 - and cause Matthew 13:5 - General Mark 4:5 - General Luke 8:6 - General John 8:15 - judge Acts 24:25 - righteousness Revelation 8:11 - Wormwood
Cross-References
And it came to passe, that when men began to be multiplied in the vpper face of the earth, there were daughters borne vnto the:
And the sonnes of God also sawe the daughters of men that they were fayre, & they toke them wyues, such as theyliked, from among them all.
And the Lorde sayde: My spirite shall not alwayes stryue with man, because he is fleshe: yet his dayes shalbe an hundreth and twentie yeres.
But there were Giantes in those dayes in ye earth: yea & after that the sonnes of God came vnto the daughters of me, and hadde begotten chyldren of them, the same became myghtie men of the worlde, and men of renowme.
But God sawe that the malice of man was great in the earth, and all the imagination of the thoughtes of his heart [was] only euyll euery day.
But Noah founde grace in the eyes of the Lorde.
And God sayd vnto Noah: the ende of all fleshe is come before me, for the earth is fylled with crueltie through them, and beholde I wyl destroy them with the earth.
Make thee an Arke of Pine trees: Habitations shalt thou make in the arke, and shalt pitch it within and with out with pitche.
And of this fashion shalt thou make it: The length of the arke [shalbe] three hundreth cubites, the breadth of it fiftie cubites, & the height of it thirtie cubites.
A wyndowe shalt thou make in the arke, and in a cubite shalt thou finishe it aboue: but the doore of the arke shalt thou set in the syde therof. With three loftes one aboue another shalt thou make it.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Shall horses run upon the rocks? or will [one] plough [there] with oxen?.... Will any man be so weak and foolish, to propose or attempt a race for horses upon rocks, where they and their riders would be in danger of breaking their necks? or would any man act so unwise a part, as to take a yoke of oxen to plough with them upon a rock, where no impression can be made? as vain and fruitless a thing it would be to attempt to bring such persons under a conviction of their sins, and to repentance for them, and reformation from them, who are given up to a judicial hardness of heart, like that of a rock, as are the persons described in the next clause; or as such methods with horses and oxen would be contrary to all the rules of reason and prudence, so as contrary a part do such persons act whose characters are next given, and there is no probability of bringing them to better sense and practice of things;
for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock; that which would be beneficial to a nation, than which nothing is more so, as the exercise of justice, and judgment, into that which is bitter and pernicious to it, as injustice and oppression; see Amos 5:7.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The 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 eternal. More easy to change the course of nature or the use of things of nature, than the course of God’s Providence or the laws of His just retribution. They had changed the sweet laws of “justice” and equity “into” the “gall” of oppression, and the healthful “fruit of righteousness,” whereof they had received the seed from God, into the life-destroying poison of sin. Better to have “plowed” the rock “with oxen” for food! For now, where they looked for prosperity, they found not barrenness, but death.
Others understand the question as the taunt of unbelievers, trusting in the strength of Samaria, that when horses should run on their rocky eminence, or the oxen plow there, then might an enemy look for gain from investing the hill of Samaria. “Shall things which are against nature be done?” “Yes,” the prophet then would answer, “for ye have done against nature yourselves. Ye, have “changed justice,” the solace of the oppressed, “into wormwood,” the bitterness of oppression. Well may what ye think above the laws of physical nature be done, when ye have violated the laws of moral nature. Well may the less thing be done, your destruction, secure as by nature ye seem, when ye have done the greater, violating the laws of the God of nature.” Amos, however, when he refers to the sayings of the unbelievers, distinguishes them from his own.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Amos 6:12. Shall 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 judgment, and hemlock in the place of righteousness. You have not only been labouring in vain for yourselves, but you have also been oppressive to others; and for both ye shall suffer.
