Add parallel Print Page Options

13 You are happy because you conquered Lo Debar.[a]
You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim[b] by our own power?”
14 “Look! I am about to bring[c] a nation against you, family[d] of Israel,”
the Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.
“They will oppress[e] you all the way from Lebo Hamath[f] to the stream of the rift valley.”[g]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:13 tn Heb “those who rejoice over Lo Debar.”sn Lo Debar was located across the Jordan River in Gilead, which the Israelite army had conquered. However, there is stinging irony here, for in Hebrew the name Lo-Debar means “nothing.” In reality Israel was happy over nothing of lasting consequence.
  2. Amos 6:13 sn Karnaim was also located across the Jordan River. The name in Hebrew means “double horned.” Since an animal’s horn was a symbol of strength (see Deut 33:17), the Israelites boasted in this victory over a town whose very name symbolized military power.
  3. Amos 6:14 tn Or “raise up” (KJV, NASB); cf. NIV “stir up.”
  4. Amos 6:14 tn Heb “house.”
  5. Amos 6:14 sn Once again there is irony in the divine judgment. The oppressive nation itself will suffer oppression. The verb “oppress” (לָחַץ, lakhats) in this verse is not the same as that used in 4:1 (עָשַׁק, ʿashaq).
  6. Amos 6:14 tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.” The Hebrew term לְבוֹא (levoʾ) can either be translated or considered a part of the place name. This may be a site some 44 miles north of Damascus (see T.R. Hobbs, 2 Kings [WBC], 182).
  7. Amos 6:14 sn Lebo Hamath refers to the northern border of Israel, the stream of the rift valley to its southern border. See Num 34:8, 12; 1 Kgs 8:65; 2 Kgs 14:25. The southern border is named in various ways, as the Dead Sea, the stream of the rift valley (a stream which flows into the Dead Sea, possibly Zered at the south end), and the Brook of Egypt (the southwestern boundary). Through this invader the Lord would reverse the victories and territorial expansion Israel experienced during the reign of Jeroboam II.

13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[a]
    and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[b] by our own strength?(A)

14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
    “I will stir up a nation(B) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
    from Lebo Hamath(C) to the valley of the Arabah.(D)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
  2. Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.