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the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

Brenton's Septuagint

Amos 6:4

who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Amusements and Worldly Pleasures;   Bed;   Confidence;   Conscience;   Eating;   Feasts;   Gluttony;   Ivory;   Rich, the;   Worldliness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Animals;   Beds;   Calves;   Epicureans;   Food;   Food, Physical-Spiritual;   Ivory;   Luxury;   Pleasure, Worldly;   Self-Indulgence-Self-Denial;   Worldly;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Amusements and Pleasures, Worldly;   Beds;   Calf, the;   Diet of the Jews, the;   Gluttony;   Jews, the;   Lamb, the;   Ox, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Bed;   Calf;   Eating, Mode of;   Ivory;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Amos;   Government;   House;   Jeroboam;   Joy;   Self-discipline;   Sheep;   Singing;   Wealth;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Amos, Theology of;   Ethics;   Funeral;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Calf;   Dwellings;   Meals;   Music;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Banquets;   Bed;   Ivory;   Meals;   Rechab;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Amos;   Archaeology and Biblical Study;   Bed, Bedroom;   Earth, Land;   Furniture;   Herd;   Ivory;   Palace;   Remnant;   Samaria, Samaritans;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Day of the Lord;   Food;   House;   Ivory;   Manger;   Meals;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Couch;   Day of Judgment;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Couches;   Ivory;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Bed;   Calf;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Bed;   Ivory;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Houses;   Pillows;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Amos (1);   Bed;   Calf;   Commerce;   Furniture;   Ivory;   Jeroboam;   Meals;   Stall;   Triclinium;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Beds;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Alliteration and Kindred Figures;   Couch;   Ethics;   Food;   Furniture, Household;   Sheep;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,sprawled out on their couches,and dine on lambs from the flockand calves from the stall.
Hebrew Names Version
Who lie on beds of ivory, And stretch themselves on their couches, And eat the lambs out of the flock, And the calves out of the midst of the stall;
King James Version (1611)
That lie vpon beds of Yuorie, and stretch themselues vpon their couches, and eate the lambes out of the flocke, and the calues out of the midst of the stall:
King James Version
That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
English Standard Version
"Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,
New American Standard Bible
Those who lie on beds of ivory, And lounge around on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the fattened cattle,
New Century Version
You lie on beds decorated with ivory and stretch out on your couches. You eat tender lambs and fattened calves.
Amplified Bible
Those who lie on [luxurious] beds of ivory And lounge around out on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall,
Geneva Bible (1587)
They lie vpon beddes of yuorie, & stretch themselues vpon their beddes, & eate the lambes of the flocke, and the calues out of the stall.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Those who recline on beds of ivory And sprawl on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall,
Legacy Standard Bible
Those who lay down on beds of ivoryAnd sprawl on their couchesAnd eat lambs from the flockAnd calves from the midst of the stall,
Berean Standard Bible
You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
Contemporary English Version
You rich people lounge around on beds with ivory posts, while dining on the meat of your lambs and calves.
Complete Jewish Bible
You lie on beds of ivory and lounge sprawled out on your couches, dining on meat from lambs in the flock and from calves fattened in stalls.
Darby Translation
that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves from the midst of the stall;
Easy-to-Read Version
But now you lie on ivory beds and stretch out on your couches. You eat tender young lambs from the flock and young calves from the stable.
George Lamsa Translation
Who lie upon beds of ivory, and give themselves to pleasures upon their couches, and eat the fatlings from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd;
Good News Translation
How terrible it will be for you that stretch out on your luxurious couches, feasting on veal and lamb!
Lexham English Bible
Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches, and those eating young rams from the sheep and goats, and bull-calves from the middle of the animal stall.
Literal Translation
who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves on their couches; and those eating the lambs from the flock, and bull calves from the midst of the stall;
American Standard Version
that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
Bible in Basic English
Who are resting on beds of ivory, stretched out on soft seats, feasting on lambs from the flock and young oxen from the cattle-house;
JPS Old Testament (1917)
That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
They lye vpon beddes of yuorie, and stretche them selues vpon their couches, and eate the lambes out of the flocke, and the calues out of the stall.
English Revised Version
that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
World English Bible
Who lie on beds of ivory, And stretch themselves on their couches, And eat the lambs out of the flock, And the calves out of the midst of the stall;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and ye slepen in beddis of yuer, and doen letcherie in youre beddis; and ye eten a lomb of the flok, and calues of the myddil of droue;
Update Bible Version
that lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
Webster's Bible Translation
That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall;
New English Translation
They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.
New King James Version
Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall;
New Living Translation
How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds and lounge on your couches, eating the meat of tender lambs from the flock and of choice calves fattened in the stall.
New Life Bible
How bad it will be for you who lie on beds of ivory and spread out upon your long seats! You eat lambs from the flock and calves from the cattle-house.
New Revised Standard
Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Who are lying on beds of ivory, and sprawling on their couch of pleasure, - and eating the well-fed of the flock, and the fatted calves out of the midst of the stalls:
Douay-Rheims Bible
You that sleep upon beds of ivory, and are wanton on your couches: that eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the herd;
Revised Standard Version
"Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall;
Young's Literal Translation
Who are lying down on beds of ivory, And are spread out on their couches, And are eating lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the stall,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye that lye vpon beddes off yuery, and vse youre wantonnesse vpon youre couches: ye that eate the best lambes of ye flocke, and the fattest calues off the droaue:

Contextual Overview

1 Woe to them that set at nought Sion, and that trust in the mountain of Samaria: they have gathered the harvest of the heads of the nations, and they have gone in themselves. 2 O house of Israel, pass by all of you, and see; and pass by thence to Ematrabba; and thence descend to Geth of the Philistines, the chief of all these kingdoms, see if their coasts are greater than your coasts. 3 Ye who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths; 4 who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls; 5 who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as abiding, not as fleeting pleasures; 6 who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph. 7 Therefore now shall they depart into captivity from the dominion of princes, and the neighing of horses shall be cut off from Ephraim.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

lie: Isaiah 5:11, Isaiah 5:12, Isaiah 22:13, Luke 16:19, Romans 13:13, Romans 13:14, James 5:5

beds: Either sofas to recline on at table, or beds to sleep on; which among the ancients, were ornamented with ivory inlaid.

stretch themselves upon their couches: or, abound with superfluities, 1 Samuel 25:36-38, Psalms 73:7, Luke 12:19, Luke 12:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 18:7 - General 1 Kings 10:18 - ivory 1 Kings 22:39 - the ivory house 2 Kings 9:34 - he did eat Esther 1:6 - the beds Esther 5:14 - go thou in Job 21:12 - General Jeremiah 16:8 - General Jeremiah 46:21 - fatted bullocks Lamentations 5:15 - our dance Ezekiel 23:41 - stately Ezekiel 26:13 - General Daniel 6:18 - and passed Amos 2:8 - by Amos 8:10 - I will turn

Cross-References

Genesis 6:15
Make therefore for thyself an ark of square timber; thou shalt make the ark in compartments, and thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Genesis 6:20
And of all cattle and of all reptiles and of all wild beasts, even of all flesh, thou shalt bring by pairs of all, into the ark, that thou mayest feed them with thyself: male and female they shall be.
Genesis 6:21
Of all winged birds after their kind, and of all cattle after their kind, and of all reptiles creeping upon the earth after their kind, pairs of all shall come in to thee, male and female to be fed with thee.
Genesis 6:22
And thou shalt take to thyself of all kinds of food which ye eat, and thou shalt gather them to thyself, and it shall be for thee and them to eat.
Genesis 11:4
And they said, Come, let us build to ourselves a city and tower, whose top shall be to heaven, and let us make to ourselves a name, before we are scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Numbers 13:33
And they brought a horror of that land which they surveyed upon the children of Israel, saying, The land which we passed by to survey it, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of extraordinary stature.
Numbers 16:2
and rose up before Moses, and two hundred and fifty men of the sons of Israel, chiefs of the assembly, chosen councillors, and men of renown.
Deuteronomy 3:11
For only Og the king of Basan was left of the Raphain: behold, his bed was a bed of iron; behold, it is in the chief city of the children of Ammon; the length of it is nine cubits, and the breadth of it four cubits, according to the cubit of a man.
1 Samuel 17:4
And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath, by name, out of Geth, his height was four cubits and a span.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

That lie upon beds of ivory,.... That were made of it, or inlaid with it, or covered with it, as the Targum; nor was it improbable that these were made wholly of ivory, for such beds we read of: Timaeus says r, the Agrigentines had beds entirely made of ivory; and Horace s also speaks of such beds: and if any credit can be given to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem on Genesis 50:1. Joseph made his father Jacob to lie on a bed of ivory. Indeed, the Latin interpreters of these Targums render it a cedar bed; but Buxtorf t conjectures that ivory is meant by the word used; and so Bochart u translates it; on these they lay either for sleep and rest, or to eat their meals;

and stretch themselves upon their couches; for the same purposes, living in great splendour, and indulging themselves in ease and sloth; as it was the custom of the eastern countries, and is of the Arabs now; that they make little or no use of chairs, but either sitting cross legged, or lying at length, have couches to lie on at their meals; and when they indulge to ease, they cover or spread their floors with carpets, which for the most part are of the richest materials. Along the sides of the wall or floor, a range of narrow beds or mattresses is often placed upon these carpets; and, for their further ease and convenience, several velvet or damask bolsters are placed upon these, or mattresses w, to lean upon, and take their ease; see

Ezekiel 13:18; and thus, and in some such like manner, did the principal men of the people of Israel indulge themselves. Some render it, "abound with superfluities"; the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "are lascivious"; and the Arabic version, "burn in lust"; and so some of the Jewish writers interpret it of their committing adulteries, and all uncleanness, on their beds and couches;

and eat the lambs out of the flock; pick the best and fattest of them for their use: so the Targum,

"eat the fat of the sheep:''

and the calves out of the midst of the stall; where they are put, and kept to be fattened; from thence they took what they liked best, and perhaps not out of theft own flocks and stalls, but out of others, and with which they pampered themselves to excess.

r Apud Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 29. s "----Rubro ubi cocco Tincta super lectos cauderet vestis eburnos". Horat. Serm. l. 2. Satyr. 6. v. 102. t Lexic. Talmud. col. 2475. u Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 24. col. 252. w See Shaw's Travels, p. 209. Ed. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That lie upon beds (that is, sofas) of ivory - that is, probably inlaid with ivory. The word might, in itself, express either the bed, in which they slept by night, or the divan, on which the Easterns lay at their meals; “and stretch themselves,” literally, “are poured” out , stretching their listless length, dissolved, unnerved, in luxury and sloth, “upon their couches,” perhaps under an awning: “and eat the lambs,” probably “fatted lambs (as in Deuteronomy 32:14; Psa 37:20; 1 Samuel 15:9; Jeremiah 51:40), out of the flock,” chosen, selected out of it as the best, and “calves out of the midst of the stall;” that is, the place where they were tied up (as the word means) to be fatted. They were stall-fed, as we say, and these people had the best chosen for them.

: “He shews how they ‘draw nigh the seat of violence.’ They lay on beds or couches of ivory, and expended thereon the money wherewith their poor brethren were to be fed. Go now, I say not into the houses of nobles, but into any house of any rich man, see the gilded and worked couches, curtains woven of silk and gold, and walls covered with gold, while the poor of Christ are naked, shivering, shriveled with hunger. Yet stranger is it, that while this is everywhere, scarce anywhere is there who now blames it. Now I say, for there were formerly. ‘Ye array,’ Ambrose says , ‘walls with gold, men ye bare. The naked cries before your door and you neglect him; and are careful with what marbles you clothe your pavement. The poor seeketh money, and hath it not; man asketh for bread, and thy horse champeth gold. Thou delightest in costly ornaments, while others have not meal. What judgment thou heapest on thyself, thou man of wealth! Miserable, who hast power to keep so many souls from death, and hast not the will! The jewel of thy ring could maintain in life a whole population.’ If such things are not to be blamed now, then neither were they formerly.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Amos 6:4. That lie upon beds of ivory — The word הוי hoi, wo, is understood at the beginning of each of the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth verses. The beds mentioned here may be either sofas to recline on at table, or beds to sleep on; and these among the ancients were ornamented with ivory inlaid. They were called lectos eburatos by Plautus, lectos eburnos by Horace, "ivory beds." Probably those ornamented with shells, or mother-of-pearl, may be intended. Several works of this kind may be still seen in Palestine and other places. I have before me a cross brought from Jerusalem, incrusted all over with mother-of-pearl, and various figures chased on it.

There must have been a great deal of luxury and effeminacy among the Israelites at this time; and, consequently, abundance of riches. This was in the time of Jeroboam the second, when the kingdom had enjoyed a long peace. The description in the fourth, fifth, and sixth verses, is that of an Asiatic court even in the present day.


 
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