Amos 6:12
New International Version
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—

New Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
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—

Berean Standard Bible
“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—

King James Bible
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:

New King James Version
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 American Standard Bible
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,

NASB 1995
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,

NASB 1977
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,

Legacy Standard Bible
Do horses run on rocks? Or does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have overturned justice into gall And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

Amplified Bible
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),

Christian Standard Bible
Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does anyone plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood —

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Do horses gallop on the cliffs; does anyone plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—

American Standard Version
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;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Do horses run on rocks, or do they drive a plow with them? For you have turned justice back to bitterness and the fruit of righteousness to wormwood

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Will horses run upon rocks? will they refrain from neighing at mares? for ye have turned judgment into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness:

Contemporary English Version
Horses can't gallop on rocks; oceans can't be plowed. But you have turned justice and fairness into bitter poison.

Douay-Rheims Bible
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.

English Revised Version
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:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Do horses run on rocks? Does a farmer plow the sea with oxen? Yet, you have turned justice into something deadly and what is righteous into poison.

Good News Translation
Do horses gallop on rocks? Does anyone plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison, and right into wrong.

International Standard Version
"Horses don't run over bare rock, do they? One doesn't plow rock with oxen, does he? But you have turned justice to gall, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness.

JPS Tanakh 1917
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;

Literal Standard Version
Do horses run on a rock? Does one plow [it] with oxen? For you have turned judgment to gall, | And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood.

Majority Standard Bible
“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—

New American Bible
Can horses run over rock, or can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

NET Bible
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.

New Revised Standard Version
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—

New Heart English Bible
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;

Webster's Bible Translation
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:

World English Bible
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,

Young's Literal Translation
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.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Pride of Israel
11For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.” 12“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— 13you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’…

Cross References
James 3:18
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

1 Kings 21:7
But his wife Jezebel said to him, "Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

Isaiah 59:13
rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.

Isaiah 59:14
So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

Hosea 10:4
They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

Amos 2:3
I will cut off the ruler of Moab and kill all the officials with him," says the LORD.

Amos 3:10
"For they know not how to do right," declares the LORD. "They store up violence and destruction in their citadels."


Treasury of Scripture

Shall horses run on the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for you have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

horses.

Isaiah 48:4
Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

Jeremiah 6:29,30
The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away…

for.

Amos 5:7,11,12
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, …

1 Kings 21:7-13
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite…

Psalm 94:20,21
Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? …

Jump to Previous
Bitter Bitterness Crags Fruit Gall Hemlock Horses Judgment Justice Oxen Plant Plough Ploughed Plow Poison Possible Righteousness Rock Rocks Rocky Run Running Sea Thereon Turned Wormwood
Jump to Next
Bitter Bitterness Crags Fruit Gall Hemlock Horses Judgment Justice Oxen Plant Plough Ploughed Plow Poison Possible Righteousness Rock Rocks Rocky Run Running Sea Thereon Turned Wormwood
Amos 6
1. The wantonness of Israel,
7. shall be plagued with desolation;
12. and their incorrigibleness shall end in affliction.














(12) The questions require a negative answer, and show that the conduct of Israel is as inconsistent and senseless as the supposition involved in the interrogation: that horses should climb steep cliffs, or oxen plough in the rocky gorge. The conception of oppression, luxury, and pride being the forerunners of prosperity and peace is anomalous. The idea is, that that which should have insured the stability of the state, the embodiment of its conscience, had been turned into narcotic poison--the self-satisfaction of personal greed. Rosh, the Hebrew for "gall," is a poisonous kind of plant with bitter taste, and resembling, according to Jerome, stalks of grass, and propagating itself with such rapidity that it is difficult to exterminate it. (Comp. Hosea 10:4. Speaker's Commentary suggests "poppy-head.") In Amos 5:7 the word expressed here by "hemlock" is rendered "worm-wood," as in Jeremiah 9:15; Jeremiah 23:15; Deuteronomy 29:18, &c., a rendering which should have been retained here. Gall and worm-wood are constantly associated in Old Testament prophecy in this metaphorical sense.

Verses 12-14. - The prophet shows the folly of these evil doers who think in their own strength to defy judgment and to resist the enemy whom God is sending against them. Verse 12. - Shall horses run upon the rock? Can horses gallop safely over places covered with rocks and stones? Will one plough there with oxen? Do men plough the rock with their oxen? The answer, of course, is "No." Yet your conduct is equally foolish, your labour is equally lost. Some, dividing the words differently, translate, "Does one plough the sea with oxen?" which reminds one of the Latin proverb, "Litus arare bubus." Thus Ovid, 'Ep. Heroid,' 5:115 -

"Quid facis OEnone? Quid arenae semina mandas?
Non protecturis litora bubus aras."
For ye have turned; or, that ye have turned. Judgment into gall (see note on Amos 5:7). Hemlock. Some plant with an acrid juice. Ye turn the administration of justice, which is "the fruit of righteousness," into the bitterest injustice and wrong. It were "more easy," says Pusey, "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."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Do horses
סוּסִ֔ים (sū·sîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5483: A swallow, swift (type of bird)

gallop
הַיְרֻצ֤וּן (hay·ru·ṣūn)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 7323: To run

on the cliffs?
בַּסֶּ֙לַע֙ (bas·se·la‘)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5553: A craggy rock

Does one plow [the sea]
יַחֲר֖וֹשׁ (ya·ḥă·rō·wōš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2790: To cut in, engrave, plow, devise

with oxen?
בַּבְּקָרִ֑ים (bab·bə·qā·rîm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1241: Beef cattle, ox, a herd

But
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

you have turned
הֲפַכְתֶּ֤ם (hă·p̄aḵ·tem)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 2015: To turn about, over, to change, overturn, return, pervert

justice
מִשְׁפָּ֔ט (miš·pāṭ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4941: A verdict, a sentence, formal decree, divine law, penalty, justice, privilege, style

into poison
לְרֹאשׁ֙ (lə·rōš)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7219: A poisonous plant, the poppy, poison

and the fruit
וּפְרִ֥י (ū·p̄ə·rî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6529: Fruit

of righteousness
צְדָקָ֖ה (ṣə·ḏā·qāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6666: Rightness, subjectively, objectively

into wormwood—
לְלַעֲנָֽה׃ (lə·la·‘ă·nāh)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3939: Wormwood


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OT Prophets: Amos 6:12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? (Amo. Am)
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