Discovery BoxAmos 6:1 
Context6:1 Woe 1 to those who live in ease in Zion, 2
to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
They think of themselves as 3 the elite class of the best nation.
The family 4 of Israel looks to them for leadership. 5
Amos 6:14
Context6:14 “Look! I am about to bring 6 a nation against you, family 7 of Israel.”
The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.
“They will oppress 8 you all the way from Lebo-Hamath 9 to the Stream of the Arabah.” 10
Amos 9:8
Context9:8 Look, the sovereign Lord is watching 11 the sinful nation, 12
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the family 13 of Jacob,” says the Lord.
1 tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.
2 sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.
3 tn The words “They think of themselves as” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the term נְקֻבֵי (nÿquvey; “distinguished ones, elite”) is in apposition to the substantival participles in the first line.
4 tn Heb “house.”
5 tn Heb “comes to them.”
6 tn Or “raise up” (KJV, NASB); NIV “stir up.”
7 tn Heb “house.”
8 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, ’ashaq).
9 tn Or “from the entrance to Hamath.” The Hebrew term לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) can either be translated or considered a part of the place name.
10 sn Lebo-Hamath refers to the northern border of Israel, the Stream of the Arabah to its southern border. See 2 Kgs 14:25. Through this invader the Lord would reverse the victories and territorial expansion Israel experienced during the reign of Jeroboam II.
11 tn Heb “the eyes of the sovereign
12 tn Or “kingdom.”
13 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
