Amos 6 · Verse 13

Amos 6:13

Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
Amos 6:13, King James Version

Amos 6:13 in other translations

BSByou who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’
WEByou who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’
ASVye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
YLTO ye who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, ‘Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves horns?'
DARBY— ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us power by our own strength?
BBEYou whose joy is in a thing of no value, who say, Have we not taken for ourselves horns by the strength which is ours?
WebsterYe who rejoice in a thing of naught, who say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

What does Amos 6:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. rejoice in a thing of naught--that is, in your vain and fleeting riches. Have we not taken to us horns--that is, acquired power, so as to conquer our neighbors (2Ki 14:25). Horns are the Hebrew symbol of power, being the instrument of strength in many animals (Psa 75:10).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of naught - In your idols: for an idol is nothing in the world. Have we not taken to us horns - We have arrived to power and dignity by our strength. Horns were the symbols of power and authority. So Horace: - Vina parant animos: tum pauper cornua sumet. "Wine repairs our strength, and furnishes the poor with horns." At such times they think themselves as great as the greatest.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Amos 6:8-14

How dreadful, how miserable, is the case of those whose eternal ruin the Lord himself has sworn; for he can execute his purpose, and none can alter it! Those hearts are wretchedly hardened that will not be brought to mention God's name, and to worship him, when the hand of God is gone out against them, when sickness and death are in their families. Those that will not be tilled as fields, shall be abandoned as…

Read the full comment on Amos 6:8-14 →

Amos 6:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הַשְּׂמֵחִ֖יםha.se.me.Chimthe joyful [people]H8056
לְלֹ֣אle.Lo'to LoH3810
דָבָ֑רda.VarDebarH3810
הָאֹ֣מְרִ֔יםha.'O.me.Rimwho sayH559
הֲל֣וֹאha.Lo'¿ notH3808
בְחָזְקֵ֔נוּve.cha.ze.Ke.nuby own strength ourH2392
לָקַ֥חְנוּla.Kach.nuhave we takenH3947
לָ֖נוּLa.nufor ourselves
קַרְנָֽיִם\׃kar.Na.yimKarnaimH7161

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Amos 6:13

  • Luke 12:19-20

    And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

  • Isaiah 28:14-15

    Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

  • James 4:16

    But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

  • 2 Kings 14:25

    He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath–hepher.

  • Job 31:29

    If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:

  • 1 Samuel 4:5

    And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.

  • 2 Kings 14:12-14

    And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents. And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth–shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.

  • Exodus 32:18-19

    And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

  • Judges 9:19-20

    If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech.

  • Isaiah 17:3-4

    The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

  • Isaiah 7:1

    And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

  • Jonah 4:6

    And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
which.
Ex 32:18,19; Jud 9:19,20,27; 16:23-25; 1Sa 4:5; Job 31:25,29
Ec 11:9; Isa 8:6; Jer 9:23; 50:11; Jon 4:6; Hab 1:15,16; Zep 3:11
Lu 12:19,20; Joh 16:20; Jas 4:16; Re 11:10
Have.
2Ki 13:25; 14:12-14,25; 2Ch 28:6-8; Isa 7:1,4; 17:3,4; 28:14,15
Da 4:30

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Amos 6:12

    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:

  • Amos 6:13

    Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

  • Amos 6:14

    But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

Read all of Amos 6

Amos 6:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Vosotros que os alegráis en nada, que decís: ¿No nos hemos adquirido potencia con nuestra fortaleza?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		vous qui vous réjouissez en ce qui n’est rien, vous qui dites: Avec notre force, ne nous sommes-nous pas acquis de la puissance?
German
Elberfelder 1871		die ihr euch über Nichtiges freuet, die ihr sprechet: Haben wir uns nicht durch unsere Stärke Hörner erworben?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Numquid currere queunt in petris equi, aut arari potest in bubalis? quoniam convertistis in amaritudinem judicium, et fructum justitiæ in absinthium.