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Amos 6:8-11, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Amos 6:8-11
Jacob's Pride and Palaces Are Abhorred
The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself
The oath abhors the excellency of Jacob and hates his palaces; city and fullness are delivered up. "Excellency" can mean pride or splendor. Proud security is rejected. Jacob is not discarded as a people. Chapter 9 will refuse total destruction and promise restoration.
Jacob's pride does not authorize antisemitism, contempt for Jews, or a claim that God has abandoned Israel. The target is institutional boast and palace confidence in a collapsing northern society.
Ten men in one house, and a command to hold the tongue
If ten remain in one house, they shall die. A kinsman and "he that burneth him" take up bones and warn, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. The burial vocabulary is compressed and difficult: cremation, plague-control, ritual fear, and judgment readings all remain open.
The LORD commands that great houses be smitten with breaches and little houses with clefts. Collapse crosses status. Mass death is the human cost, not a spectacle. The scene does not prove that modern epidemic victims were punished, and silence about the Name does not prohibit prayer or authorize neglect of the dead.
How this should shape us
Plan equitable emergency response and dignified care of the dead without using disaster to stigmatize victims. Examine prestige and property while rejecting collective hatred. Do not treat a hush born of fear as a rule against naming God in grief.
Teach it back
Explain Amos 6:8-11 in your own words. Include its place in Amos's judgment-restoration movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Pride versus glory, the agent handling bodies, cremation, the cause of death, and the hush's reason remain disputed; collapse and fear are clear.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Amos 6:8-11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Amos.xml, 6:8-11
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1716-1717, translation and notes on 6:8-11
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 587, discussion of 6:8-11
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Amos 6:8-11, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Amos
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Amos.xml, 6:8-11
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Amos with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1716-1717, translation and notes on 6:8-11
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Amos
Jennifer M. Dines
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Exact location: Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 587, discussion of 6:8-11
Open source ↗