서론
無標題
英文原文
In this chapter we have, I. A sinful people studying to put a slight upon God's threatenings and to make them appear trivial, confiding in their privileges and pre-eminences above other nations (Am 6:2,3), and their power (Am 6:13), and wholly addicted to their pleasures, Am 6:4-6. II. A serious prophet studying to put a weight upon God's threatenings and to make them appear terrible, by setting forth the severity of those judgments that were coming upon these sensualists (Am 6:7), God's abhorring them, and abandoning them and theirs to death (Am 6:8-11), and bringing utter desolation upon them, since they would not be wrought upon by the methods he had taken for their conviction, Am 6:12-14.
1-7
The Danger of False Security (790 BC)
虛假安全的危險（主前790年）
¹ 錫安安逸無慮的人有禍了！他們倚靠撒瑪利亞山，自以為是列國中為首的，以色列家都歸向他們！
² 你們過到甲尼察看，從那裏往大哈馬去，又下到非利士人的迦特。他們豈比這兩國好嗎？他們的境界豈比你們的境界大嗎？
³ 你們以為降禍的日子還遠，卻使強暴的座位臨近。
⁴ 你們躺臥在象牙床上，舒身在榻上，吃群中的羊羔、棚裏的牛犢；
⁵ 你們彈琴鼓瑟唱消閒的歌曲，為自己製造樂器，如同大衛所造的；
⁶ 你們用大碗喝酒，用上等的油抹身，卻不為約瑟的苦難擔憂。
⁷ 所以這些人必在被擄的人中首先被擄；舒身之人荒宴之樂必歸消滅。
本章開頭的話就是這些經文的內容；但聽來十分陌生，且與虛妄世俗的看法相反：*安逸無慮的人有禍了！*我們很容易說：安逸的人有福了——那些既不覺得煩惱、也不懼怕任何患難、舒舒服服地躺臥、甚麼也不放在心上的人有福了；我們也以為這樣行的人是明智的，他們沉浸在感官的享樂中，不管世事如何。那些善待自己身體、嬌養自己的人，被看為是善於自處的；但禍哉正是向著他們宣告的，我們在此也聽見了他們的安逸是怎樣的安逸，那禍是怎樣的禍。
I. 此處描述了他們的驕傲、安全感和放縱，神將要就這些與他們算賬。
1. 他們虛妄地自誇自己的尊榮，以為這些能保護他們免受所威脅的審判，並成為他們抵擋神和人怒氣的防禦。（1.）住在錫安的人以為那已經是足夠的尊榮和保護，他們在那裏可以安享無虞、不怕災禍，因為那是自然和人工共同加固的堅固城（我們讀到錫安的堅固臺和她的城防），又因那是王城，大衛家的寶座設立之處（它是猶大的首城，因此確實偉大），尤其因為那是聖城，聖殿在那裏，以色列的見證也在那裏；住在那裏的人毫不懷疑神的聖所要成為他們的聖所，要庇護他們免受祂的審判。這些是耶和華的殿，Jer 7:4。他們因聖山而驕傲自大，Zep 3:11。請注意，許多人因教會的特權、因他們在錫安的地位，就心高氣傲，在屬肉體的安全感中被搖哄入睡。（2.）住在撒瑪利亞山的人，雖然那不是如錫安那樣的聖山，卻也倚靠它，因為那是一個強盛王國的京城，而且也許效法耶路撒冷，成了它的宗教中心；日久天長，示米珥山在他們當中的聲望已不亞於從前的錫安山。他們指望從這些岡陵和山嶺得著拯救。（3.）這兩個王國都因與以色列——那與神較力得勝的王子——的關係而自傲，他們看這關係使自己成為列國之首，比任何國都更古老、更尊榮；這字也可讀作列國初熟的果子——獻給神、使全季收成成聖的初熟果子。以色列家歸向他們，意思是以色列家分為這兩個王國，錫安和撒瑪利亞是其母城。那些安逸無慮的是王子和官長、大人——是那兩個王國的首領，他們住在錫安和撒瑪利亞，全以色列家都到他們那裏尋求判斷。請注意，居高位而不驕傲是很難的。大國和大人物容易自視過高、輕看鄰舍，因為他們以為自己比別人略高一籌。然而為遏制他們的驕傲和安全感，先知吩咐他們留意那些在他們知識範圍以內的城市——那些城市從前和錫安或撒瑪利亞一樣輝煌，如今卻已被毀，Am 6:2。「你們過到甲尼（那是寧錄所建造的古城，Ge 10:10），看看它變成怎樣了——如今已是廢墟；大哈馬也是如此，那是敘利亞的首要城市之一。西拿基立誇口滅了哈馬的神。迦特也被哈薛毀成荒場，而且是前不久的事，2Ki 12:17。如今他們豈比這猶大和以色列兩國好嗎？是的，他們更好，他們的境界比你們的境界更大，所以他們比你們更有理由對自己的安全滿懷信心；然而你們看見他們遭遇了甚麼，你們還敢安逸嗎？*你豈比挪的眾民更好嗎？*Na 3:8。請注意，別人滅亡的榜樣禁止我們心存安逸。
2. 他們以為永不會被追究，就在惡道上執迷不改（Am 6:3）：「你們以為降禍的日子還遠——那算賬的日子，看為永不到來的事；或看它距離如此遙遠，以致對你們毫無影響。你們把它推到遠處，以為還可以推得更遠，一天又一天地拖延下去；因此你們使強暴的座位臨近，膽敢行各樣不義和欺壓的事，與那藉律例製造禍患的罪惡寶座結交，*Ps 94:20。*你們使它臨近，以為那能保護你們免受審判，其實那正是使你們在審判中更快成熟。」請注意，正因人以為審判離自己甚遠，才把罪拉近自己；然而如此戲弄神的人，不過是自欺。
3. 他們放縱於各樣感官的享樂和歡愉，Am 6:4-6。這些以色列人是徹底的享樂主義者，是食欲的奴隸。他們的尊榮——本該使他們成為克己和節制之榜樣的——他們卻以為可以為自己的放縱辯護；他們以為欺壓和強暴所得的財物足以支付其揮霍；他們把降禍的日子推到遠處，好叫它不打擾他們的享樂。這裏所控告他們的事，本身並非都有罪（這些事本可以節制適度地享用），但他們把幸福放在滿足肉體的欲望上；他們身為身居職任、當有正事要辦的人，卻放縱於享樂，把時間花在其中，把心思、憂慮和產業都拋擲在其上。他們在這些享受中如同在自己擅長的領域。他們的心全在其上；他們在其中超越了所有的界限，而且正當神藉著護理呼召他們哭泣哀號之時（Isa 22:12-13），他們卻如此行。當他們身處罪咎和震怒之下、神的審判即將臨到之時，他們卻呼求酒和濃酒，妄自以為明日必像今日，而且更加豐盛（Isa 56:12），如此與神背道而馳，向祂的公義挑釁。（1.）他們在傢具上奢華。本該披麻蒙灰的時候，他們卻非要象牙床來睡覺、或在席間坐下不可。（2.）他們懶惰，縱容自己愛安逸。他們不僅躺臥，更在榻上舒身，本當振作起來辦自己的正事之時，卻甘心怠惰，以無所事事為榮；他們在奢侈過剩中豐足（旁註如此讀），而他們許多窮苦的同胞卻連必需品都缺乏。（3.）他們在飲食上挑剔講究，非要有最好的和豐盛的不可：他們吃群中的羊羔（大批的羊羔）和棚裏的牛犢——他們能找到的最肥的；而且這些也許不是從自己的羊群和牛棚裏取的，而是從窮人那裏強取豪奪來的。（4.）他們歡宴作樂，在宴席上以音樂和歌唱自娛：他們彈琴鼓瑟唱消閒的歌曲，又合奏歌唱，他們還發明新款的樂器，在這事上比在任何別的事上更竭力要勝過祖宗；他們動腦筋設法取悅自己的嗜好。有些人唯獨在自己的奢侈中才顯出才華；他們把一切發明和設計的才能都傾注其上。他們如同大衛所造的造樂器，用從前只有君王才能享受的娛樂來自娛。或者這暗示他們在歡宴中的褻瀆；他們模仿聖殿的音樂，拿它開玩笑，也許因為它已過時，他們以嘲弄它為榮——正如巴比倫人催促被擄的人為他們唱錫安的歌一般；又如伯沙撒用聖殿的器皿喝酒時的褻瀆；照樣，那些故意用詩篇的曲調唱虛浮輕薄的歌、為要嘲弄神聖制度的人，也是這樣褻瀆。（5.）他們酗酒，總以為倒得不夠：他們用大碗喝酒，不用杯或盞（如Jer 35:5）；他們不願受限制，非要大口畅飲不可，因此使用可以偷著大喝的器皿。（6.）他們愛用最上等的香水：他們用上等的油抹身，為取悅嗅覺，也為使自己更加愛戀自己的身體，並抵擋他們活著時隨身帶著的腐朽的預兆。普通的膏油不能滿足他們；他們非要有最好的、從遠方購來、價錢昂貴的不可，其實更便宜的也一樣好用。
4. 他們對神教會和國家的利益全不關心，任憑其沉淪敗落：他們卻不為約瑟的苦難擔憂。神的教會——包括猶大和以色列兩個王國（在Ps 80:1中被稱為約瑟）——正處於困境，遭受侵略、侮辱和破壞。至於他們受託治理的本國、他們所指導的事務、他們所當守護的平安，其和平與福祉已遭極大損害；他們卻如此愚昧，毫不察覺；如此放縱於享樂，從不放在心上；又如此厭惡所謂正事，毫不關心去加以修補。國家是沉是浮，對他們都一樣，只要他們能安逸躺臥、活在享樂中。屬於約瑟的個人處於苦難中，他們也不理會他們所受的冤屈和困苦及所遭的患難，不設法救濟和糾正——這與聖潔的約伯的態度恰恰相反，他在興旺之時與遭難的人同哭，他的心為窮人憂傷，Job 30:25。有人認為，把受苦的教會稱為約瑟，是暗指法老酒政的故事——當他官復原職、重新把杯遞在主人手中時，卻不記念約瑟，竟忘了他，Ge 40:21,23。照樣他們用大碗喝酒，*卻不為約瑟的苦難擔憂。*請注意，那些專注於自己享樂的人，通常對別人的患難漠不關心；當神的教會處於苦難中、我們卻不為之擔憂、不放在心上時，這在神眼中是大罪。
II. 此處宣告了他們的厄運（Am 6:7）：所以這些人必在被擄的人中首先被擄，必陷入一切被擄之人的悲慘中；而那些舒身之人的荒宴之樂必歸消滅。他們的豐裕必被奪去，他們自己也必被從其中奪去，因為他們把它當作私慾的飲食和燃料。1. 那些活在奢華中的人，連自由也要失去；被賣為奴，正是他們濫用尊榮和權勢當受的公正刑罰。2. 那些倚靠自己國土之樂和歡愉的人，必被擄到異地，因而為自己的驕傲和自信蒙羞。3. 那些把幸福放在感官之樂上、把心放在其上的人，必被剝奪這些快樂；他們的荒宴必被除掉，他們必知道粗茶淡飯是何滋味。4. 那些舒身的人必被迫蜷縮，進入更窄小的境地。5. 那些把降禍的日子推遠的人，必發現它比別人更臨近自己；那些自欺地以為災禍就算來、自己也必是最後被抓住的人，必在被擄的人中首先被擄。那些不把別人和神教會的患難放在心上的人，正迅速地為自己的患難成熟。當神呼召哀哭之時卻放縱於歡笑的人，必發現這罪不會不受懲罰，Isa 22:14。
英文原文
The Danger of False Security (790 BC)
¹ Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
² Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
³ Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
⁴ 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;
⁵ That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David;
⁶ That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
⁷ Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.
The first words of the chapter are the contents of these verses; but they sound very strangely, and contrary to the sentiments of a vain world: Woe to those that are at ease! We are ready to say, Happy are those that are at ease, that neither feel any trouble nor fear any, that lie soft and warm, and lay nothing to heart; and wise we think are those that do so, that bathe themselves in the delights of sense and care not how the world goes. Those are looked upon as doing well for themselves that do well for their bodies and make much of them; but against them this woe is denounced, and we are here told what their ease is, and what the woe is.
I. Here is a description of their pride, security, and sensuality, for which God would reckon with them.
1. They were vainly conceited of their own dignities, and thought those would secure them from the judgments threatened and be their defence against the wrath both of God and man. (1.) Those that dwelt in Zion thought that was honour and protection enough for them, and they might there be quiet from all fear of evil, because it was a strong city, well fortified both by nature and art (we read of Zion's strong-holds and her bulwarks), and because it was a royal city, where were set the thrones of the house of David (it was the head-city of Judah, and therefore truly great), and especially because it was the holy city, where the temple was, and the testimony of Israel; those that dwelt there doubted not but that God's sanctuary would be a sanctuary to them and would shelter them from his judgments. The temple of the Lord are these, Jer 7:4. They are haughty because of the holy mountain, Zep 3:11. Note, Many are puffed up with pride, and rocked asleep in carnal security, by their church-privileges, and the place they have in Zion. (2.) Those that dwelt in the mountain of Samaria, though it was not a holy hill, like that of Zion, yet they trusted in it, because it was the metropolis of a potent kingdom, and perhaps, in imitation of Jerusalem, was the head-quarters of its religion; and by lapse of time the hill of Shemer became with them in as good repute as the hill of Zion ever was. They hoped for salvation from these hills and mountains. (3.) Both these two kingdoms valued themselves upon their relation to Israel, that prince with God, which they looked upon as masking them the chief of the nations, more ancient and honourable than any of them; the first-fruits of the nations (so the word is), dedicated to God and sanctifying the whole harvest. The house of Israel came to them, that is, was divided into those kingdoms, of which Zion and Samaria were the mother cities. Those that were at ease were the princes and rulers, the great men, that were chief of the nations, chief of those two kingdoms, and to whom, having their residence in Zion and Samaria, the whole house of Israel applied for judgment. Note, It is hard to be great and not to be proud. Great nations and great men are apt to overvalue themselves, and to overlook their neighbours, because they think they a little overtop them. But, for a check to their pride and security, the prophet bids them take notice of those cities that were within the compass of their knowledge, that had been as illustrious in their time as ever Zion or Samaria was, and yet were destroyed, Am 6:2. "Go to Calneh (which was an ancient city built by Nimrod, Ge 10:10), and see what has become of that, it is now in ruins; so is Hamath the great, one of the chief cities of Syria. Sennacherib boasts of destroying the gods of Hamath. Gath was likewise made desolate by Hazael, and not long ago, 2Ki 12:17. Now were they better than these kingdoms of Judah and Israel? Yes, they were, and their border greater than your border, so that they had more reason than you to be confident of their own safety; yet you see what has become of them, and dare you be secure? Art thou better than populous No?" Na 3:8. Note, The examples of others' ruin forbid us to be secure.
2. They persisted in their wicked courses upon a presumption that they should never be called to an account for them (Am 6:3): "You put far away the evil day, the day of reckoning, as a thing that shall never come, or you look upon it as at such a distance that it makes no impression at all upon you; you put it far away, and think you can still put it yet further, and adjourn it de die in diem—from day to day, and therefore you cause the seat of violence to draw near; you venture upon all acts of injustice and oppression, and have fellowship with the throne of iniquity, which frames mischief by a law, Ps 94:20. You cause that to come near, as if that would be your protection from these judgments which really ripens you for them." Note, Therefore men take sin to be near them, because they take judgment to be far off from them; but those deceive themselves who thus mock God.
3. They indulged themselves in all manner of sensual pleasures and delights, Am 6:4-6. These Israelites were perfect epicures and slaves to their appetites. Their dignities (in consideration of which they ought to have been examples of self-denial and mortification), they thought, would justify them in their sensuality; the gains of their oppression and violence, they thought, would bear the charge of it; and they put the evil day at a distance, that they might give them no disturbance in it. That which they are here charged with is not in itself sinful (these things might be soberly and moderately used), but they placed their happiness in the gratification of their carnal appetites; and though they were men in office, that had business to mind, they gave themselves up to their pleasures, spent their time in them, and threw away their thoughts, and cares, and estates upon them. They were in these enjoyments as in their element. Their hearts were upon them; they exceeded all bounds in them, and this at a time when God in his providence was calling them to weeping and mourning, Isa 22:12,13. When they were under guilt and wrath, and the judgments of God were ready to break in upon them, they called for wine and strong drink, presuming that to-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isa 56:12), thus walking contrary to God and setting his justice at defiance. (1.) They were extravagant in their furniture. Nothing would serve them but beds of ivory to sleep upon, or to sit on at their meat, when sackcloth and ashes would have become them better. (2.) They were lazy, and humoured themselves in the love of ease. They did not only lie down, but stretched themselves upon their couches, when they should have stirred up themselves to their business; they were willingly slothful, and took a pride in doing nothing; they abound in superfluities (so the margin reads it), when many of their poor brethren wanted necessaries. (3.) They were nice and curious in their diet, must have every thing of the best and abundance of it: They ate the lambs out of the flock (lambs by wholesale) and the calves out of the midst of the stall, the fattest they could lay their hand on; and these perhaps not out of their own flock and their own stall, but taken by oppression from the poor. (4.) They were merry and jovial, and diverted themselves at their feasts with music and singing: They chant to the sound of the viol, sing and play in concert, and they invent new-fashioned instruments of music, striving herein, more than in any thing else, to excel their ancestors; they set their wits on work to contrive how to please their fancy. Some men never show their ingenuity but in their luxury; on that they bestow all their faculty of invention and contrivance. They invent instruments of music, like David, entertain themselves with that which formerly used to be the entertainment of kings only. Or it intimates their profaneness in their mirth; they mimicked the temple-music, and made a jest of that, because, it may be, it was old-fashioned, and they took a pride in bantering it as the Babylonians did when they urged the captives to sing to them the songs of Zion; such was Belshazzar's profaneness when he drank wine in temple-bowls, and such is theirs that sing vain and loose songs in psalm-tunes, on purpose to ridicule a divine institution. (5.) They drank to excess, and never thought they could pour down enough: They drank wink in bowls, not in glasses, or cups (as Jer 35:5); they hate to be stinted, and must have large draughts, and therefore make use of vessels that they can steal a draught out of. (6.) They affected the strongest perfumes: They anoint themselves with the chief ointments, to please the smell, and to make them more in love with their own bodies, and to guard against those presages of putrefaction which they carry about with them while they live. No ordinary ointments would serve their turn; they must have the chief, such as were far-fetched and dear-bought, when cheaper would have served as well.
4. They had no concern at all for the interests of the church of God, and of the nation, that were sinking and going to decay: They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph; the church of God, including both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel (which are called Joseph, Ps 80:1), was in distress, invaded, insulted, and broken in upon. As to their own kingdom which they were entrusted with the government of, the affairs of which they were directors of, the peace of which they were the conservators of, great breaches were made upon it, upon its peace and welfare; and they were so besotted that they were not aware of them, so indulgent of their pleasures that they never laid them to heart, and had such an aversion to the thing called business that they were in no care or concern to get them repaired. It is all one to them whether the nation sink or swim, so that they can but lie at ease and live in pleasure. Particular persons that belonged to Joseph were in affliction, and they took no cognizance of their case of the wrongs and hardships they sustained and the troubles they were in, nor took any care to relieve them, and right them, contrary to the temper of holy Job, who, when he was in prosperity, wept with him that was in misery and his soul was grieved for the poor, Job 30:25. Some think that, in calling the afflicted church Joseph, there is an allusion to the story of Pharaoh's butler, who, when he preferred to give the cup again into his master's hand, remembered not Joseph, but forgot him, Ge 40:21,23. Thus they drank wine in bowls, but were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Note, Those are commonly careless of the troubles of others who are set upon their own pleasures; and it is a great offence to God when his church is in affliction and we are not grieved for it, nor lay it to heart.
II. Here is the doom passed upon them (Am 6:7): Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and shall fall into all the miseries that attend captives; and the banquet of those that stretched themselves upon their couches shall be removed. Their plenty shall be taken from them, and they from it, because they made it the food and fuel of their lusts. 1. Those who lived in luxury shall lose even their liberty; and by being brought into servitude shall be justly punished for the abuse of their dignity and dominion. 2. Those who trusted in the delights and pleasures of their own land shall be carried away into a strange land, and so made ashamed of their pride and confidence; they shall go captive. 3. Those who placed their happiness in the pleasures of sense, and set their hearts upon them, shall be deprived of those pleasures; their banquet shall be removed, and they shall know what it is to fare hard. 4. Those who stretched themselves shall be made to contract themselves, and to come into a less compass. 5. Those who put the evil day far from them shall find it nearer to them than it is to others; those shall go captive with the first who flattered themselves with hopes that if trouble did come they should be the last who should be seized by it. Those are ripening apace for trouble themselves who lay not to heart the trouble of others and of the church of God. Those who give themselves to mirth, when God calls them to mourning, will find it a sin that shall not go unpunished, Isa 22:14.
8-14
Threatenings of Judgment (790 BC)
審判的威嚇（主前790年）
⁸ 主耶和華指著自己起誓說：萬軍之神耶和華如此說。我憎惡雅各的榮華，厭棄他的宮殿；因此我必將城和其中所有的都交付仇敵。
⁹ 那時若在一所房子裏剩下十個人，也都必死。
¹⁰ 死者的叔伯要抬出屍骨來焚燒；那燒屍的人要從房屋的四角問那剩下的人說：你那裏還有人嗎？他說：沒有。又說：不要作聲，因為我們不可提耶和華的名。
¹¹ 看哪，耶和華出令，大房就被打碎成洞，小屋也被裂成縫隙。
¹² 馬豈能在崖石上奔跑？人豈能在那裏用牛耕種呢？你們卻使公平變為苦膽，使公義的果子變為茵蔯。
¹³ 你們喜愛虛無之事，自誇說：我們不是憑自己的力量取得了角嗎？
¹⁴ 耶和華萬軍之神說：以色列家啊，我必興起一國攻擊你們；他們必從哈馬口直到亞拉巴的河，欺壓你們。
在本章前半部，我們看見這些安逸的以色列人給自己加上各樣享樂，如同永遠不能使足自己歡愉一般；此處我們看見神給他們加上各樣刑罰，如同永遠不能使他們足夠悲慘一般。請留意，
I. 這重擔綁得何等牢固，不能被他們的狂妄和安全感所甩脫；因為它是萬軍之神耶和華——祂大能的、全能的手——所綁的，無人能抵擋；它是用誓言所綁的，使判決無可撤回：主耶和華已起誓，決不後悔；祂既不能指著比自己更大的起誓，就指著自己起誓。那些其滅亡——其永遠滅亡——已被神親自起誓的人，他們的處境是何等可怕、何等悲慘！祂能執行祂的旨意，且不能改變它。
II. 這重擔壓得何等沉重！讓我們看看細節。1. 神必憎惡並離棄他們，這本身就意味著足夠的悲慘——一切的悲慘：我憎惡雅各的榮華——就是他們所誇口、所自負、因而自稱並自視為列國之首的一切。他們有形的教會會籍及其特權、他們的聖殿、祭壇和祭司職分，這些是最能被稱為雅各的榮華的；然而當這些被罪玷污敗壞之時，神就憎惡它們；祂恨惡並藐視它們，Am 5:21。請注意，神憎惡虛偽之人所維持的敬虔外貌，同時卻厭棄敬虔的實意。祂若因聖殿的罪孽而憎惡聖殿，那麼因在其中所行的不義和欺壓而恨惡他們的宮殿，也就不足為奇了。請注意，我們若對某一受造之物如此滿意、如此信靠，以至使它成為與神相爭的對手，那受造物就因此成為神所憎惡的。祂恨惡罪人的宮殿，是因住在其中之人的邪惡。Pr 3:33，耶和華的咒詛在惡人的家裏。祂既憎惡他們，緊接著就是：祂必將城和其中所有的都交付——交在仇敵手中，仇敵要使它荒涼，並奪取其中一切財富為掠物。請注意，被神憎惡離棄的人，從各方面說都是徹底滅亡的。2. 他們中間必有大而普遍的死亡（Am 6:9）：若在一所房子裏剩下十個人——就是逃過了敵人刀劍的人——卻必以別的方式被追上；他們全都必死於饑荒或瘟疫。在最疫病流行的時候，若一家有十口人，或許可以指望至少一半能倖存，正如兩人在一張床上、一個被取去，一個被撇下的比例；但這裏十個之中沒有一個能活著埋葬其餘的人。死亡之大還有另一個例證（Am 6:10）：死者的至親被迫親手為死者收殮屍骨、埋葬他們，因為沒有別人可以雇用來做這事；這是那位有贖回權的至近親屬所能為他們做的一切，而他也是極不情願地去做。這暗示年輕人先被剪除；因為存活的叔伯通常是年長的親屬。「當叔伯與焚屍的人同來，要從房屋裏抬出屍骨，他要對他在屋子四周看見的人說：『你那裏還有人嗎？還有活著的嗎？』他要回答說：『沒有，這是最後一個了；如今全家已被死亡剪除，無論根還是枝都不存留。』」然而使這審判更加沉痛的是，他們的心似乎在其下剛硬了。「當那在房屋四角被發現的人開始與抬屍體的人交談時，他們要說：『不要作聲；不要對我們講論神的護理在這災禍中的作為，因為我們不可提耶和華的名。神對我們如此震怒，以致我們無法向祂呼求；祂對我們的過犯察看得如此嚴厲，以致我們連提祂的名也不敢。』」如此，人的愚昧使自己的道彎曲，把他陷入困境，然後他的心就向耶和華發怒。即便在那時，他們也不願留意祂的手，也不容許周圍的人留意。也許有些拜偶像的王曾禁止人提耶和華的名，正如摩西的律法禁止人提外邦神的名一般：「我們若如此行，必受刑罰。」請注意，當神的手已經攻擊他們、當死亡已在他們家中之時，仍不肯提神的名、不肯敬拜祂的心，實在是剛硬得可怕了。如此，當神懲治他們之時仍不呼求的人，就是為自己積蓄忿怒。3. 他們的房屋必被毀壞，Am 6:11。神必打碎大房成洞，裂小屋成縫隙；兩者都要如此破裂，以致失去美觀和堅固，急速走向傾覆。王公的宮殿不凌駕於神聖公義的責備之上，貧民的茅舍也不在其下；兩者都不能逃脫。當罪已將它們標記為當毀的，神必找到方法將之成就。破裂之處是照祂的命令而成的。
III. 他們如此受罰是何等公義。我們若正確地了解此事，就必說：耶和華是公義的。1. 為使他們歸正所用過的方法都歸徒然無效（Am 6:12）：馬豈能在崖石上奔跑，在那裏耙地或耰地？人豈能在那裏用牛耕種？不能，因為得不著能抵償勞苦的收益。神曾差祂的先知去開墾他們的荒地；但他們發現他們如同崖石一般又硬又不可屈服、又粗又糙，不能在他們身上作成任何善工，也不能在他們身上動工，因此也不再嘗試了。他們既不肯受教，就不再被責備，而被完全離棄。請注意，那些不肯像田地和葡萄園那樣被耕作的人，必如荒涼的崖石和曠野一般被廢棄，Heb 6:7-8。2. 他們濫用權力欺壓許多人，那至高的審判官不僅要為受害者伸冤，更要為他們報仇：你們使公平變為苦膽——令人作嘔的——並使公義的果子變為茵蔯——有害的；看到那些受託執行公義的人用本當維護和支持公義的權力去壓倒公平，反倒把它的大炮轉向自己，實在令人作嘔。請注意，當我們對神的事奉被罪敗壞時，祂的護理也必公正地使我們受苦。3. 他們向神的審判挑釁，仗恃自己的力量，以為自己足以與全能者匹敵，Am 6:13。他們喜愛虛無之事，自娛於一種幻想，以為禍患不會臨到自己，其實他們對這自信毫無根據，沒有甚麼可以信靠、能承得住重量。他們說：「我們不是取得了角嗎——我們不是已達到極大的尊榮和統治權嗎？我們不是已撞倒仇敵、推進了我們的勝利嗎？而且這一切都是憑自己的力量——憑我們的技能和勇氣、憑我們的財富和軍力——成就的嗎？那我們還怕誰呢？那我們還要向誰討好呢？連神自己也不必。』請注意，興旺和成功通常使人驕傲狂妄；那成就了大事的，就以為自己無所不能——沒有神也能，不，甚至與神為敵也能。然而那些倚靠自己力量的人，所喜愛的不過是虛無之事，他們終必發現如此。也許他們沒有用嘴唇一字一句如此說，但這是他們的心和他們的行動的語言——兩者神都明白。
IV. 這重擔要何等輕易又有效地臨到他們，Am 6:14。那將之加在他們身上的是萬軍之神耶和華——祂既有權柄、又有能力隨己意行事，祂有一切受造之物聽祂調遣，當祂有工可作之時，不愁沒有器皿可用——他們雖是以色列家，祂卻要興起一國攻擊他們——就是他們所不畏懼、反倒屢次寄望的亞述人；這國要從北方的哈馬口直到南方的亞拉巴的河——埃及的河，就是西曷或尼羅河——欺壓他們、使他們陷入困境、飽受痛苦。全國既一同犯了罪，就必須預料也一同分擔災禍。請注意，當人以任何方式成為我們受苦的工具時，我們必須看見是神興起他們來攻擊我們，因為他們在祂手中——是祂手中的杖、祂手中的刀。耶和華曾吩咐示每咒詛大衛。
英文原文
Threatenings of Judgment (790 BC)
⁸ The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
⁹ And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
¹⁰ And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.
¹¹ For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
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:
¹³ Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
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.
In the former part of the chapter we had these secure Israelites loading themselves with pleasures, as if they could never be made merry enough; here we have God loading them with punishments, as if they could never be made miserable enough. And observe,
I. How strongly this burden is bound on, not to be shaken off by their presumption and security; for it is bound by the Lord the God of hosts, by his mighty, his almighty, hand, which none can resist; it is bound with an oath, which puts the sentence past revocation: The Lord God has sworn, and he will not repent, and, since he could swear by no greater, he has sworn by himself. How dreadful, how miserable, is the case of those whose ruin, whose eternal ruin, God himself has sworn, who can execute his purpose and cannot alter it!
II. How heavily this burden lies! Let us see the particulars. 1. God will abhor and abandon them, and that implies misery enough, all misery: I abhor the excellency of Jacob, all that which they are proud of, and value themselves upon, and for which they call and count themselves the chief of nations. Their visible church-membership, and the privileges of that, their temple, altar, and priesthood, these were, more than any thing, the excellencies of Jacob; but, when these were profaned and polluted by sin, God abhorred them; he hated and despised them, Am 5:21. Note, God abhors that form of godliness which hypocrites keep up, while they abhor the power of it. And if he abhors their temple, for the iniquity of that, no marvel that he hates their palaces, for the injustices and oppression he finds there. Note, that creature which we take such a complacency and put such a confidence in as to make it a rival with God is thereby made abominable to him. He hates the palaces of sinners, for the sake of wickedness of those that dwell therein. Pr 3:33, The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked. And, if God abhor them, immediately it follows, He will deliver up the city with all that is therein, deliver it up into the hands of the enemy, that will lay it waste, and make a prey of all its wealth. Note, Those that are abhorred and abandoned of God are undone to all intents and purposes. 2. There shall be a great and general mortality among them (Am 6:9): If there remain ten men in one house, that have escaped the sword of the enemy, yet they shall be met with another way; they shall all die by famine or pestilence. In the most sickly times, if there be ten in a house, one may hope that at least the one-half of them will escape, according to the proportion of two in a bed, one taken and the other left; but here not one of ten shall live to bury the rest. Another instance of the greatness of the mortality is (Am 6:10) that the nearest relations of the dead shall be forced with their own hands to wind up their bodies, and bury them, for want of other hands to be employed in it; that is all that the next of kin, to whom the right of redemption belongs, can do for them, and with great reluctance will they do that. It intimates that the young people shall be cut off soonest; for the uncle that survives is, ordinarily, the senior relation. "When the uncle comes with the sexton (or him that burns), to bring out the bones out of the house, he shall say to him that he sees next about the house, 'Is there any yet with thee? Are there any left alive?' And he shall say, 'No, this is the last; now the whole family is cut off by death, and neither root nor branch remains.'" But that which makes the judgment the more grievous is that their hearts seem to be hardened under it. "When he that is found by the sides of the house begin to enter into discourse with those that are carrying off the dead, they shall say, 'Hold thy tongue; do not stand preaching to us about the hand of Providence in this calamity, for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord; God is so angry with us that there is no speaking to him; he is so extreme to mark what we do amiss that we dare not so much as make mention of his name." ' Thus the foolishness of men perverts their way, and brings them into distress, and then their heart frets against the Lord. Even then they will not take notice of his hand, nor suffer those about them to do it. Perhaps it was forbidden by some of the idolatrous kings to make mention of the name of Jehovah, as by the law of Moses it was forbidden to make mention of the names of the heathen-gods: "We may not do it without incurring the penalty." Note, Those hearts are wretchedly hardened indeed that will not be brought to make mention of God's name, and to worship him, when the hand of God has gone out against them, and when, as here, sickness and death are in their families. Thus those heap up wrath who cry not when God binds them. 3. Their houses shall be destroyed, Am 6:11. God will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts; they shall both be cracked so as to lose their beauty and strength, and to be hastening towards a fall. The princes' palaces are not above the rebuke of divine justice, nor the poor men's cottages beneath it; neither shall escape. When sin has marked them for ruin God will find ways to bring it about. It is by order from him that breaches are made.
III. How justly they are thus burdened. If we understand the matter aright, we shall say, The Lord is righteous. 1. The methods used for their reformation had been all fruitless and ineffectual (Am 6:12): Shall horses run upon the rock, to hurl or harrow the ground there? Or will one plough there with oxen? No, for there will be no profit to countervail the pains. God has sent them his prophets, to break up their fallow-ground; but they found them as hard and inflexible as the rock, rough and rugged, and they could do no good with them, nor work upon them, and therefore they shall not attempt it any more. They will not be reclaimed, and therefore shall not be reproved, but quite abandoned. Note, Those who will not be cultivated as fields and vineyards shall be rejected as barren rocks and deserts, Heb 6:7,8. 2. They had abused their power to the wrong and oppression of many, whose injured cause the sovereign Judge would not only right, but revenge: You have turned judgment into gall, which is nauseous, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock, which is noxious; it would make one sick to see how those that were entrusted with the administration of public justice bore down equity with that power which they out to have defended and supported it, and so turned its own artillery against itself. Note, When our services of God are soured with sin his providences will justly be embittered to us. 3. They had set the judgments of God at defiance, and, confiding in their own strength, thought themselves a match for Omnipotence, Am 6:13. They rejoiced in a thing of nought, pleased themselves with a fancy that no evil should befal them, though they had no ground at all for that confidence, nothing to trust to that would bear any weight. They said, "Have we not taken to us horns; have we not arrived to great dignity and dominion, have we not pushed down our enemies and pushed on our victories, and this by our own strength, our own skill and courage, our own wealth and military force? Who then need we be afraid of? Who then need we make court to? Not God himself." Note, Prosperity and success commonly make men secure and haughty; and those that have done much think they can do any thing, any thing without God, nay, any thing against him. But those who trust in their own strength rejoice in a thing of nought, and so they will find. Probably they did not say this with their lips, totidem verbis—in so many words, but it was the language of their hearts and of their actions, both which God understands.
IV. How easily and effectually this burden shall be brought upon them, Am 6:14. He that brings it upon them is the Lord the God of hosts, who both may do and can do what he pleases, who has all creatures at his command, and who, when he has work to do, will not be at a loss for instruments to do it with; though they are the house of Israel, yet he will raise up against them a nation which they feared not, but had many a time hoped in, even the Assyrians, and this nation shall afflict them, bring them into straits, and put them to pain, from the entering in of Hamath, in the north, to the river of the wilderness, the river of Egypt, Sihor or Nile, in the south. The whole nation has shared in the iniquity, and therefore must expect to share in the calamity. Note, When men are in any way instruments of affliction to us we must see God raising them up against us, for they are in his hand—the rod, the sword, in his hand. The Lord has bidden Shimei curse David.
本章我們看到：I. 一個犯罪的百姓竭力輕看神的威嚇，使之顯得微不足道，倚賴自己超乎別國的特權和優越（Am 6:2-3），以及自己的權勢（Am 6:13），並完全沉迷於享樂，Am 6:4-6。II. 一個嚴肅的先知竭力加重神的威嚇，使之顯得可畏，藉著陳明即將臨到這些耽於聲色之人的審判之嚴厲（Am 6:7）、神對他們的憎惡、以及將他們和他們的一切交於死亡（Am 6:8-11），並為他們帶來徹底的荒涼——因他們不肯被神用以使他們知罪的方法所感化，Am 6:12-14。