Amos 6:3

6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ¹ 

but you establish a reign of violence. ² 

Amos 6:12

6:12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?

Can one plow the sea with oxen? ³ 

Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,

and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. ⁴ 

[6:3]  ¹ tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”

[6:3]  ² tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.

[6:12]  ³ tc Heb “Does one plow with oxen?” This obviously does not fit the parallelism, for the preceding rhetorical question requires the answer, “Of course not!” An error of fusion has occurred in the Hebrew, with the word יָם (yam, “sea”) being accidentally added as a plural ending to the collective noun בָּקָר (baqar, “oxen”). A proper division of the consonants produces the above translation, which fits the parallelism and also anticipates the answer, “Of course not!”

[6:12]  ⁴ sn The botanical imagery, when juxtaposed with the preceding rhetorical questions, vividly depicts and emphasizes how the Israelites have perverted justice and violated the created order by their morally irrational behavior.