Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to the great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?
Parallel translations
- WEB Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
- KJV 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?
- NKJV Go over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory?
- NASB Go over to Calneh and look, And go from there to Hamath the great, Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms, Or is their territory greater than yours?
- NLT But go over to Calneh and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath and down to the Philistine city of Gath. You are no better than they were, and look at how they were destroyed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Amos tells them to look at other cities that fell despite their greatness, showing Israel is no safer. National pride offers no protection against judgment.
Overview
Calneh, Hamath, and Gath were notable kingdoms that suffered defeat, undercutting Israel's assumption of invincibility. If those greater or equal cities fell, Israel's borders give no guarantee of security. The lesson is that no human strength can shield against God's judgment, a security found only in trusting the Lord who saves through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Nah 3:8Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?
- Gen 10:10His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- 2 Kgs 18:34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
- 2 Chr 26:6Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
- 1 Sam 17:4Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
- Isa 10:9–11“Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
- 2 Kgs 19:13Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
- Ezek 31:2–3“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘Who can be compared to your greatness?
- Jer 2:10–11Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and take a look; send to Kedar and consider carefully; see if there has ever been anything like this:
- 2 Kgs 17:30The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,
- Isa 36:18–19Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
- 2 Kgs 17:24Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.
- 1 Kgs 8:65So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more days—fourteen days in all.
- 1 Sam 17:23And as he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistines and shouted his usual words, which David also heard.
- Isa 37:12–13Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?
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Christ at the center
Amid judgment on injustice, Amos promises the raising up of David's fallen tent — read by James in Acts 15 as the ingathering of the nations into the kingdom of the risen Christ.
How Amos 6:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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