Limitless Word
You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.
Amos 6:3 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
  • KJV Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
  • BSB You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
  • NKJV Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near;
  • NASB Are you postponing the day of disaster, And would you bring near the seat of violence?

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

They push away thoughts of the coming day of judgment while bringing violence and oppression near. Denial of judgment feeds their injustice.

Overview

By refusing to reckon with God's coming reckoning, the leaders grow bolder in cruelty, enthroning violence in place of justice. Putting off the 'evil day' does not prevent it; it only deepens guilt. The gospel calls people instead to face God's judgment honestly and flee to Christ, who alone removes its terror.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Amos 9:10All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’
  • Isa 56:12“Come,” say they, “I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be as today, great beyond measure.”
  • Ezek 12:27“Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many day to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off.’
  • 1 Th 5:3For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.
  • 2 Pet 3:4and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
  • Matt 24:48But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’
  • Ezek 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails?’
  • Amos 3:10“Indeed they don’t know to do right,” says Yahweh, “Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces.”
  • Amos 5:12For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins — you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts.
  • Eccl 8:11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
  • Isa 47:7You said, ‘I will be a princess forever;’ so that you did not lay these things to your heart, nor did you remember the results.
  • Amos 5:18“Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light.
  • Ps 94:20Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you, which brings about mischief by statute?
  • Amos 6:12Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
  • Rev 18:17For in an hour such great riches are made desolate.’ Every ship master, and everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood far away,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Amos videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Amos 6:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on AmosMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 6:3 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.