Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.
- KJV Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.
- BSB Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.
- NASB Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, And the revelry of those who lounge around will come to an end.
- NLT Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your parties will end.
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
Therefore these self-indulgent leaders will be the first to go into exile, and their revelry will end. Those who lounged in luxury will lead the march into captivity.
Overview
God's justice fits the crime: those first in privilege and indulgence become first in punishment. Their feasting and lounging, pursued in defiance of his warnings, are abruptly cut off. The verse underscores that worldly pleasure built on injustice is fleeting, while lasting security is found only in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Amos 7:11For Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”
- 1 Kgs 20:16–20They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.
- Amos 5:5but don’t seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and don’t pass to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.
- Dan 5:4–6They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
- Amos 5:27Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of Armies.
- Esth 7:8–10Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in front of me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
- Isa 21:4My heart flutters. Horror has frightened me. The twilight that I desired has been turned into trembling for me.
- Deut 28:41You will father sons and daughters, but they will not be yours; for they will go into captivity.
- Esth 5:12–14Haman also said, “Yes, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow I am also invited by her together with the king.
- Nah 1:10For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly like dry stubble.
- Esth 7:1–2So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen.
- Esth 5:8If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said.”
- Amos 7:17Therefore Yahweh says: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”
- Luke 21:24They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 6:7 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.