Amos 4 1

Amos 4:1 kjv

Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

Amos 4:1 nkjv

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, "Bring wine, let us drink!"

Amos 4:1 niv

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, "Bring us some drinks!"

Amos 4:1 esv

"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!'

Amos 4:1 nlt

Listen to me, you fat cows
living in Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
and who are always calling to your husbands,
"Bring us another drink!"

Amos 4 verses

Amos 4 1 Meaning

Amos 4:1 is a stern prophetic declaration, calling the opulent women of Samaria, mockingly referred to as "cows of Bashan," to account. It denounces their excessive self-indulgence, obtained through and sustained by the cruel oppression and exploitation of the poor and needy. The verse highlights their arrogant demands for luxury from their husbands, signifying a pervasive spiritual and social corruption deeply embedded within the Israelite elite.

Amos 4 1 Context

Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa in Judah, was called by God to prophesy primarily against the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (circa 760 BCE). This era, marked by political stability and economic expansion, paradoxically led to severe social injustice, moral decay, and widespread idolatry. While the nation experienced outward prosperity, the gap between the rich and poor widened significantly, with the wealthy exploiting the vulnerable through legal perversion, land seizure, and usury. Chapter 4 begins a new section of Amos's prophecies, directly addressing the social elite in Samaria, Israel's capital, where the manifestations of this unrighteous wealth were most blatant. The immediate context shows Amos moving from general condemnations of surrounding nations and Israel as a whole to specific indictments of social classes within Israel, specifically targeting those benefiting from and perpetuating the oppression.

Amos 4 1 Word analysis

• Hear this word (שִׁמְעוּ הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה, Shim‘u had-dāḇār haz-zeh): A forceful prophetic summons demanding immediate attention, underscoring the divine origin and crucial nature of the message. The imperative "hear" (root shama') in biblical context often implies not just perceiving sound but also listening attentively to understand and obey (Dt 6:4).
• you cows of Bashan (פָּרוֹת הַבָּשָׁן, Pārōt hab-Bāšān): A deeply insulting and satirical metaphor. Bashan (east of Jordan) was famed for its fertile pastures and high-quality livestock, producing robust, well-fed cattle (Dt 32:14, Ps 22:12). Applied here to the wealthy women of Samaria, it characterizes them as corpulent, pampered, haughty, and spiritually insensate. It serves to dehumanize them, reducing their self-perceived status to that of indulgent animals whose primary focus is consumption, akin to livestock being fattened for slaughter.
• who are on Mount Samaria (אֲשֶׁר בְּהַר שֹׁמְרוֹן, ’ăšer bə-har Šōmrōn): This phrase identifies the specific location of these women, connecting their luxurious lifestyle to the center of Israelite power and wealth. Samaria, built on a strategically defensible hill, symbolized the capital's elevated status and material prosperity, highlighting their privileged position as well as their isolation from the plight of the poor below.
• who oppress the poor (הָעֹשְׁקוֹת דַּלִּים, hā-‘ōšqōt dallīm): The term 'ashaqa (עשק) means to deal wrongfully with, defraud, or exploit. This indicates active and systematic social injustice, describing the women's complicity in or direct actions of economically manipulating or taking advantage of the economically vulnerable, preventing them from obtaining basic needs or legal rights.
• who crush the needy (הָרוֹצְצוֹת אֶבְיוֹנִים, hā-rōṣṣōt ’eḇyōnīm): Ratsats (רצץ) signifies a more severe, violent form of oppression—to break, crush, or grind down. This denotes not just exploitation but utter disregard for the basic survival of the desperate (’eḇyōnīm – "those in extreme want"), actively driving them into deeper and more devastating destitution through their actions or demands.
• who say to your husbands (הָאֹמְרוֹת לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶן, hā-’ōmrōt la’ăḏōnēyhen): Reveals their active, influential, and often dominant role within their households. The term "husbands" (’ăḏōnēyhen) can also be rendered "lords" or "masters," ironically highlighting their own master-like commands rather than a submissive role, underscoring their power and complicity in domestic decisions that facilitate ill-gotten wealth.
• 'Bring, that we may drink!' (הָבִיאָה וְנִשְׁתֶּה, Hāḇī’āh wə-ništtah!): A blunt, imperative utterance epitomizing their pursuit of immediate gratification, hedonism, and debauchery. This demand encapsulates their self-absorbed nature, focus on luxury (fine food and especially wine), and a profound ethical blindness or deliberate indifference to the source of their wealth – the suffering of the exploited. It signals a deep moral depravity rooted in excess.

Words-group analysis:

• "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan... on Mount Samaria": This opening constitutes a shocking, direct, and confrontational address. The abrupt, animalistic insult immediately captures attention and reflects a profound dehumanization of the target audience. It emphasizes their corporeal indulgence and privileged status, sharply contrasting their self-perception with God's prophetic condemnation, rooted in their physical location and its symbolic luxury.
• "who oppress the poor, who crush the needy": These parallel participial phrases intensely condemn their continuous, systematic, and brutal abuse of the vulnerable segments of society. The verbs "oppress" ('ashaqa) and "crush" (ratsats) move from general exploitation to devastating destruction, vividly illustrating the severity and sustained nature of their predatory actions that strip the less fortunate of their dignity and livelihood. Their opulent lifestyle is depicted as directly funded by the misery and ruination of others.
• "who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!'": This climactic phrase lays bare the women's active agency and responsibility in their depravity. It exposes not only their demanding and hedonistic nature but also the mechanism by which their husbands are pressured to continue illicit economic activities. It points to a domestic economy fueled by social injustice, culminating in extravagant revelry and debauched consumption that symbolizes the spiritual sickness of the elite.

Amos 4 1 Bonus section

• This verse illustrates a core prophetic principle: spiritual and covenant unfaithfulness often manifests directly in pervasive social injustice. When love for God wanes, love for neighbor is corrupted.
• Amos's courage in delivering such a stinging, personal indictment to powerful women underscores his divine mandate and his unwavering commitment to confront sin in all its forms, regardless of social status or potential personal peril.
• The prophetic message remains a timeless warning against the dangers of prosperity divorced from piety and privilege devoid of compassion, demonstrating how unchecked wealth can lead individuals to rationalize or become entirely blind to the suffering caused by their actions or demands.
• The deliberate and profound insult of "cows of Bashan" aimed to strip away the women's social façade, prestige, and perceived respectability, exposing their inner spiritual and moral corruption directly to them and to God's judgment.
• The demanding "Bring, that we may drink!" cry showcases a perverted exercise of influence within the home, where righteous stewardship and compassion are utterly replaced by materialistic desires and self-gratification, turning domestic authority into a tool for injustice.

Amos 4 1 Commentary

Amos 4:1 sharply indicts the wealthy women of Samaria, holding them responsible for their direct complicity in societal injustice. Their luxurious lifestyle, derided as animalistic gluttony ("cows of Bashan"), was sustained by the active oppression and brutal exploitation of the vulnerable. This verse vividly portrays how privilege, disconnected from moral accountability, leads to callous self-indulgence and demands that perpetuate sin. The prophet exposes not just their individual hedonism but also their influential role in pressing their male counterparts to acquire wealth, regardless of the ethical cost, exposing the systemic rot at the heart of Israelite society and foreshadowing impending divine judgment. The emphasis on "drink" points to excessive feasting and a debauched indifference to spiritual or social duties.