What Does Amos 6:1 Mean in the King James?
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Amos sets ease in Zion beside trust in Samaria to show how sacred belonging and national strength can both be mistaken for shelter.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks to you where security feels built in: in belonging, in status, or in the strength of the place around you. It places ease in Zion and trust in Samaria under the same “Woe,” so neither sacred identity nor national power makes anyone untouchable. Those counted foremost remain within the reach of the announced woe.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that belonging to a sacred place or being sheltered by national power makes you immune from danger.
THE ROOT
הַבֹּטְחִים
ha-bōṭĕḥîm
GROWS FROM
בטח
To rely securely; to feel safe.
The root joins trusting with the felt condition of security, so the mountain is more than an opinion or a symbol: it has become their refuge. Amos places that felt safety under “Woe,” exposing how much depends on what bears a person’s trust.
ALSO GROWS
beṭaḥ: Security or safety.
בֶּטַח
This branch names the condition the people believe Samaria gives them.
mivṭāḥ: Refuge, security, or confidence.
מִבְטָח
This branch makes the trust in Samaria sound like taking shelter there.
רֵאשִׁית
reshit
GROWS FROM
ראש
Head; by extension, top, first, or foremost.
“chief” in this verse is reshit. The people’s title belongs to the language of being at the head and being first. Amos puts that rank beside “Woe”: being foremost does not place anyone beyond exposure.
ALSO GROWS
rosh: Head, top, or chief.
רֹאשׁ
This is the head-language inside the claim to be chief among the nations.
rishon: First or former.
רִאשׁוֹן
This branch echoes the rank of being counted first, a status that cannot secure them from the woe.
THE PATTERN
A secure-looking place or possession is not itself the source of security; the text keeps naming where trust rests.
A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;THE THREAD
A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.The Hebrew root בָּטַח (batach), meaning “to trust securely,” is the same root translated “trust” in Amos and Psalm 125. Here trust rests in the LORD and Zion becomes an image of steadiness, opening the question of what truly bears the trust placed in a place.
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