Amos 6:13

13. Will their own resources be sufficient? Certainly not.

Rejoice In a spirit of boasting.

A thing of naught Literally, no-thing. Something that has no real existence. Here not equivalent to idol (Deuteronomy 32:21), but their own wealth and resources, which are only temporary, and will fail when most needed.

Horns Symbols of power (Deuteronomy 33:17; 1 Kings 22:11; Jeremiah 48:25). Take horns acquire power.

By our own strength Without assistance from God or man. The marvelous successes of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25 ff.; see Introduction, p. 197) might cause the unthinking to boast in the national strength; Amos declares it will speedily vanish; he places, indeed, a low estimate upon the strength of Israel. He justifies his pessimism in Amos 6:14 by once more calling attention to the determination of Jehovah to overthrow Israel by an enemy against whom resistance will be vain. This interpretation of Amos 6:13 is quite satisfactory, but a few recent commentators, following Graetz, take the two words translated “a thing of naught” and “horns” as proper nouns, names of two cities east of the Jordan, in whose conquest the Israelites boasted. The first Hebrews lo-dabhar is identified with Lo-debar (2 Samuel 9:4-5; 2 Samuel 17:27), the second Hebrews karnayim with Karnaim ( 1Ma 5:26 ), called Ashteroth Karnaim in Genesis 14:5. It is thought that the two places were among the recent conquests of Jeroboam, and that these were selected rather than more important localities on account of the suggestiveness of their names.