Commentary on Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah and Nahum John Calvin
JOHN CALVIN
Amos 5:11
11. Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
11. Quia calcastis pauperem (vel, onus imposuistis,) et onus frumenti abstulistis ab eo, domos excisionis (hoc est, ex lapide quadrato) aedificabitis, et non habitabitis in illis; vineas desiderabiles plantabitis, et non bibetis vinum earum.
The Prophet here declares, that though the judges enriched themselves by plunder, yet God would not allow them to enjoy their booty, but that he would deprive them of the great wealth they had accumulated. This is the import of the whole. We hence see that the Prophet contends not here with the common people, but professedly attacks the chief men, inasmuch as from them did proceed all the prevailing evil.
The first thing is, they imposed burdens on the poor, and then, they took away corn from them He says first, ``A burden have you laid'', or, ``ye have trodden on the poor;'' for the verb may be taken in either sense, and it matters not which as to the import of the passage. It is not indeed often that we meet with a verb of four letters; 41 but interpreters explain this as meaning to tread under foot or to lay a burden.
The Prophet, I doubt not, accuses here the judges of not sparing miserable men, but of burdening them with tributes and exactions; for this is to burden the poor. Then he adds, ``Ye have taken a load of corn''. The Prophet had doubtless fixed here on a species of cruelty in robbing others, the most detestable. When judges take money, or any other gift, it is less odious than when the poor are compelled to carry corn to them on their shoulders. It was the same as though they surrendered their very life to their plunderers; for when judges constrained loads of corn to be brought to them, it was as though they strangled the poor, or drew blood from their veins, inasmuch as they robbed them of their food and support. We now perceive what the Prophet meant: You have, he says, oppressed the poor, and taken from them a load of corn.
Some render {,}ברber, chosen, but improperly.
Ye shall therefore build, etc. He declares here that they would not realize their hope, though they plundered on all sides to build palaces, and though they got great possessions to enrich themselves and their heirs: ``This self-love,'' he says, ``will deceive you; defraud, rob, plunder; but the Lord will at length strip you of all your robberies: for after having been venal, and prostituted not only your souls but your shame for gain, and after having spent much labor and expense in building, ye shall not dwell in your palaces; and when ye shall have planted vineyards with great expense and care, ye shall not drink their wine.'' Isaiah also speaks in the same strain, `O plunderer, thou shalt be exposed to plunders' (Isaiah 33:1)
Experience also teaches the same thing; for we see how the Lord transfers from 41The verb is {,{בושסכםfrom {}בושםbut in ten MSS. Of Kennicott, and in five of D'Rossi, the {}וis left out: and then {}שis supposed to be put for ,{}סas Amos in another place, Amos 7:14, puts {}סfor .{}שThe verb ,{}בסand in its reduplicate form ,{}בססoccurs in other places, and means to tread or trample under foot. The expression here literally is, ``your trampling;'' but such a form may often be expressed in our language, ``ye trample.'' The connection of the whole verse will be better seen by the following version: --- Therefore, as ye trample on the poor, And tribute of corn extort from him, --- Houses of hewn stone you may build, But ye shall not dwell in them; Vineyards of delight ye may plant, But ye shall not drink their wine. --- Ed.