Amos 4:1 (DRB)

Passage

Hear this word, ye fat kine that are in the mountains of Samaria: you that oppress the needy, and crush the poor: that say to your masters: Bring, and we will drink.

Nearby Context

Amos 4:1 Hear this word, ye fat kine that are in the mountains of Samaria: you that oppress the needy, and crush the poor: that say to your masters: Bring, and we will drink.

Amos 4:2 The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that lo, the days shall come upon you, when they shall lift you up on pikes, and what shall remain of you in boiling pots.

Amos 4:3 And you shall go out at the breaches one over against the other, and you shall be cast forth into Armon, saith the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hear", "word", "kine", "mountains", "samaria", "oppress", "needy", and "crush". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hear" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "The Lord God hath sworn by his...", so "hear" and "word" should be read forward into that movement. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hear" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.