Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet's impossible questions highlight not just the people's folly, but a profound inversion: they've turned what should be life-giving and stable, like justice and righteousness, into things that are poisonous and destructive, making their actions as unnatural and ruinous as trying to run horses on rocks.
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
English Standard Version (ESV)
Amos confronts the wealthy and powerful leaders of Israel, who are living in luxury while ignoring the suffering of the poor. He's just accused them of being complacent and detached from God's judgment, likening their feasting to David's but without genuine devotion. Now, he uses absurd, impossible scenarios to highlight how twisted their actions have made things.
Amos uses jarring images of futility to expose the people's dangerous delusion. What seems impossible in nature reveals the deep flaw in their society.
Amos asks two impossible questions: 'Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen?' These aren't just random thoughts; they paint a picture of utter absurdity and waste.
Amos uses these scenes to show how the Israelites' actions are equally nonsensical. They are pursuing a path that is destructive, fruitless, and defies common sense and natural order.
The very foundations of a healthy society – justice and righteousness – have been twisted into something harmful. What should heal now destroys.
Amos doesn't stop at pointing out the absurdity; he reveals the result of their corrupted actions. He declares they have 'turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.'
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This isn't just about personal sin; it's about how a whole system can become so twisted that its core principles become instruments of harm.
Understand the original words
mishpat · Hebrew Noun
A legal and moral standard reflecting God's character. In Scripture, it involves treating others according to God’s law and upholding the rights of the vulnerable.
tsedaqah · Hebrew Noun
The quality of being right or straight in accordance with God's standards. It refers to living in conformity with His law and character.
The prophet Amos uses vivid, absurd imagery of horses on rocks and oxen plowing stone to highlight the utter senselessness of Israel's actions. Their prosperity and security, built on a foundation of injustice and perverted righteousness, were as impossible and destructive as these scenarios, leading inevitably to divine judgment.
Late 8th century BC
Prosperity and Pride in the Northern Kingdom
Under kings like Jeroboam II, the Northern Kingdom of Israel experienced a period of territorial expansion and economic prosperity. This success, however, bred arrogance, luxury, and a disregard for social justice among the elite.
c. 760 BC— this verse
Amos's Prophetic Ministry
The prophet Amos, from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, is sent by God to prophesy against the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He denounces their social injustice, corrupt leadership, and empty religious rituals.
c. 755 BC
Assyrian Imperial Expansion
The powerful Neo-Assyrian Empire was on the rise, casting a long shadow over the smaller nations of the Levant. Their military might and aggressive expansionist policies created a climate of fear and instability.
c. 740 BC
Fall of Samaria Predicted
Amos's prophecies foretell the impending destruction of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, and the exile of its people due to their continued wickedness and defiance of God's commands.
This passage echoes Amos's imagery, describing God's punishment of Israel with 'wormwood and bitter water,' linking the perversion of justice and righteousness to poisonous consequences.
Hosea 10:4Hosea, another prophet to the Northern Kingdom, also uses the metaphor of poisonous plants ('gall' and 'wormwood') to describe the wicked and unjust ways of the people, mirroring Amos's condemnation.
Matthew 23:23-24Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, highlighting how they meticulously follow minor laws but neglect 'the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness,' showing a similar perversion of true righteousness, even to the point of straining out gnats while swallowing camels.
Galatians 6:7-8This New Testament passage speaks to the principle of sowing and reaping, reminding us that a life lived according to the flesh yields corruption, much like turning the fruit of righteousness into something poisonous, as Amos describes.
barnesAmos 6:12: "Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:"
The two images both represent a toil, which people would condemn as absurd, destructive, as well as fruitless. The horse's hoofs or his limbs would be broken; the plowing-gear would be destroyed. The prophet gains the attention by the question. What then? they ask. The answer is implied by the for, which follows. Ye are they, who are so…
calvinAmos 6:12: "Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:"
- An current in rupe equi? An arabitur bobus (est, an arabit quispiam in bobus; sed quia est verbum indefinitum, ideo verto impersonaliter, an ergo aratio fiet bobus, nempe in rupe?) quia vertistis in fel judicium et fructum justitiae in absynthium.
This verse interpreters misrepresent; for some think that the Prophet, by these figura…
The prophet's impossible questions highlight not just the people's folly, but a profound inversion: they've turned what should be life-giving and stable, like justice and righteousness, into things that are poisonous and destructive, making their actions as unnatural and ruinous as trying to run horses on rocks.
Amos confronts the wealthy and powerful leaders of Israel, who are living in luxury while ignoring the suffering of the poor. He's just accused them of being complacent and detached from God's judgment, likening their feasting to David's but without genuine devotion. Now, he uses absurd, impossible scenarios to highlight how twisted their actions have made things.
Amos confronts the wealthy and powerful leaders of Israel, who are living in luxury while ignoring the suffering of the poor. He's just accused them of being complacent and detached from God's judgment, likening their feasting to David's but without genuine devotion. Now, he uses absurd, impossible scenarios to highlight how twisted their actions have made things.
"Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—" — The prophet's impossible questions highlight not just the people's folly, but a profound inversion: they've turned what should be life-giving and stable, like justice and righteousness, into things…
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Last reviewed October 2026