who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Their lavish drinking in large bowls, a practice possibly mimicking sacred ritual vessels used for blood offerings, highlights a disturbing inversion: they are consumed by self-indulgence while showing no grief for the "wound" of their nation. This isn't just about luxury; it's about a profound spiritual blindness, where opulent feasting replaces any concern for their people's suffering.
who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Amos is denouncing the wealthy elite of Israel who are living in decadent luxury, completely oblivious to the suffering and impending judgment facing their nation. These verses highlight their gross self-indulgence and lack of empathy, contrasting their extravagant feasts and personal comforts with the deep "wound" or ruin that has befallen their people, particularly the northern kingdom referred to as Joseph.
Amos calls out the elite for using special, even sacred, vessels for their wine. What does this tell us about their priorities?
The wealthy in Amos's day were drinking wine from large bowls, sometimes even vessels associated with religious sacrifice (like those used for sprinkling blood). This wasn't just about enjoying a drink; it was a symbol of their extreme luxury and a disregard for sacred things.
More Than Just Cups
The elite pampered their bodies with the finest oils, a practice that signaled celebration. But their hearts were unmoved by the suffering of their people.
Anointing with fine oils was a common practice in ancient Israel, often associated with joy, celebration, and even worship. However, for the wealthy nobles Amos addresses, it became a symbol of their profound indifference to the suffering of their nation, 'the ruin of Joseph.'
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The Contrast of Comfort and Calamity
Understand the original words
yayin · Hebrew Noun
The fermented juice of grapes, often used in scripture as a symbol of joy, celebration, and God's blessing, but frequently condemned when associated with excess, drunkenness, or escapism.
suk · Hebrew Verb
The action of applying oil to the skin, which in biblical times served for health, grooming, and luxury, and was also used symbolically in rituals of consecration to God.
sheber · Hebrew Noun
A catastrophic collapse or destruction, often used to describe the moral, social, or spiritual downfall of a nation or an individual as a result of divine judgment.
Yoseph · Hebrew Proper Noun
A covenant name for Israel's ancestor, often used in the prophets to refer to the Northern Kingdom or the entire covenant nation, representing the people to whom God gave His promises.
Amos confronts the wealthy elite of Israel with their luxurious lifestyle and indifference to suffering, a stark contrast to the impending doom and exile that would soon befall the nation due to their systemic injustice and spiritual decay.
c. 841 BC
Jehu's Rebellion and the Omride Dynasty Ends
Jehu violently overthrew the Omride dynasty, killing King Ahab's descendants and most of his supporters. This event plunged Israel into further political instability and likely alienated them from some international allies.
c. 780s-750s BC
Reign of Jeroboam II in Israel
Amos prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, a period of significant territorial expansion and apparent economic prosperity for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. However, this prosperity was built on injustice and oppression.
Mid-8th Century BC— this verse
Amos Delivers Prophecies
The prophet Amos, from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, was sent by God to confront the Northern Kingdom of Israel with their sins of social injustice, idolatry, and complacency.
c. 745 BC
Tiglath-Pileser III Ascends Assyrian Throne
Tiglath-Pileser III began a period of aggressive expansion for the Neo-Assyrian Empire. His conquests would soon put immense pressure on the smaller kingdoms of the Levant, including Israel.
734-732 BC
Syro-Ephraimite War
Assyria, under Tiglath-Pileser III, intervened in a conflict between Israel and Damascus. Israel and Damascus had formed an alliance against Judah, but Tiglath-Pileser III conquered significant portions of northern Israel, deporting many inhabitants.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria and End of the Northern Kingdom
The capital city of Samaria fell to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V (or Sargon II). This marked the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel as an independent entity, with its population largely exiled.
This passage directly parallels Amos's condemnation by contrasting the extreme luxury of a rich man with the suffering of Lazarus, highlighting the sin of indifference to the poor and needy.
Ezekiel 16:49This verse describes Sodom's sin as pride, overeating, and complacent ease, directly mirroring the self-indulgent lifestyle Amos condemns and the lack of compassion for the suffering.
Matthew 25:31-46Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats shows that one's eternal destiny is determined by how they treated the least among them, underscoring the severe spiritual implications of ignoring the suffering of others, just as the Israelites ignored 'the affliction of Joseph'.
Psalm 60:2This psalm speaks of national 'breach' and ruin when God is displeased, providing a theological backdrop to the 'affliction of Joseph' that Amos's audience was callously ignoring.
Jeremiah 6:14This verse condemns prophets who falsely claim 'peace' when there is no peace, echoing Amos's critique of leaders who, despite national crisis ('the breach of the daughter of my people'), continue in their self-indulgent feasting.
barnesAmos 6:6: "That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph."
That drink wine in bowls - (Literally, as the English margin, "drink in bowls," literally, "sprinkling vessels, of wine"). The word is elsewhere used only of the "bowls," out of which the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled. Probably Amos was referring to the first offering of the Princes in the wilderness, with whom he had already tacitly contrasted thes…
calvinAmos 6:6-7: "That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph."
- Propterea nunc transferentur (voluentur) in capite migrantium, et veniet luctus extensorum (est deductum ab eodem verbo jrs; diximus plura significare sed accipio pro extendere; et aliquid rursus dicendum erit in fine.)
Amos now reproaches the chiefs of both kingdoms for drinking wine in bowls, that is, in vessels either elegantly formed or precious.…
Their lavish drinking in large bowls, a practice possibly mimicking sacred ritual vessels used for blood offerings, highlights a disturbing inversion: they are consumed by self-indulgence while showing no grief for the "wound" of their nation. This isn't just about luxury; it's about a profound spiritual blindness, where opulent feasting replaces any concern for their people's suffering.
Amos is denouncing the wealthy elite of Israel who are living in decadent luxury, completely oblivious to the suffering and impending judgment facing their nation. These verses highlight their gross self-indulgence and lack of empathy, contrasting their extravagant feasts and personal comforts with the deep "wound" or ruin that has befallen their people, particularly the northern kingdom referred to as Joseph.
Amos is denouncing the wealthy elite of Israel who are living in decadent luxury, completely oblivious to the suffering and impending judgment facing their nation. These verses highlight their gross self-indulgence and lack of empathy, contrasting their extravagant feasts and personal comforts with the deep "wound" or ruin that has befallen their people, particularly the northern kingdom referred to as Joseph.
"who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!" — Their lavish drinking in large bowls, a practice possibly mimicking sacred ritual vessels used for blood offerings, highlights a disturbing inversion: they are consumed by self-indulgence while showi…
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Last reviewed October 2026