Single lesson
Amos 6: Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
Amos 6:1–7; Amos 6:8–14
Amos 6:1–7 warns people in Zion and Samaria who feel safe, important and comfortable while ignoring the affliction of Joseph. This prophecy shows that ease and status can hide serious danger. This lesson also brings together The Pride of Israel.
Before you teach
This passage opens with a woe against notable people in Zion and Samaria. It compares them with Calneh, Hamath and Gath, then describes their luxurious living, music, food, drink and oils. It ends by saying captivity will come first to them, and their feasting will stop.
Explain the central teaching of Amos 6: Woe to Those at Ease in Zion, using two details from the reading. This passage warns that comfortable self-confidence, especially without grief for the affliction of Joseph, is a dangerous kind of security. This passage teaches that Yahweh opposes proud self-reliance and judges a people who turn justice and righteousness into their opposite.
Welcome: Amos 6: Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
5 minIntroduce “Woe to Those at Ease in Zion”, “The Pride of Israel” and locate Amos 6:1–7; Amos 6:8–14. This passage warns that comfortable self-confidence, especially without grief for the affliction of Joseph, is a dangerous kind of security. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Amos 6:1, Amos 6:4, Amos 6:7
Read and explain the passage
12 minWoe to Those at Ease in Zion (Amos 6:1–7): The passage begins with “Woe”, announcing trouble for people “at ease in Zion” and “secure on the mountain of Samaria”. They are “notable men” of the chief nation, people to whom the house of Israel come. Their importance and confidence are named, but not praised.
The Pride of Israel (Amos 6:8–14): The passage begins with a solemn declaration: “The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself”. That shows the certainty of what follows. Yahweh says he “abhor[s] the pride of Jacob” and “detest[s] his fortresses”. Their pride and strong places are not protection, because Yahweh will deliver up the city and all in it.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Woe to Those at Ease in Zion”, “The Pride of Israel”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Amos 6:1, Amos 6:8
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “Who is the woe aimed at in verse 1?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage teaches that Yahweh opposes proud self-reliance and judges a people who turn justice and righteousness into their opposite. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Amos 6:1, Amos 6:2, Amos 6:13, Amos 6:14
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Amos 6: Woe to Those at Ease in Zion: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Woe to Those at Ease in Zion”, “The Pride of Israel” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Amos 6:1, Amos 6:8, Amos 6:14
Closing: return to The Pride of Israel
3 minRevisit Amos 6:8–14. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about The Pride of Israel and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Amos 6:8, Amos 6:11, Amos 6:14
Questions to explore
Who is the woe aimed at in verse 1?
Notice the passage points to those “at ease”, “secure”, and described as notable men to whom the house of Israel come.
Amos 6:1
What do the questions about Calneh, Hamath and Gath do in the passage?
They challenge the hearers to reconsider whether their kingdom and borders make them better or safer.
Amos 6:2
What are the people proud of in verse 13, and how does Yahweh answer that pride in verse 14?
Set their claim about their own strength beside Yahweh’s promise to raise up a nation against them.
Amos 6:13, Amos 6:14
Make, think or respond
Amos 6: Woe to Those at Ease in Zion: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Amos 6:1–7; Amos 6:8–14. Use “Woe to Those at Ease in Zion”, “The Pride of Israel” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Amos 6: Woe to Those at Ease in Zion connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Woe to Those at Ease in Zion”, “The Pride of Israel” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Amos 6:1–7; Amos 6:8–14. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Amos 6:1–7; Amos 6:8–14. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Amos 6
1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
2 Go to Calneh, and see. From there go to Hamath the great. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? Is their border greater than your border?
3 Alas for you who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near,
4 who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall,
5 who strum on the strings of a harp, who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive. The feasting and lounging will end.
8 “The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
9 It will happen that if ten men remain in one house, they will die.
10 “When a man’s relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is there yet any with you?’ And he says, ‘No;’ then he will say, ‘Hush! Indeed we must not mention Yahweh’s name.’
11 “For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness,
13 you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’
14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies; “and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.