Amos 6:3

Ye that put far away the evil day,.... The day of Israel's captivity, threatened by, the Lord, and prophesied of by the prophets; by this prophet, and by Hoshea and others: this they endeavoured to

Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near - "put far away," literally, with aversion.

Woe to you that flatter yourselves that the day of darkness and misery foretold is far off! See Poole "". These were great ones too, that the prophet here threateneth, who thus postponed the day of Israel’ s and Judah’ s calamities. The evil day; not as if it should be a short calamity, as a day; but it speaks the determinate, fixed time, and the haste wherewith the execution shall be made. The seat; the throne, or judgment-seat, which should relieve the oppressed, condemn the wicked, and acquit the innocent, this is made a seat of violence, where unjust judges condemn the just and take bribes. To come near; thus you draw the judgments of God on yourselves, by acting violence against the poor, and contemning the threats of the prophets.

Amos 6:3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;Ver. 3. Ye that put far away the evil day] Woe to you that would do so if you could; that fondly persuade yourselves there is no such danger in evil doing as the prophets pretend: but that all shall be hail and well with you, though ye walk in the imagination of your hearts, to add drunkenness to thirst, Deuteronomy 29:19, and to heap up sin as high as heaven, Revelation 18:5. This cursed security and hope of impunity is the source of much wickedness in the world. See Proverbs 7:19-20 Matthew 24:48. Quae longinqua sunt, non metuuntur (Arist. Rhet. l. 2, c. 5). It is a sad thing when men shall say, as Ezekiel 12:27, "The vision that he seeth is for many day to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off." This atheistic conceit accelerates the judgment: Ezekiel 12:28, "Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God." Tarditatemque supplicii, gravitate compensabo (Val. Max.). And cause the seat of violence to come near] Amota Iustitiae sella: setting aside the care of justice together with the fear of God, for whom ye ought to have reserved the chief room in all your public meetings, as the Ethiopian judges are said to do. Atque vi angeritur res, might overcomes right; and robberies are daily done by authority. See Psalms 94:20. The throne of iniquity shall not have fellowship with God; neither will he take the wicked by the hand, whatever those corrupt vice gods do (as we may in the worst sense best term them), "whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not," 2 Peter 2:3. The evil day that they put far away will suddenly surprise them, and then what will they do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what will they answer him? Job 31:14 (Clandian, l. 2, in Eutrop.). “ Sed quam caecus inest vitiis amor? omne futurum, Despicitur, suadentque brevem praesentia fructum. ”

(3) Far away.—They choose to think that the day of reckoning is far off, and cling yet closer to their habits of defrauding the poor at the seat of judgment. (Comp. Ezekiel 12:21-28.)

Verse 3. Ye that put far away the evil day] Wo to you who will not consider the day of approaching vengeance; but continue in your iniquity, and harden your hearts. Ye bring your iniquities nearer, and still suppose your punishment to be at a greater distance.

3–7. The luxury and indifference of the leaders of the nation.

Ye that put far away - Probably “with aversion.” They bade that day as it were, be gone.

Condemnation of the nobles, Amos 6:1-7.1. Woe — See on Amos 5:18. That are at ease — Margin, “secure.” In a bad sense, those who are recklessly at ease, who are insensible to the dangers lurking on every side (Isaiah 32:9).