Albert Barnes Commentary Amos 6:9

"And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die." — Amos 6:9 (ASV)

If ten men remain—He probably still denounces the punishment of the rich inhabitants of the palaces, since only in these, formerly, would “ten men” be found. They died, it seems, at once, and so probably by the plague, the common companion of the siege. The prophet had previously compared them to Sodom. It may be that, in this mention of “ten men,” he tacitly refers to the history of that destruction.

Then God promised not to destroy the city if there were ten righteous in it (Genesis 18:32). Here were “ten left,” not in one city, but in one house. Had God forgotten His loving-kindness? No! But in Samaria, not even ten who “remained over”—and so had survived after the chastisement had begun—turned to God. Then all were to be taken or destroyed.

The miseries of its three-year siege by Shalmanezer can be supplemented by those of its earlier siege by Benhadad (2 Kings 6:24–29), or by those of Jerusalem. The sufferings of a siege are proportional to the obstinacy of the defense, and Samaria resisted for twice the time in which Jerusalem was reduced by famine during its first captivity.