< Amos 6 >
1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
Woe to them that set at nought Sion, and that trust in the mountain of Samaria: they have gathered [the harvest of] the heads of the nations, and they have gone in themselves.
2 Pass ye to Calneh, and see, and from there go ye to Hamath the great, then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? Or is their border greater than your border?
O house of Israel, pass by all [of you], and see; and pass by thence to Ematrabba; and thence descend to Geth of the Philistines, the chief of all these kingdoms, [see] if their coasts are greater than your coasts.
3 Ye who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near,
Ye who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths;
4 who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall,
who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls;
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the viol, who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David,
who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as abiding, not as fleeting [pleasures];
6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph.
7 Therefore they shall now go captive with the first who go captive, and the revelry of those who stretched themselves shall pass away.
Therefore now shall they depart into captivity from the dominion of princes, and the neighing of horses shall be cut off from Ephraim.
8 The lord Jehovah has sworn by himself, says Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces, therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is therein.
For the Lord has sworn by himself, [saying], Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, I do also hate his countries, and I will cut off [his] city with all who inhabit it.
9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
And it shall come to pass, if there be ten men left in one house, that they shall die.
10 And when a man's uncle shall take him up, even he who burns him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No, then he shall say, Hold thy peace, for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.
But a remnant shall be left behind, and their relations shall take them, and shall strenuously endeavor to carry forth their bones from the house: and one shall say to the heads of the house, Is there yet [any one] else with thee? And he shall say, No [one] else. And [the other] shall say, Be silent, that thou name not the name of the Lord.
11 For, behold, Jehovah commands, and the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
For, behold, the Lord commands, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with rents.
12 Shall horses run upon the rock? Will a man plow there with oxen? That ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Will horses run upon rocks? will they refrain from neighing at mares? for ye have turned judgment into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness:
13 ye who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
ye who rejoice at vanity, who say, Have we not possessed horns by our own strength?
14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, says Jehovah, the God of hosts, and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
For behold, O house of Israel, I will raise up against you a nation, saith the Lord of hosts; and they shall afflict you so that ye shall not enter into Aemath, and as it were [from] the river of the wilderness.