Amos 6
1 Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes.
Woe to you that are wealthy in Sion, and to you that have confidence in the mountain of Samaria: ye great men, heads of the people, that go in with state into the house of Israel.
2 Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to the great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?
Pass ye over to Chalane, and see, and go from thence into Emath the great: and go down into Geth of the Philistines, and to all the best kingdoms of these: if their border be larger than your border.
3 You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
You that are separated unto the evil day: and that approach to the throne of iniquity;
4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
You that sleep upon beds of ivory, and are wanton on your couches: that eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the herd;
5 You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
You that sing to the sound of the psaltery: they have thought themselves to have instruments of music like David;
6 You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best ointments: and they are not concerned for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.
Wherefore now they shall go captive at the head of them that go into captivity: and the faction of the luxurious ones shall be taken away.
8 The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself—the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”
The Lord God hath sworn by his own soul, saith the Lord the God of hosts: I detest the pride of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will deliver up the city with the inhabitants thereof.
9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die.
And if there remain ten men in one house, they also shall die.
10 And when the relative who is to burn the bodies picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, “Is anyone else with you?” “None,” that person will answer. “Silence,” the relative will retort, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.”
And a man’s kinsman shall take him up, and shall burn him, that he may carry the bones out of the house; and he shall say to him that is in the inner rooms of the house: Is there yet any with thee? And he shall answer: There is an end. And he shall any to him: Hold thy peace, and mention not the name of the Lord.
11 For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.”
For behold the Lord hath commanded, and he will strike the greater house with breaches, and the lesser house with clefts.
12 “Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
Can horses run upon the rocks, or can any one plough with buffles? for you have turned judgment into bitterness, and the fruit of justice into wormwood.
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’
You that rejoice in a thing of nought: you that say: Have we not taken unto us horns by our own strength?
14 For behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of Hosts, “and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”
But behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel, saith the Lord the God of hosts; and they shall destroy you from the entrance of Emath, even to the torrent of the desert.
