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.
Alas for the careless in Zion, and for them who put confidence in the mountain of Samaria, —the distinguished among the first group of nations, to whom came in 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 Calneh, and see, and go on from thence to Hamath the great, —and go down to Gath of the Philistines, are they better than these kingdoms? or their boundary larger than your boundary?
3 You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
Ye who are putting far away the day of calamity, —but bringing near the abode of violence:
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.
Who are lying on beds of ivory, and sprawling on their couch of pleasure, —and eating the well-fed of the flock, and the fatted calves out of the midst of the stalls:
5 You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
Who are bawling at the bidding of the harp, —like David, have they invented for themselves instruments of song:
6 You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
Who are quaffing bowls of wine, and, with the best of oils, anointing themselves, —and are not afflicted for the injury 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.
Therefore, at once, shall they go into exile among the first of the exiles, —so shall be disturbed the revelry of sprawlers.
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.”
Sworn hath the Lord, Yahweh, by his own life, Declareth Yahweh, God of hosts, abhorring am I, the grandeur of Jacob, and, his palaces, I hate, —therefore will I cast off the city and the fulness thereof.
9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die.
And it shall come to pass, though there be left remaining ten men in one house, yet shall they 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 near of kin, even he who is about to burn the bones, shall carry him out of the house, when he shall say to him that is in the hinder parts of the house—Are there yet any with thee? and he shall say—No one. Then shall he say—Hush! for we must not invoke the name of Yahweh.
11 For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.”
For lo! Yahweh, is giving command, and will smite the great house into ruins, —and the little 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—
Shall horses run upon crag? or will a man plough [there] with oxen? For ye have turned to poison the sentence of justice, and the fruit of righteousness, to wormwood:
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’
Who rejoice in a thing of nought, —who say, Have we not by our own strength, taken to ourselves horns?
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.”
For behold me! raising up against you, O house of Israel, Declareth Yahweh, the God of hosts—a nation! And they shall crush you, from the entering in of Hamath, unto the torrent-bed of the waste plain.
