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 those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure in the hill country of Samaria, the notable men of the best of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes for help!
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?
Your leaders say, “Go to Kalneh and look; from there go to Hamath, the great city; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than your two kingdoms? Is their border larger than your border?”
3 You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
Woe to those who put off the day of disaster and make the throne of violence come near.
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.
They lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
5 You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
They sing foolish songs to the music of the harp; they improvise on instruments as David did.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but they do not grieve over the ruin 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.
So they will now go into exile with the first exiles, and the feasts of those who lounge about will pass 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.”
“I, the Lord Yahweh, have sworn by myself —this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts, I detest the pride of Jacob; I hate his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.”
9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die.
It will come about that if there are ten men left in one house, they will all 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.”
When a man's relative comes to take their bodies up—the one who is to cremate them after bringing the corpses out of the house—if he says to the person in the house, “Is there anyone with you?” What if that person says, “No.” Then he will say, “Be quiet, for we must not mention Yahweh's name.”
11 For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.”
For, look, Yahweh will give a command, and the big house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house to bits.
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—
Do horses run on the rocky cliffs? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness.
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’
You who rejoice over Lo Debar, who say, “Have we not taken Karnaim 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 look, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel—this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts. They will afflict you from Lebo Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”
