Amos 6

1 Sorrow to those who are resting in comfort in Zion, and to those who have no fear of danger in the mountain of Samaria, the noted men of the chief of the nations, to whom the people of Israel come!

How disastrous it will be for you who have an easy life in Zion, and you who feel secure living on Mount Samaria—you who are the most famous men in all of Israel to whom people come for help!

2 Go on to Calneh and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are you better than these kingdoms? or is your land wider than theirs?

But go to Calneh, and see what took place there. Then go on to the great city of Hamath, and down to the Philistine city of Gath. Were they better kingdoms than yours? Did they have more territory than you?

3 You who put far away the evil day, causing the rule of the violent to come near;

You put out of your minds any thought of coming disaster, yet you are bringing closer the time when violence reigns.

4 Who are resting on beds of ivory, stretched out on soft seats, feasting on lambs from the flock and young oxen from the cattle-house;

How disastrous it will be for you people who lie on beds decorated with ivory and lounge on couches, eating lamb from your flocks and fattened calves from the stall.

5 Making foolish songs to the sound of corded instruments, and designing for themselves instruments of music, like David;

You make up songs accompanied by the harp, thinking you're great composers like David.

6 Drinking wine in basins, rubbing themselves with the best oils; but they have no grief for the destruction of Joseph.

You drink wine by the bowlful, and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph's descendants.

7 So now they will go away prisoners with the first of those who are made prisoners, and the loud cry of those who were stretched out will come to an end.

So you will be at the head of those led away into exile; the feasting and lazing around will be over.

8 The Lord God has taken an oath by himself, says the Lord, the God of armies: the pride of Jacob is disgusting to me, and I have hate for his great houses: so I will give up the town with everything in it.

The Lord God has sworn an oath on his own life. This is what the Lord God of power declares: I detest Jacob's arrogance and I hate his fortresses; I will hand over this city and all in it to the enemy.

9 Then it will come about that if there are still ten men in a house, death will overtake them.

If there are ten people in a house, they will die.

10 And when a man's relation, even the one who is responsible for burning his body, lifting him up to take his bones out of the house, says to him who is in the inmost part of the house, Is there still anyone with you? and he says, No; then he will say, Keep quiet, for the name of the Lord may not be named.

And when a relative comes to take away the bodies from the house, he will ask someone inside “Is there anyone else with you?” The person will reply, “No...” Then the other will say, “Quiet! Don't even mention the Lord's name.”

11 For see, at the order of the Lord the great house will be full of cracks and the little house will be broken.

Watch out! When the Lord gives the command, large houses will be reduced to rubble, and small houses smashed to pieces.

12 Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?

Can horses gallop over rocks? Can oxen plow the sea? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of doing good into bitterness!

13 You whose joy is in a thing of no value, who say, Have we not taken for ourselves horns by the strength which is ours?

You joyfully celebrate your conquest of Lodebar, and say “Didn't we in our own strength capture Karnaim?”

14 For see, I will send against you a nation, O Israel, says the Lord, the God of armies, ruling you cruelly from the way into Hamath as far as the stream of the Arabah.

Watch out, people of Israel! I am going to send an enemy nation to attack you, says the Lord God of power, and they will oppress you from the Pass of Hamath to the Arabah Valley.