Amos 6

1 Woe to them that set at nothing 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.

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!

2 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.

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?

3 You who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths;

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

4 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;

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;

5 who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as dwelling, not as fleeting [pleasures];

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

6 who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph.

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

7 Therefore now shall they depart into captivity from the dominion of princes, and the neighing of horses shall be cut off from Ephraim.

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.

8 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.

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.

9 And it shall come to pass, if there be ten men left in one house, that they shall die.

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

10 But a remnant shall be left behind, and their relations shall take them, and shall strenuously endeavour 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 you? And he shall say, No [one] else. And [the other] shall say, Be silent, that you name not the name of the Lord.

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.

11 For, behold, the Lord commands, and he will strike the great house with breaches, and the little house with rents.

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

12 Will horses run upon rocks? will they refrain from neighing at mares? for you have turned judgement into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness:

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?

13 you who rejoice at vanity, who say, Have we not possessed horns by our own strength?

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?

14 For behold, O house of Israel, I will raise up against you a nation, says the Lord of hosts; and they shall afflict you so that you shall not enter into Aemath, and as it were [from] the river of the wilderness.

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.