Amos 6
1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the renowned of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come.
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.
2 Pass unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go to Hamath the great; and go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
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?
3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
4 that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves from the midst of the stall;
You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
5 that chant to the sound of the lute, [and] invent them instruments of music, like David;
You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
6 that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but are not grieved for the breach of Joseph.
You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
7 Therefore shall they now go captive, with the first that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.
Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.
8 The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; and I will deliver up the city with all that is therein.
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.”
9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die.
10 And a man's uncle, and he that should burn him, shall take him up to bring out the bones from the house, and shall say unto him that is in the inner parts of the house, Is there yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, None. And he will say, Silence! for we may not make mention of Jehovah's name.
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.”
11 For behold, Jehovah commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.”
12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will [men] plough [thereon] with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
“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—
13 — ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us power by our own strength?
you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’
14 For behold, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah the God of hosts, I will raise up against you a nation; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath unto the torrent of the Arabah.
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.”
