< Amos 6 >
1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and trust in the moutaine of Samaria, which were famous at the beginning of the nations: and the house of Israel came to them.
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.
2 Goe you vnto Calneh, and see: and from thence goe you to Hamath the great: then goe downe to Gath of the Philistims: be they better then these kingdomes? or the border of their land greater then your border,
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.
3 Ye that put farre away the euill day, and approch to the seate of iniquitie?
You who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths;
4 They lie vpon beddes of yuorie, and stretch themselues vpon their beddes, and eate the lambes of the flocke, and the calues out of the stall.
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;
5 They sing to the sounde of the viole: they inuent to themselues instruments of musike like Dauid.
who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as dwelling, not as fleeting [pleasures];
6 They drinke wine in bowles, and anoynt themselues with the chiefe ointments, but no man is sory for the affliction of Ioseph.
who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph.
7 Therefore nowe shall they go captiue with the first that go captiue, and the sorow of them that stretched themselues, is at hand.
Therefore now shall they depart into captivity from the dominion of princes, and the neighing of horses shall be cut off from Ephraim.
8 The Lord God hath sworne by himselfe, saith the Lord God of hostes, I abhorre the excellencie of Iaakob, and hate his palaces: therefore wil I deliuer vp the citie with all that is therein.
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.
9 And if there remaine ten men in one house, they shall die.
And it shall come to pass, if there be ten men left in one house, that they shall die.
10 And his vncle shall take him vp and burne him to cary out the bones out of the house, and shall say vnto him, that is by ye sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? And he shall say, None. Then shall he say, Holde thy tongue: for we may not remember the Name of the Lord.
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.
11 For behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the litle house with clefts.
For, behold, the Lord commands, and he will strike the great house with breaches, and the little house with rents.
12 Shal horses runne vpon the rocke? or wil one plowe there with oxen? for yee haue turned iudgement into gall, and the fruite of righteousnes into wormewood.
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:
13 Ye reioyce in a thing of nought: yee say, Haue not wee gotten vs hornes by our owne strength?
you who rejoice at vanity, who say, Have we not possessed horns by our own strength?
14 But behold, I wil raise vp against you a nation, O house of Israel, sayeth the Lord God of hostes: and they shall afflict you, from the entring in of Hamath vnto the riuer of the wildernes.
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.