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.
Sorrow awaits who are carefree in Zion, overconfident on the mountain of Samaria! The elite of this, the best of nations, on whom the people of Israel rest their hopes!
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,
You say to the people: Cross over to Calneh and see, go from there to Hamath the great, then go down to Gath of the Philistines: Are they better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?
3 Ye that put farre away the euill day, and approch to the seate of iniquitie?
You push away all thoughts of the evil day, yet have instituted a rule of violence.
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.
They lie on ivory couches, sprawl on their divans, eat choice lambs from the flock, and fattened calves from the stall.
5 They sing to the sounde of the viole: they inuent to themselues instruments of musike like Dauid.
They idly sing to the sound of the lyre, thinking themselves songwriters like David,
6 They drinke wine in bowles, and anoynt themselues with the chiefe ointments, but no man is sory for the affliction of Ioseph.
they drink bowlfuls of wine, and anoint themselves with the finest of oil. But they do not grieve over the ruin 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 they must go into exile at the head of the captives, and hushed will be the revelry of the sprawlers.
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.
The Lord God, the Lord, the God of hosts, has sworn by himself: I abhor the pride of Jacob, I hate his palaces, therefore I will deliver up the city and all that is in it to their enemies.
9 And if there remaine ten men in one house, they shall die.
If ten people remain in one house, then they will 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.
When the uncle and another member of the family of a dead man come to carry the body out of the house for burial, they will call to someone in a corner of the house, ‘Any more there?’ and he will answer, ‘No’, and then he will add, ‘Be quiet!’ – for the name of the Lord must not be mentioned.
11 For behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the litle house with clefts.
Look! The Lord is giving the command! He will smash the large house to bits, the small house into fragments.
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.
Do horses gallop on crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you turn justice into poison weed, and the fruit of righteousness into bitter wormwood.
13 Ye reioyce in a thing of nought: yee say, Haue not wee gotten vs hornes by our owne strength?
You who are so proud of capturing Lo-debar, who say, ‘Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?’
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.
I am now raising up against you, Israel, a nation, says the Lord, the God of hosts. They will oppress you, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.
