Amos 6

1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Woe to you who have been wealthy in Zion, and to you who have confidence in the mountain of Samaria: aristocrats, heads of the people, who advance with a retinue into the house of Israel.

2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

Cross over to Calneh and see, and go from there into Hamath the great, and descend into Gath of the Philistines, and to the best kingdoms of these, if their limits are wider than your limits.

3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

You have been set aside for the day of disaster, and you approach the throne of iniquity.

4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

You sleep on beds of ivory, and you are lustful on your couches. You devour lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.

5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

You sing to the sound of stringed instruments; they consider themselves to have the musical abilities of David.

6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

You drink wine in bowls, and you anoint with the best ointments; and they suffer nothing over the grief of Joseph.

7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

Because of this, now they will depart at the head of those who go into captivity; and the faction of the lustful will be removed.

8 The Lord Yhwh hath sworn by himself, saith Yhwh the God of Armies, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

The Lord God has sworn by his own soul, the Lord God of hosts says: I detest the arrogance of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will hand over the city with its inhabitants.

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

For if there were ten men remaining in one house, even they will die.

10 And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of Yhwh.

And his closest relative will steal him away and will burn him, so that he may carry the bones out of the house. And he will say to him that is in the inner most rooms of the house, “Now is there any left that still belongs to you?” And he will answer, “It is finished.” And he will say to him, “Be silent and do not call to mind the name of the Lord.”

11 For, behold, Yhwh commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

For behold, the Lord has commanded, and he will strike the greater house with catastrophes, and the lesser house with divisions.

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

Can horses gallop across rocks, or is anyone able to plough with gazelles? For you have turned judgment into bitterness and the fruit of justice into wormwood.

13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

You rejoice in emptiness. You say, “Have we not, by our own strength, taken horns for ourselves?”

14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Yhwh the God of Armies; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

For behold, house of Israel, I will raise up a people over you, says the Lord God of hosts, and they will crush you from the entrance of Hamath all the way to the burning of the desert.