Amos 6

1 Woe [to] those secure in Zion, And those confident on the mountain of Samaria, The marked of the chief of the nations, And the house of Israel has come to them.

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 over [to] Calneh and see, And go there [to] Hamath the great, And go down [to] Gath of the Philistines, Are [they] better than these kingdoms? [Is] 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 Who are putting away the day of evil, And you bring the seat of violence near,

You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.

4 Who are lying down on beds of ivory, And are spread out on their couches, And are eating lambs from the flock, And 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 Who are taking part according to the stringed instrument, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music;

You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.

6 Who are drinking with bowls of wine, And anoint themselves [with] chief perfumes, And have not been pained 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 they now go at the head of the captives, And the mourning-feast of stretched-out ones is turned aside.

Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.

8 Lord YHWH has sworn by Himself, A declaration of YHWH, God of Hosts: “I am abominating the excellence of Jacob, And his high places I have hated, And I have delivered up the city and its fullness.”

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 if there are left ten persons in one house, It has come to pass—that they have died.

And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die.

10 And his loved one has lifted him up, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who [is] in the sides of the house, “Is there [any] yet with you?” And he said, “None,” Then he said, “Hush! We must not make mention of the Name of YHWH.”

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, YHWH is commanding, And He has struck 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 Do horses run on a rock? Does one plow [it] with oxen? For you have turned judgment to gall, And the fruit of righteousness to 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 O you who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, “Have we not taken to ourselves horns by our strength?”

you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’

14 “Surely, behold, I am raising a nation against you, O house of Israel,” A declaration of YHWH, God of Hosts, “And they have oppressed you from the coming in to Hamath, To the stream of the desert.”

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.”