Amos 6
1 Terrible things will happen to you people in Jerusalem who are not worried about anything, and also to you leaders who live on Samaria Hill who think that you are safe. [You think that] [IRO] you are the most important people [in the world], people to whom Israeli people [MTY] go [to get help].
Woe to them that dwell at ease in Zion; That feel secure upon the mountain of Samaria; The honorable men of the chief of the nations, To whom the house of Israel resort!
2 But go to Calneh [city] and see [what happened there]. Then go to [see] the great [city] Hamath [and see what happened there]. Then go down to Gath [city] in Philistia [and see what happened to their city walls]. Your land/country is certainly not [RHQ] larger or more powerful than their countries were, [but they were all destroyed].
Pass over to Calneh, and see; And thence go to great Hamath; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines: Are they better than these kingdoms, Or is their border greater than your border?
3 You are trying to not think about a day when you will experience disasters, when [your enemies will come and] violently attack you.
Woe to them, that put far away the day of evil, And bring near the seat of oppression;
4 You lie on beds [decorated with expensive] ivory, and on [soft] couches. You eat [the tender meat of] lambs and fat calves.
That lie upon beds of ivory, And stretch themselves upon their couches; That eat lambs from the flock, And calves from the stall;
5 You create/compose new songs and play them on your harps like [King] David did.
That chant to the sound of the harp, And invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
6 You drink entire bowlfuls of wine and you put expensive oils/perfumes on your bodies, but you do not grieve about [your country of] Israel [MTY], which is about to be destroyed.
That drink wine in bowls, And anoint themselves with the most precious perfumes, But grieve not for the destruction of Joseph!
7 Your feasting and lounging [on soft couches] will soon end, and you will be among the first ones to be forced [by your enemies] to go (into exile/to another country).
Therefore now shall they go captive at the head of the captives; Yea, the shouting of them that stretch themselves upon their couches shall cease.
8 Yahweh the Lord has solemnly declared this: “I hate the people of Israel because they are very proud; I detest their fortresses. I will enable [their enemies] to capture their [capital] city and everything in it.”
The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the pride of Jacob, And I hate his palaces; I will give up the city, and all that is therein.
9 [When that happens, ] if there are ten people in one house, they will all die.
And if ten men remain in one house, These also shall die.
10 If a relative who (has the task of/is responsible for) burning their corpses comes to the house and inquires of anyone who is still hiding there, “Is there anyone here with you?”, and that person replies “No,” [the one who inquired] will say, “Be quiet! We must not mention the name of Yahweh, [lest he cause us also to be killed]!”
A man's relative, or a burner of the dead, shall take him up, To carry his bones out of the house, And he shall say to him that is in the innermost part of the house, Is there yet any one with thee? And he shall answer, No one! Then shall he say, Keep silence! For we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.
11 [Terrible things like that will happen] because Yahweh has commanded that large houses [in Israel] must be smashed into pieces, and small houses must be smashed into tiny bits.
For behold Jehovah hath commanded, And he will smite the great house with breaches, And the small house with clefts.
12 Horses certainly do not [RHQ] run on big rocks, and certainly people do not [RHQ] plow the sea with oxen. But you have [done things that no one should do]: You have distorted what is fair/right and caused it to be considered like poison [MET]; you have changed what is right and consider it to be like things that are bitter.
Shall horses run upon rocks, Or will one plough rocks with oxen, That ye change justice into hemlock, And the fruit of equity into wormwood,
13 You are proud because you have captured Lo-Debar [town], and you have said, “We captured Karnaim by our own power!”
Ye that rejoice in a thing of naught, And say, Have we not acquired dominion by our own strength?
14 But the Commander of the armies of angels declares, “I will cause another nation to attack you people [MTY] of Israel; they will (oppress you/cause you to suffer) all the way from Hamath Pass [in the northwest] to the Dead Sea [in the southeast].”
Behold, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, I will raise against you a nation, That shall oppress you from Hamath Even to the brook of the desert.
