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].
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 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].
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 You are trying to not think about a day when you will experience disasters, when [your enemies will come and] violently attack you.
You push away all thoughts of the evil day, yet have instituted a rule of violence.
4 You lie on beds [decorated with expensive] ivory, and on [soft] couches. You eat [the tender meat of] lambs and fat calves.
They lie on ivory couches, sprawl on their divans, eat choice lambs from the flock, and fattened calves from the stall.
5 You create/compose new songs and play them on your harps like [King] David did.
They idly sing to the sound of the lyre, thinking themselves songwriters 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.
they drink bowlfuls of wine, and anoint themselves with the finest of oil. But they do not grieve over the ruin 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 they must go into exile at the head of the captives, and hushed will be the revelry of the sprawlers.
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 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 [When that happens, ] if there are ten people in one house, they will all die.
If ten people remain in one house, then they will 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]!”
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 [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.
Look! The Lord is giving the command! He will smash the large house to bits, the small house into fragments.
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.
Do horses gallop on crags? Does one plough the sea with oxen? Yet you turn justice into poison weed, and the fruit of righteousness into bitter wormwood.
13 You are proud because you have captured Lo-Debar [town], and you have said, “We captured Karnaim by our own power!”
You who are so proud of capturing Lo-debar, who say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?”
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].”
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.
