Amos 6

1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure in the hill country of Samaria, the notable men of the best of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes for help!

Woe to them that set at nothing Sion, and that trust in the mountain of Samaria: they have gathered [the harvest of] the heads of the nations, and they have gone in themselves.

2 Your leaders say, “Go to Kalneh and look; from there go to Hamath, the great city; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than your two kingdoms? Is their border larger than your border?”

O house of Israel, pass by all [of you], and see; and pass by thence to Ematrabba; and thence descend to Geth of the Philistines, the chief of all these kingdoms, [see] if their coasts are greater than your coasts.

3 Woe to those who put off the day of disaster and make the throne of violence come near.

You who are approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths;

4 They lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.

who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls;

5 They sing foolish songs to the music of the harp; they improvise on instruments as David did.

who excel in the sound of musical instruments; they have regarded them as dwelling, not as fleeting [pleasures];

6 They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

who drink strained wine, and anoint themselves with the best ointment; and have suffered nothing on occasion of the calamity of Joseph.

7 So they will now go into exile with the first exiles, and the feasts of those who lounge about will pass away.

Therefore now shall they depart into captivity from the dominion of princes, and the neighing of horses shall be cut off from Ephraim.

8 “I, the Lord Yahweh, have sworn by myself —this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts, I detest the pride of Jacob; I hate his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.”

For the Lord has sworn by himself, [saying], Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, I do also hate his countries, and I will cut off [his] city with all who inhabit it.

9 It will come about that if there are ten men left in one house, they will all die.

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

10 When a man's relative comes to take their bodies up—the one who is to cremate them after bringing the corpses out of the house—if he says to the person in the house, “Is there anyone with you?” What if that person says, “No.” Then he will say, “Be quiet, for we must not mention Yahweh's name.”

But a remnant shall be left behind, and their relations shall take them, and shall strenuously endeavor to carry forth their bones from the house: and one shall say to the heads of the house, Is there yet [any one] else with you? And he shall say, No [one] else. And [the other] shall say, Be silent, that you name not the name of the Lord.

11 For, look, Yahweh will give a command, and the big house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house to bits.

For, behold, the Lord commands, and he will strike the great house with breaches, and the little house with rents.

12 Do horses run on the rocky cliffs? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness.

Will horses run upon rocks? will they refrain from neighing at mares? for you have turned judgment into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness:

13 You who rejoice over Lo Debar, who say, “Have we not taken Karnaim by our own strength?”

you who rejoice at vanity, who say, Have we not possessed horns by our own strength?

14 “But look, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel—this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts. They will afflict you from Lebo Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”

For behold, O house of Israel, I will raise up against you a nation, says the Lord of hosts; and they shall afflict you so that you shall not enter into Aemath, and as it were [from] the river of the wilderness.