Amos 6
1 Woe to them [that are] at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, [who are] named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
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 ye to Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: [are they] better than these kingdoms? or 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 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat 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 That chant to the sound of the viol, [and] invent to themselves instruments of music, like David;
You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
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 by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin 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.
Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.
8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellence of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore I will deliver up the city with all its abundance.
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 it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die.
And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die.
10 And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to 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 the LORD.
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, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite 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 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:
“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 Ye who rejoice in a thing of naught, who say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’
14 But behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the river of the wilderness.
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.”
