Amos 6

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

How disastrous it will be for you who have an easy life in Zion, and you who feel secure living on Mount Samaria—you who are the most famous men in all of Israel to whom people come for help!

2 Pass ye over [to] Calneh and see, And go thence [to] Hamath the great, And go down [to] Gath of the Philistines, Are [they] better than these kingdoms? Greater [is] their border than your border?

But go to Calneh, and see what took place there. Then go on to the great city of Hamath, and down to the Philistine city of Gath. Were they better kingdoms than yours? Did they have more territory than you?

3 Who are putting away the day of evil, And ye bring nigh the seat of violence,

You put out of your minds any thought of coming disaster, yet you are bringing closer the time when violence reigns.

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,

How disastrous it will be for you people who lie on beds decorated with ivory and lounge on couches, eating lamb from your flocks and fattened calves from the stall.

5 Who are taking part according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music;

You make up songs accompanied by the harp, thinking you're great composers like David.

6 Who are drinking with bowls of wine, And [with] chief perfumes anoint [themselves], 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 do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph's descendants.

7 Therefore now they remove at the head of the captives, And turned aside is the mourning-feast of stretched-out ones.

So you will be at the head of those led away into exile; the feasting and lazing around will be over.

8 Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by Himself, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts: I am abominating the excellency of Jacob, And his high places I have hated, And I have delivered up the city and its fulness.

The Lord God has sworn an oath on his own life. This is what the Lord God of power declares: I detest Jacob's arrogance and I hate his fortresses; I will hand over this city and all in it to the enemy.

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

If there are ten people in a house, they will die.

10 And lifted him up hath his loved one, 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 yet with thee?' And he said, 'None,' then he said, 'Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'

And when a relative comes to take away the bodies from the house, he will ask someone inside “Is there anyone else with you?” The person will reply, “No...” Then the other will say, “Quiet! Don't even mention the Lord's name.”

11 For lo, Jehovah is commanding, And He hath smitten the great house [with] breaches, And the little house [with] clefts.

Watch out! When the Lord gives the command, large houses will be reduced to rubble, and small houses smashed to pieces.

12 Do horses run on a rock? Doth one plough [it] with oxen? For ye have turned to gall judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood.

Can horses gallop over rocks? Can oxen plow the sea? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of doing good into bitterness!

13 O ye who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, 'Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves horns?'

You joyfully celebrate your conquest of Lodebar, and say “Didn't we in our own strength capture Karnaim?”

14 Surely, lo, I am raising against you a nation, O house of Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts, And they have oppressed you from the coming in to Hamath, Unto the stream of the desert.

Watch out, people of Israel! I am going to send an enemy nation to attack you, says the Lord God of power, and they will oppress you from the Pass of Hamath to the Arabah Valley.