Amos 6

1 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!

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the foremost of nations, to whom the house of Israel come.

2 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?

Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?

3 You push away all thoughts of the evil day, yet have instituted a rule of violence.

Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 They lie on ivory couches, sprawl on their divans, eat choice lambs from the flock, and fattened calves from the stall.

Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

5 They idly sing to the sound of the lyre, thinking themselves songwriters like David,

who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

6 they drink bowlfuls of wine, and anoint themselves with the finest of oil. But they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

7 Therefore now they must go into exile at the head of the captives, and hushed will be the revelry of the sprawlers.

Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.

8 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.

"Jehovah has sworn by himself," says Jehovah, the God of hosts: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

9 If ten people remain in one house, then they will die.

And it will be, if there remain ten men in one house, they will die, and the remaining ones will be left.

10 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.

"When a man's relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, 'Is there yet any with you?' And he says, 'No;' then he will say, 'Hush. Indeed we must not mention the name of Jehovah.'

11 Look! The Lord is giving the command! He will smash the large house to bits, the small house into fragments.

"For, look, Jehovah commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.

12 Do horses gallop on crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you turn justice into poison weed, and the fruit of righteousness into bitter wormwood.

Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;

13 You who are so proud of capturing Lo-debar, who say, ‘Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?’

you who rejoice in Lo Debar, who say, 'Haven't we taken for ourselves Karnaim by our own strength?'

14 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.

For, look, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel," says Jehovah, the God of hosts; "and they will afflict you from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi Arabah."