Amos 6

1 Alas for the careless in Zion, and for them who put confidence in the mountain of Samaria, —the distinguished among the first group of nations, to whom came in the house of Israel.

Woe to you who have been wealthy in Zion, and to you who have confidence in the mountain of Samaria: aristocrats, heads of the people, who advance with a retinue into the house of Israel.

2 Pass ye over to Calneh, and see, and go on from thence to Hamath the great, —and go down to Gath of the Philistines, are they better than these kingdoms? or their boundary larger than your boundary?

Cross over to Calneh and see, and go from there into Hamath the great, and descend into Gath of the Philistines, and to the best kingdoms of these, if their limits are wider than your limits.

3 Ye who are putting far away the day of calamity, —but bringing near the abode of violence:

You have been set aside for the day of disaster, and you approach the throne of iniquity.

4 Who are lying on beds of ivory, and sprawling on their couch of pleasure, —and eating the well-fed of the flock, and the fatted calves out of the midst of the stalls:

You sleep on beds of ivory, and you are lustful on your couches. You devour lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.

5 Who are bawling at the bidding of the harp, —like David, have they invented for themselves instruments of song:

You sing to the sound of stringed instruments; they consider themselves to have the musical abilities of David.

6 Who are quaffing bowls of wine, and, with the best of oils, anointing themselves, —and are not afflicted for the injury of Joseph: —

You drink wine in bowls, and you anoint with the best ointments; and they suffer nothing over the grief of Joseph.

7 Therefore, at once, shall they go into exile among the first of the exiles, —so shall be disturbed the revelry of sprawlers.

Because of this, now they will depart at the head of those who go into captivity; and the faction of the lustful will be removed.

8 Sworn hath the Lord, Yahweh, by his own life, Declareth Yahweh, God of hosts, abhorring am I, the grandeur of Jacob, and, his palaces, I hate, —therefore will I cast off the city and the fulness thereof.

The Lord God has sworn by his own soul, the Lord God of hosts says: I detest the arrogance of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will hand over the city with its inhabitants.

9 And it shall come to pass, though there be left remaining ten men in one house, yet shall they die;

For if there were ten men remaining in one house, even they will die.

10 And a man’s near of kin, even he who is about to burn the bones, shall carry him out of the house, when he shall say to him that is in the hinder parts of the house—Are there yet any with thee? and he shall say—No one. Then shall he say—Hush! for we must not invoke the name of Yahweh.

And his closest relative will steal him away and will burn him, so that he may carry the bones out of the house. And he will say to him that is in the inner most rooms of the house, “Now is there any left that still belongs to you?” And he will answer, “It is finished.” And he will say to him, “Be silent and do not call to mind the name of the Lord.”

11 For lo! Yahweh, is giving command, and will smite the great house into ruins, —and the little house with clefts.

For behold, the Lord has commanded, and he will strike the greater house with catastrophes, and the lesser house with divisions.

12 Shall horses run upon crag? or will a man plough [there] with oxen? For ye have turned to poison the sentence of justice, and the fruit of righteousness, to wormwood:

Can horses gallop across rocks, or is anyone able to plough with gazelles? For you have turned judgment into bitterness and the fruit of justice into wormwood.

13 Who rejoice in a thing of nought, —who say, Have we not by our own strength, taken to ourselves horns?

You rejoice in emptiness. You say, “Have we not, by our own strength, taken horns for ourselves?”

14 For behold me! raising up against you, O house of Israel, Declareth Yahweh, the God of hosts—a nation! And they shall crush you, from the entering in of Hamath, unto the torrent-bed of the waste plain.

For behold, house of Israel, I will raise up a people over you, says the Lord God of hosts, and they will crush you from the entrance of Hamath all the way to the burning of the desert.