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 are] at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, [which are] named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

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?”

Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: [be they] better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

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

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

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

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

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

That chant to the sound of the viol, [and] invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

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

That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction 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 go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

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.”

The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

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 remain ten men 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.”

And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto 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.

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 commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

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.

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:

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

Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us 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.”

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 entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.