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Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

(A)Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The (B)distinguished men of the first of the nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
Pass on over to (C)Calneh and look,
And go from there to (D)Hamath the great,
Then go down to (E)Gath of the Philistines.
Are [a]they better than these kingdoms,
Or are their borders greater than your borders?
Do you (F)put off the day of calamity,
And would you (G)cause the seat of violence to approach?

Those who lay down on beds of ivory
And sprawl on their (H)couches
And (I)eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall,
Who improvise to the [b]sound of the harp,
And like David have [c]composed (J)songs for themselves,
Who (K)drink wine from [d]sacrificial bowls
While they anoint themselves with the first pick of the oils,
Yet they have not (L)grieved over the destruction of Joseph.
Therefore, they will now (M)go into exile among the first of the exiles,
And the (N)sprawlers’ [e]banqueting will turn aside.

Lord Yahweh has (O)sworn by Himself, Yahweh God of hosts has declared:
“I (P)abhor the lofty pride of Jacob
And hate his (Q)citadels;
Therefore I will (R)deliver up the city as well as its fullness.”

And it will be, if (S)ten men are left in one house, they will die. 10 Then one’s [f]uncle, or the one who [g](T)burns his bones, will lift him up to bring out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will [h]answer, “(U)Keep quiet. For [i]the name of Yahweh is (V)not to be mentioned.” 11 For behold, Yahweh is going to (W)command and will strike the (X)great house to pieces and the small house to fragments.

12 Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one plow [j]them with oxen?
Yet you have overturned (Y)justice into gall
And the fruit of righteousness into [k]wormwood,
13 You who are glad in [l](Z)Lo-debar
[m]And say, “Have we not (AA)by our own strength taken [n]Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (AB)I am going to raise up a nation against you,
O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh God of hosts,
“And they will press down on you from [o](AC)Lebo-hamath
To the (AD)brook of the Arabah.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:2 Or you
  2. Amos 6:5 Lit mouth
  3. Amos 6:5 Or invented musical instruments
  4. Amos 6:6 Lit sprinkling basins
  5. Amos 6:7 Or cultic feasts
  6. Amos 6:10 Or beloved one
  7. Amos 6:10 Lit burns him
  8. Amos 6:10 Lit say
  9. Amos 6:10 Lit not to make mention of the name of
  10. Amos 6:12 Or the sea with oxen
  11. Amos 6:12 Or bitterness
  12. Amos 6:13 Lit a thing of nothing
  13. Amos 6:13 Lit Who
  14. Amos 6:13 Lit a pair of horns
  15. Amos 6:14 Or the entrance of Hamath

Warnings to the self-satisfied

    Doom to those resting comfortably in Zion
        and those trusting in Mount Samaria,
    the chiefs of the nations,
        to whom the house of Israel comes!
    Cross over to Calneh and see;
        from there go to Hamath the great;
        then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
    Are you better than these kingdoms?
        Or is your territory greater than their territory?

    Doom to those who ignore the evil day
        and make violent rule draw near:
    who lie on beds of ivory,
        stretch out on their couches,
        eat lambs from the flock,
        and bull calves from the stall;
    who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,
        and, like David, compose tunes on musical instruments;
    who drink bowls of wine,
        put the best of oils on themselves,
        but who aren’t grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
    Therefore, they will now be the first to be taken away,
        and the feast of those who lounged at the table will pass away.

    The Lord God has solemnly sworn,
    says the Lord, the God of heavenly forces:
    I reject the pride of Jacob.
        I hate his fortresses.
        I will hand over the city and all that is in it.
    If ten people remain in one house,
        then they will die.
10 If a relative, someone who burns the dead,
        picks up the body to bring it out of the house,
        and says to someone inside the house,
    “Is anyone else with you?”
        the answer will be, “No.”
    Then the relative will say,
        “Hush! We mustn’t mention the name of the Lord.”
11 Look, the Lord is giving an order;
        he will shatter the great house into bits
        and the little house into pieces.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
        Does one plow the sea with oxen?
    But you have turned justice into poison
        and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
13     you who rejoice in Lo-debar,
    who say, “Haven’t we by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 Indeed, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel, says the Lord God of heavenly forces,
    and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the desert ravine.