Add parallel Print Page Options

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

Woe to the Complacent

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion(A)
and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria—
the notable people in this first of the nations,
those the house of Israel comes to.
Cross over to Calneh(B) and see;
go from there to great Hamath;(C)
then go down to Gath(D) of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
You dismiss any thought of the evil day(E)
and bring in a reign of violence.(F)

They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,(G)
sprawled out on their couches,(H)
and dine on lambs from the flock(I)
and calves from the stall.
They improvise songs[a] to the sound of the harp(J)
and invent[b] their own musical instruments like David.(K)
They drink wine by the bowlful(L)
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.(M)
Therefore, they will now go into exile
as the first of the captives,(N)
and the feasting(O) of those who sprawl out
will come to an end.

Israel’s Pride Judged

The Lord God has sworn by Himself(P)—this is the declaration of Yahweh, the God of Hosts:

I loathe Jacob’s pride(Q)
and hate his citadels,(R)
so I will hand over the city(S) and everything in it.

And if there are 10 men left in one house, they will die.(T) 10 A close relative[c] and burner[d](U) will remove his corpse[e] from the house. He will call to someone in the inner recesses of the house, “Any more with you?”

That person will reply, “None.”

Then he will say, “Silence, because Yahweh’s name must not be invoked.”(V)

11 For the Lord commands:

The large house will be smashed to pieces,
and the small house to rubble.(W)

12 Do horses gallop on the cliffs;
does anyone plow there with oxen?[f]
Yet you have turned justice into poison(X)
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood(Y)
13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar(Z)
and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim
for ourselves by our own strength?”(AA)
14 But look, I am raising up a nation
against you, house of Israel(AB)
this is the declaration of the Lord,
the God of Hosts—
and they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath[g](AC)
to the Brook of the Arabah.[h]

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:5 Hb obscure
  2. Amos 6:5 Or compose on
  3. Amos 6:10 Lit His uncle
  4. Amos 6:10 A burner of incense, a memorial fire, or a body; Hb obscure
  5. Amos 6:10 Lit remove bones
  6. Amos 6:12 Some emend to plow the sea
  7. Amos 6:14 Or from Lebo-hamath
  8. Amos 6:14 Probably the Valley of Zared at the southeast end of the Dead Sea