“Carefree in Zion”

(A)Woe to those who are carefree in Zion,
And to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
The (B)dignitaries of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
Go 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 is their territory greater than yours?
Are you (F)postponing the day of disaster,
And would you (G)bring near the seat of violence?

Those who lie on beds of ivory,
And lounge around on their (H)couches,
And (I)eat lambs from the flock,
And calves from the midst of the fattened cattle,
Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have [b]composed (J)songs for themselves,
Who (K)drink wine from sacred bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils—
Yet they have not (L)grieved over the collapse of Joseph.
Therefore, they will now (M)go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the revelry of those who (N)lounge around will come to an end.

The Lord [c]God has (O)sworn by Himself, the Lord God of armies has declared:
“I (P)loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
And [d]detest his (Q)citadels;
Therefore I will (R)give up the city and [e]all it contains.”

And it will be, if (S)ten men are left in one house, they will die. 10 Then one’s [f]uncle, or his (T)undertaker, will lift him up to carry 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 [g]answer, “(U)Keep quiet! For [h]the name of the Lord is (V)not to be mentioned.” 11 For behold, the Lord is going to (W)command that the (X)great house be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.

12 Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one [i]plow them with oxen?
Yet you have turned (Y)justice into poison,
And the fruit of righteousness into [j]wormwood,
13 You who rejoice in [k](Z)Lodebar,
[l]And say, “Have we not (AA)by our own strength taken [m]Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (AB)I am going to raise up a nation against you,
House of Israel,” declares the Lord God of armies,
“And they will torment you from the (AC)entrance of Hamath
To the (AD)brook of the Arabah.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:2 Or you
  2. Amos 6:5 Or invented musical instruments
  3. Amos 6:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  4. Amos 6:8 Lit hate
  5. Amos 6:8 Lit its fullness
  6. Amos 6:10 Or beloved one
  7. Amos 6:10 Lit say
  8. Amos 6:10 Lit not to make mention in the name of
  9. Amos 6:12 Another reading is plow the sea with oxen
  10. Amos 6:12 I.e., bitterness
  11. Amos 6:13 Lit nothing
  12. Amos 6:13 Lit Who say
  13. Amos 6:13 Lit a pair of horns

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

(A)“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
    and to those who feel secure on (B)the mountain of Samaria,
(C)the notable men of (D)the first of the nations,
    to whom the house of Israel comes!
Pass over to (E)Calneh, and see,
    and from there go to (F)Hamath the great;
    then go down to (G)Gath of the Philistines.
(H)Are you better than these kingdoms?
    Or is their territory greater than your territory,
(I)O you who put far away the day of disaster
    (J)and bring near the seat of violence?

“Woe to those (K)who lie on (L)beds of ivory
    (M)and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
    (N)and calves from the midst of the stall,
(O)who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
    and like David (P)invent for themselves instruments of music,
(Q)who drink wine in bowls
    and (R)anoint themselves with the finest oils,
    but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
(S)Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
    and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

(T)The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

“I abhor (U)the pride of Jacob
    and hate his strongholds,
    (V)and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”

And (W)if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one's relative, (X)the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, (Y)“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For behold, the Lord commands,
    and (Z)the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
    and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
    Does one plow there[a] with oxen?
(AA)But you have turned justice into (AB)poison
    (AC)and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood[b]
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[c]
    who say, (AD)“Have we not by our own strength
    captured Karnaim[d] for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (AE)I will raise up against you a nation,
    O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from (AF)Lebo-hamath
    to the Brook of (AG)the Arabah.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:12 Or the sea
  2. Amos 6:12 Or into bitter fruit
  3. Amos 6:13 Lo-debar means nothing
  4. Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns (a symbol of strength)