Amos 6
New American Standard Bible
“Carefree in Zion”
6 (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.
2 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?
3 Are you (F)postponing the day of disaster,
And would you (G)bring near the seat of violence?
4 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,
5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have [b]composed (J)songs for themselves,
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.”
9 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
- Amos 6:2 Or you
- Amos 6:5 Or invented musical instruments
- Amos 6:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Amos 6:8 Lit hate
- Amos 6:8 Lit its fullness
- Amos 6:10 Or beloved one
- Amos 6:10 Lit say
- Amos 6:10 Lit not to make mention in the name of
- Amos 6:12 Another reading is plow the sea with oxen
- Amos 6:12 I.e., bitterness
- Amos 6:13 Lit nothing
- Amos 6:13 Lit Who say
- Amos 6:13 Lit a pair of horns
Amos 6
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Woe to the Complacent
6 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.
2 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?
3 You dismiss any thought of the evil day(E)
and bring in a reign of violence.(F)
4 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.
5 They improvise songs[a] to the sound of the harp(J)
and invent[b] their own musical instruments like David.(K)
6 They drink wine by the bowlful(L)
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.(M)
7 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
8 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.
9 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
- Amos 6:5 Hb obscure
- Amos 6:5 Or compose on
- Amos 6:10 Lit His uncle
- Amos 6:10 A burner of incense, a memorial fire, or a body; Hb obscure
- Amos 6:10 Lit remove bones
- Amos 6:12 Some emend to plow the sea
- Amos 6:14 Or from Lebo-hamath
- Amos 6:14 Probably the Valley of Zared at the southeast end of the Dead Sea
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