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Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,

    and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria,
    the notable men of the chief of the nations,
    to whom the house of Israel come!
Go to Calneh, and see;
    and from there go to Hamath the great;
    then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
are they better than these kingdoms?
    or is their border greater than your border?
Those who put far away the evil day,
    and cause the seat of violence to come near;
    Who lie on beds of ivory,
    and stretch themselves on their couches,
    and eat the lambs out of the flock,
    and the calves out of the middle of the stall;
    who strum on the strings of a harp;
    who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
    who drink wine in bowls,
    and anoint themselves with the best oils;
    but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive;
    and the feasting and lounging will end.
“The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies:
    “I abhor the pride of Jacob,
    and detest his fortresses.
    Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house,
    that they shall die.

10 “When a man’s relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is there yet any with you?’ And he says, ‘No;’ then he will say, ‘Hush! Indeed we must not mention Yahweh’s name.’

11 “For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces,
    and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
    Does one plow there with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison,
    and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
13 you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say,
    ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’
14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel,”
    says Yahweh, the God of Armies;
    “and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”

Complacent Self-Indulgence Will Be Punished

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
    and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the nations,
    to whom the house of Israel resorts!(A)
Cross over to Calneh and see;
    from there go to Hamath the great;
    then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better[a] than these kingdoms?
    Or is your[b] territory greater than their[c] territory,(B)
you who put far away the evil day
    and bring near a reign of violence?(C)

Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
    and lounge on their couches
and eat lambs from the flock
    and calves from the stall,(D)
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
    and like David improvise on instruments of music,(E)
who drink wine from bowls
    and anoint themselves with the finest oils
    but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!(F)
Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
    and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.(G)

The Lord God has sworn by himself
(says the Lord, the God of hosts):
I abhor the pride of Jacob
    and hate his strongholds,
    and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.(H)

If ten people remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And if a relative, one who burns it,[d] takes up the body to bring it out of the house and says to someone in the innermost parts of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” the answer will come, “No.” Then the relative[e] shall say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For the Lord commands,
    and he will shatter the great house to bits
    and the little house to pieces.(I)
12 Do horses run on rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea with oxen?[f]
But you have turned justice into poison
    and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,(J)
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[g]
    who say, “Have we not by our own strength
    taken Karnaim[h] for ourselves?”
14 Indeed, I am raising up against you a nation,
    O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of hosts,
and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
    to the Wadi Arabah.(K)

Footnotes

  1. 6.2 Or Are they better
  2. 6.2 Heb their
  3. 6.2 Heb your
  4. 6.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 6.10 Heb he
  6. 6.12 Or Does one plow them with oxen
  7. 6.13 Or in a thing of nothingness
  8. 6.13 Or horns