Amos 6
Common English Bible
Warnings to the self-satisfied
6 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!
2 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?
3 Doom to those who ignore the evil day
and make violent rule draw near:
4 who lie on beds of ivory,
stretch out on their couches,
eat lambs from the flock,
and bull calves from the stall;
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,
and, like David, compose tunes on musical instruments;
6 who drink bowls of wine,
put the best of oils on themselves,
but who aren’t grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 Therefore, they will now be the first to be taken away,
and the feast of those who lounged at the table will pass away.
8 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.
9 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.
Amos 6
Tree of Life Version
At Ease in Zion
6 Oy! You who are at ease in Zion,
trusting in Samaria’s hill!
Distinguished ones of the foremost of nations—
to whom the house of Israel comes
2 Go over to Calneh and look.
From there go to great Hamath,
go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory larger than yours?
3 Dismissing the day of calamity,
you bring near the throne of violence.
4 Reclining on beds of ivory,
sprawling on their couches,
dining on lambs from the flock
and calves from amid the stall,
5 chanting to the sound of harp like David,
inventing their own instruments of song,
6 drinking wine from bowls,
anointing with choice ointments—
yet they are not sickened over the breakdown of Joseph.
7 Therefore now they will go into exile at the head of the exiles.
Sprawling revelry will cease.
8 My Lord Adonai has sworn by Himself
—declares Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot—
“I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
I despise his palaces,
so I will shut down the city and everything in it.”
9 If ten people remain in one house, they will die. 10 One’s beloved—the one burning incense for him—will lift him up to carry the bones out of the house, and he will say to one in the innermost recess of the house: “Is anyone else still with you?” And he will say: “No one.” Then he will say, “Hush! For we must not mention the Name of Adonai.”
11 For behold, Adonai will command,
He will smash the big house to fragments
and the little house to splinters.
12 Will horses run on the cliff?
Will one plow there with oxen?
Yet you turned justice into venom,
the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.
13 You are rejoicing for no reason, saying:
“Haven’t we taken two horns for ourselves by our own strength?”
14 “For behold, I am raising up against you,
O house of Israel, a nation,
and they will afflict you
from Lebo-Hamath[a] to the Valley of the Arabah.”
declares Adonai, the God of Hosts.
Footnotes
- Amos 6:14 Or, the entrance of Hamat.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.