Folkets självsäkerhet och brist på gudsfruktan

Ve de trygga på Sion, de självsäkra på Samarias berg,
de förnämsta bland förstlingsfolket,
    dem som Israels hus brukar vända sig till!
Drag bort till Kalne och se efter,
    gå därifrån till Stora Hamat
och far sedan ner till filisteernas Gat.
    Är de bättre än rikena här,
eller är deras område större än ert område?
Ni skjuter den onda dagen bort ifrån er,
men låter våldet härska hos er.
Ni vilar på soffor av elfenben
    och sträcker lättjefullt ut er på era bäddar.
Ni äter lamm ur hjorden
    och kalvar från gödstallet.
Ni skrålar era visor till harpans ljud
och tänker ut nya musikinstrument som David.
Ni dricker vin ur stora skålar
    och smörjer er med salvor av finaste olja,
men bekymrar er inte om Josefs skada.
Därför skall nu dessa
    som de första föras bort i fångenskap.
Det blir slut med skrålet
    från dem som lättjefullt sträcker ut sig.

Herren, Herren har svurit vid sig själv,
säger Herren, härskarornas Gud:
    Jag avskyr Jakobs stolthet
och hatar hans palats.
    Jag skall utlämna staden
med allt som finns i den.

Och det skall ske att om tio män lämnas kvar i samma hus, skall de alla dö. 10 När en släkting med likbrännarens hjälp vill föra benen ut ur huset och ropar till den som är inne i huset: "Finns det någon mer än du här?", och denne svarar: "Ingen", så skall han säga: "Tyst! Herrens namn får inte nämnas."

11 Ty se, på Herrens befallning
    skall det stora huset slås i stycken
och det lilla huset i spillror.
12 Springer hästar på klippor
    eller plöjer man där med oxar?
Men ni har förvandlat rätten till gift
och rättfärdighetens frukt till malört.
13 Ni gläder er över Lo-Debar[a] och säger:
"Har vi inte genom vår egen styrka
    intagit Karnajim?"[b]

14 Ty se, jag skall uppväcka ett folk mot er, ni av Israels hus, säger Herren, härskarornas Gud. Och de skall ansätta er från infartsvägen mot Hamat ända till Arabasänkan.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:13 Lo-Debar betyder "det som ingenting är".
  2. Amos 6:13 Karnajim betyder "horn", som står för styrka.

Chapter 6

Third Woe

Woe to those who are complacent in Zion,
    secure on the mount of Samaria,
Leaders of the first among nations,
    to whom the people of Israel turn.
Pass over to Calneh and see,
    go from there to Hamath the great,
    and down to Gath[a] of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms,
    or is your territory greater than theirs?
You who would put off the day of disaster,
    yet hasten the time of violence!
Those who lie on beds of ivory,
    and lounge upon their couches;
Eating lambs taken from the flock,
    and calves from the stall;
Who improvise to the music of the harp,
    composing on musical instruments like David,
Who drink wine from bowls,
    and anoint themselves with the best oils,
    but are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph;
Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,
    and the carousing of those who lounged shall cease.

The Lord God has sworn by his very self—
    an oracle of the Lord, the God of hosts:
I abhor the pride of Jacob,
    I hate his strongholds,
    and I will hand over the city with everything in it;(A)
Should there remain ten people
    in a single house, these shall die.
10 When a relative or one who prepares the body picks up the remains
    to carry them out of the house,
If he says to someone in the recesses of the house,
    “Is anyone with you?” and the answer is, “No one,”
Then he shall say, “Silence!”
    for no one must mention the name of the Lord.[b](B)
11 Indeed, the Lord has given the command
    to shatter the great house to bits,
    and reduce the small house to rubble.
12 Can horses run over rock,
    or can one plow the sea with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into gall,
    and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,(C)
13 You who rejoice in Lodebar,
    and say, “Have we not, by our own strength,
    seized Karnaim[c] for ourselves?”
14 Look, I am raising up against you, house of Israel—
    oracle of the Lord, the God of hosts—
A nation[d] that shall oppress you
    from Lebo-hamath even to the Wadi Arabah.

Footnotes

  1. 6:2 Calneh…Hamath…Gath: city-states overcome by the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C., whose fate should be a lesson to the Israelites. The prophet castigates the leaders for being more intent on pursuing a luxurious lifestyle (vv. 1, 4–6) than reading the signs of the times.
  2. 6:10 In this desperate situation there seems to be a profound fear of the Lord, who is the cause of the deaths (cf. 3:6).
  3. 6:13 Lodebar…Karnaim: two towns recaptured from Judah by Israelite forces during the reign of Jeroboam II (see 2 Kgs 14:25). Some mockery of at least the first of these victories is probably intended by the prophet here, as Lodebar can be translated “nothing.”
  4. 6:14 A nation: Assyria. Lebo-hamath…Wadi Arabah: the territorial limits of Solomon’s kingdom, north and south respectively, as re-established by Jeroboam II (see 2 Kgs 14:25).

Woe to the Complacent

Woe to you(A) who are complacent(B) in Zion,
    and to you who feel secure(C) on Mount Samaria,(D)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
    to whom the people of Israel come!(E)
Go to Kalneh(F) and look at it;
    go from there to great Hamath,(G)
    and then go down to Gath(H) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(I) your two kingdoms?
    Is their land larger than yours?
You put off the day of disaster
    and bring near a reign of terror.(J)
You lie on beds adorned with ivory
    and lounge on your couches.(K)
You dine on choice lambs
    and fattened calves.(L)
You strum away on your harps(M) like David
    and improvise on musical instruments.(N)
You drink wine(O) by the bowlful
    and use the finest lotions,
    but you do not grieve(P) over the ruin of Joseph.(Q)
Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(R)
    your feasting and lounging will end.(S)

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(T)—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor(U) the pride of Jacob(V)
    and detest his fortresses;(W)
I will deliver up(X) the city
    and everything in it.(Y)

If ten(Z) people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[a](AA) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(AB) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For the Lord has given the command,
    and he will smash(AC) the great house(AD) into pieces
    and the small house into bits.(AE)

12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea[b] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(AF)
    and the fruit of righteousness(AG) into bitterness(AH)
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[c]
    and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[d] by our own strength?(AI)

14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
    “I will stir up a nation(AJ) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
    from Lebo Hamath(AK) to the valley of the Arabah.(AL)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
  2. Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
  3. Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
  4. Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.