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)

Woe to the complacent

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

The Lord abhors the pride of Israel

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself – the Lord God Almighty declares:

‘I abhor the pride of Jacob
    and detest his fortresses;
I will deliver up the city
    and everything in it.’

If ten 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] asks anyone who might be hiding there, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ and he says, ‘No,’ then he will go on to say, ‘Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.’

11 For the Lord has given the command,
    and he will smash the great house into pieces
    and the small house into bits.

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

14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
    ‘I will stir up a nation against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
    from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.’

Footnotes

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

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye 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? —ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the [a]seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, [b]like David; that drink [c]wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away. The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the [d]excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. 10 And when a man’s [e]uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah. 11 For, behold, Jehovah commandeth, and [f]the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood; 13 ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? 14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of the Arabah.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:3 Or, sitting
  2. Amos 6:5 Or, like David’s
  3. Amos 6:6 Hebrew in bowls of wine.
  4. Amos 6:8 Or, pride
  5. Amos 6:10 Or, kinsman
  6. Amos 6:11 Or, he will smite the great house