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Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

(A)Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The (B)distinguished men of the first of the nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
Pass on 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 are their borders greater than your borders?
Do you (F)put off the day of calamity,
And would you (G)cause the seat of violence to approach?

Those who lay down on beds of ivory
And sprawl on their (H)couches
And (I)eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall,
Who improvise to the [b]sound of the harp,
And like David have [c]composed (J)songs for themselves,
Who (K)drink wine from [d]sacrificial bowls
While they anoint themselves with the first pick of the oils,
Yet they have not (L)grieved over the destruction of Joseph.
Therefore, they will now (M)go into exile among the first of the exiles,
And the (N)sprawlers’ [e]banqueting will turn aside.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:2 Or you
  2. Amos 6:5 Lit mouth
  3. Amos 6:5 Or invented musical instruments
  4. Amos 6:6 Lit sprinkling basins
  5. Amos 6:7 Or cultic feasts

Mourning for the House of Israel

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
    to those who rest on the mountain of Samaria—
the famous men of the nations
    to whom the house of Israel came!
Cross over to Calneh[a] and look around,
    then go on to that great city of[b] Hamath,
        and from there go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
    Or is their territory more extensive than yours?

“Disbelieving that a day of evil will come,[c]
    embracing opportunities to commit violence,[d]
lying on ivory beds,
    stretching out on your couches,
eating lambs from the flock,
    and fattened calves from the stall,
chanting to the sound of stringed instruments as if they were David,
    composing songs to themselves as if they were musicians,
drinking wine from bowls,
    anointing themselves with the choicest of oils,
        but not grieving on the occasion of Joseph’s ruin—
therefore you will be the first to go into exile,
    and the celebrations of those who are lounging will end.”

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:2 I.e. a Mesopotamian city
  2. Amos 6:2 The Heb. lacks city of
  3. Amos 6:3 The Heb. lacks will come
  4. Amos 6:3 Lit. yet are pressing hard the seat of violence