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.”

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“Carefree in Zion”

(A)Woe to those who are carefree in Zion,
And to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
The (B)dignitaries of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
Go 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 is their territory greater than yours?
Are you (F)postponing the day of disaster,
And would you (G)bring near the seat of violence?

Those who lie on beds of ivory,
And lounge around on their (H)couches,
And (I)eat lambs from the flock,
And calves from the midst of the fattened cattle,
Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have [b]composed (J)songs for themselves,
Who (K)drink wine from sacred bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils—
Yet they have not (L)grieved over the collapse of Joseph.
Therefore, they will now (M)go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the revelry of those who (N)lounge around will come to an end.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:2 Or you
  2. Amos 6:5 Or invented musical instruments