Amos 6

1Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!footnote afootnote b

2Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

3Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;footnote c

4That 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;footnote d

5That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;footnote e

6That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.footnote ffootnote g

7Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

8The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.footnote h

9And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

10And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.footnote i

11For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.footnote j

12Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

13Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

14But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.footnote k

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

1Woe to those at ease in Zionand those secure on Mount Samaria,the distinguished ones of the foremost nation,to whom the house of Israel comes. 2Cross over to Calneh and see;go from there to the great Hamath;then go down to Gath of the Philistines.Are you better than these kingdoms?Is their territory larger than yours?

3You dismiss the day of calamityand bring near a reign of violence. 4You lie on beds inlaid with ivory,and lounge upon your couches.You dine on lambs from the flockand calves from the stall. 5You improvise songs on the harp like Davidand invent your own musical instruments. 6You drink wine by the bowlfuland anoint yourselves with the finest oils,but you fail to grieveover the ruin of Joseph.

7Therefore, you will now go into exileas the first of the captives,and your feasting and loungingwill come to an end.

The Pride of Israel

8The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself—the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared:“I abhor Jacob’s prideand detest his citadels,so I will deliver up the cityand everything in it.”

9And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die. 10And when the relative who is to burn the bodiesfootnote a picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, “Is anyone else with you?”
“None,” that person will answer.
“Silence,” the relative will retort, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.” 11For the LORD gives a command:“The great house will be smashed to pieces,and the small house to rubble.”

12“Do horses gallop on the cliffs?Does one plow the seafootnote bwith oxen?But you have turned justice into poisonand the fruit of righteousness into wormwood— 13you who rejoice in Lo-debarfootnote cand say,‘Did we not take Karnaimfootnote dby our own strength?’ 14For behold, I will raise up a nationagainst you, O house of Israel,”declares the LORD, the God of Hosts,“and they will oppress youfrom Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”