Amos 6

WOE TO THE COMPLACENT

6Woe to those who are at ease in Zion^ad

and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria—

the notable people in this first of the nations,

those the house of Israel comes to.

²Cross over to Calneh^ae and see;

go from there to great Hamath;^af

then go down to Gath^ag of the Philistines.

Are you better than these kingdoms?

Is their territory larger than yours?

³You dismiss any thought of the evil day^ah

and bring in a reign of violence.^ai

⁴They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,^aj

sprawled out on their couches,^ak

and dine on lambs from the flock^al

and calves from the stall.

⁵They improvise songs^A to the sound of the harp^am

and invent^B their own musical instruments like David.^an

⁶They drink wine by the bowlful^ao

and anoint themselves with the finest oils

but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.^ap

⁷Therefore, they will now go into exile

as the first of the captives,^aq

and the feasting^a of those who sprawl out

will come to an end.

ISRAEL’S PRIDE JUDGED

⁸The Lord God has sworn by himself^b—this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Armies:

I loathe Jacob’s pride^c

and hate his citadels,^d

so I will hand over the city^e and everything in it.

⁹And if there are ten men left in one house, they will die.^{f 10}A close relative^C and burner^Dg will remove his corpse^E from the house. He will call to someone in the inner recesses of the house, “Any more with you?”

That person will reply, “None.”

Then he will say, “Silence, because the Lord’s name must not be invoked.”^h

¹¹For the Lord commands:

The large house will be smashed to pieces,

and the small house to rubble.ⁱ

¹²Do horses gallop on the cliffs?

Does anyone plow there with oxen?^F

Yet you have turned justice into poison^j

and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood^k—

¹³you who rejoice over Lo-debar^l

and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim

for ourselves by our own strength?”^m

¹⁴But look, I am raising up a nation

against you, house of Israelⁿ—

this is the declaration of the Lord,

the God of Armies—

and they will oppress you

from the entrance of Hamath^Go

to the Brook of the Arabah.^H