Amos 6

Woe to the Complacent

6Woe to you^z who are complacent^a in Zion,

and to you who feel secure^b on Mount Samaria,^c

you notable men of the foremost nation,

to whom the people of Israel come!^d

²Go to Kalneh^e and look at it;

go from there to great Hamath,^f

and then go down to Gath^g in Philistia.

Are they better off than^h your two kingdoms?

Is their land larger than yours?

³You put off the day of disaster

and bring near a reign of terror.ⁱ

⁴You lie on beds adorned with ivory

and lounge on your couches.^j

You dine on choice lambs

and fattened calves.^k

⁵You strum away on your harps^l like David

and improvise on musical instruments.^m

⁶You drink wineⁿ by the bowlful

and use the finest lotions,

but you do not grieve^o over the ruin of Joseph.^p

⁷Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;^q

your feasting and lounging will end.^r

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

⁸The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself^s—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor^t the pride of Jacob^u

and detest his fortresses;^v

I will deliver up^w the city

and everything in it.^x”

⁹If ten^y people are left in one house, they too will die. ¹⁰And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them^az asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!^a We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

¹¹For the Lord has given the command,

and he will smash^b the great house^c into pieces

and the small house into bits.^d

¹²Do horses run on the rocky crags?

Does one plow the sea^b with oxen?

But you have turned justice into poison^e

and the fruit of righteousness^f into bitterness^g—

¹³you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar^c

and say, “Did we not take Karnaim^d by our own strength?^h”

¹⁴For the Lord God Almighty declares,

“I will stir up a nationⁱ against you, Israel,

that will oppress you all the way

from Lebo Hamath^j to the valley of the Arabah.^k”