amos

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  5. 5
  6. 6
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  8. 8
  9. 9

Woe to the Complacent

6 
Woe to those who are at ease in Zion

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.

2 Cross over to Calneh and see;

go from there to great Hamath;

then go down to Gath of the Philistines.

Are you better than these kingdoms?

Is their territory larger than yours?

3 You dismiss any thought of the evil day

and bring in a reign of violence.

4 They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,

sprawled out on their couches,

and dine on lambs from the flock

and calves from the stall.

5 They improvise songs[a] to the sound of the harp

and invent[b] their own musical instruments like David.

6 They drink wine by the bowlful

and anoint themselves with the finest oils

but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

7 Therefore, they will now go into exile

as the first of the captives,

and the feasting of those who sprawl out

will come to an end.

Israel’s Pride Judged

8 The Lord God has sworn by Himself—this is the declaration of Yahweh, the God of Hosts:

I loathe Jacob’s pride

and hate his citadels,

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

9 And if there are 10 men left in one house, they will die. 10 A close relative[c] and burner[d] 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 Yahweh’s name must not be invoked.”

11 For the Lord commands:

The large house will be smashed to pieces,

and the small house to rubble.

12 Do horses gallop on the cliffs;

does anyone plow there with oxen?[f]

Yet you have turned justice into poison

and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—

13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar

and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim

for ourselves by our own strength?”

14 But look, I am raising up a nation

against you, house of Israel—

this is the declaration of the Lord,

the God of Hosts—

and they will oppress you

from the entrance of Hamath[g]

to the Brook of the Arabah.[h]

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:5 Hb obscure
  2. Amos 6:5 Or compose on
  3. Amos 6:10 Lit His uncle
  4. Amos 6:10 A burner of incense, a memorial fire, or a body; Hb obscure
  5. Amos 6:10 Lit remove bones
  6. Amos 6:12 Some emend to plow the sea
  7. Amos 6:14 Or from Lebo-hamath
  8. Amos 6:14 Probably the Valley of Zared at the southeast end of the Dead Sea