Amos 6

Woe to the Complacent

¹Woe to those who are at ease in Zion ^a

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 ^b and see;

go from there to great Hamath; ^c

then go down to Gath ^d of the Philistines.

Are you better than these kingdoms?

Is their territory larger than yours?

³You dismiss any thought of the evil day ^e

and bring in a reign of violence. ^f

⁴They lie on beds inlaid with ivory, ^g

sprawled out on their couches, ^h

and dine on lambs from the flock ⁱ

and calves from the stall.

⁵They improvise songs ^j to the sound of the harp ^k

and invent ^l their own musical instruments like David. ^m

⁶They drink wine by the bowlful ⁿ

and anoint themselves with the finest oils

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

⁷Therefore, they will now go into exile

as the first of the captives, ^p

and the feasting ^q of those who sprawl out

will come to an end.

Israel’s Pride Judged

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

I loathe Jacob’s pride ^s

and hate his citadels, ^t

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

⁹And if there are ten men left in one house, they will die. ^{v 10}A close relative ^w and burner ^x,^y will remove his corpse ^z 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.” ^aa

¹¹For the Lord commands:

The large house will be smashed to pieces,

and the small house to rubble. ^ab

¹²Do horses gallop on the cliffs?

Does anyone plow there with oxen? ^ac

Yet you have turned justice into poison ^ad

and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood ^ae —

¹³you who rejoice over Lo-debar ^af

and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim

for ourselves by our own strength? ” ^ag

¹⁴But look, I am raising up a nation

against you, house of Israel ^ah —

this is the declaration of the Lord,

the God of Armies —

and they will oppress you

from the entrance of Hamath ^ai,^aj

to the Brook of the Arabah. ^ak