Amos 6

1Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!

1How terrible it will be for you who live in luxury in Zion and you who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria—you famous leaders of this great nation, the ones the people of Israel look up to!

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

2Go look at the city of Calneh. Then go to the great city of Hamath, and go down to Gath in Philistia. Are those kingdoms better than yours? Is their land larger than your land?

3—ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

3You try to push the thought of a coming day of disaster out of your minds, but your actions bring the day of violent judgment even closer.

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;

4You lie on beds decorated with ivory and lounge on your couches. You eat the best lambs from the flock and fattened calves from the stall.

5that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

5You sing meaningless songs to the sound of the harp. Like David, you compose music on your own instruments.

6that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

6You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest perfumes on yourselves, but you don't care at all about the ruin of the descendants of Joseph.

7Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.

7Therefore, you will be among the very first to be taken away as captives. Your loud parties and lazy lounging will come to an end.

8The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, 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.

8The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—this is the word of the Lord God of Heaven's Armies: 'I despise the pride of Jacob and I hate his fortresses. I will hand over the city and everything in it to its enemies.'

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

9If ten people are left in one house, even they will die.

10And when a man’s uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.

10And when a relative comes to carry out the bodies to burn them, he will call to anyone hiding deep inside the house, 'Is anyone else there with you?' If that person answers 'No,' the relative will say 'Shhh! Be quiet! We must not even mention the name of the Lord.'

11For, behold, Jehovah commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

11For look, the Lord has given the command, and he will smash the large houses into pieces and the small houses into rubble.

12Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plowtherewith oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;

12Do horses run on jagged rocks? Does anyone plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness.

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

13You brag about capturing the town of Lo-debar and say, 'Didn't we take Karnaim by our own strength?'

14For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of the Arabah.

14'Look, house of Israel, I am stirring up a nation against you,' says the Lord God of Heaven's Armies. 'They will oppress you from the border at Hamath all the way to the valley of the Arabah.'