Amos 6
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe 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.
2 Cross 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?
3 You dismiss any thought of the evil day(E)
and bring in a reign of violence.(F)
4 They 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.
5 They improvise songs[a] to the sound of the harp(J)
and invent[b] their own musical instruments like David.(K)
6 They drink wine by the bowlful(L)
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.(M)
7 Therefore, they will now go into exile
as the first of the captives,(N)
and the feasting(O) of those who sprawl out
will come to an end.
Israel’s Pride Judged
8 The Lord God has sworn by himself(P) – this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Armies:
I loathe Jacob’s pride(Q)
and hate his citadels,(R)
so I will hand over the city(S) and everything in it.
9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they will die.(T) 10 A close relative[c] and burner[d](U) 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.’(V)
11 For the Lord commands:
The large house will be smashed to pieces,
and the small house to rubble.(W)
12 Do horses gallop on the cliffs?
Does anyone plough there with oxen?[f]
Yet you have turned justice into poison(X)
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood(Y) –
13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar(Z)
and say, ‘Didn’t we capture Karnaim
for ourselves by our own strength? ’(AA)
14 But look, I am raising up a nation
against you, house of Israel(AB) –
this is the declaration of the Lord,
the God of Armies –
and they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath[g](AC)
to the Brook of the Arabah.[h]
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