Amo 6 | BSB | STEP | Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes.

Amos 6

Woe to those at Ease in Zion

1 Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes. 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 the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence. 4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches; You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall. 5 You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments. 6 You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7 Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.

The Pride of Israel

8 The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself— the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.” 9 And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die. 10 And when the relative who is to burn [the bodies] ^{▼▼Or to make a funeral fire to honor the dead} picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” “None,” that person will answer. “Silence,” [the relative] will reply, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.” 11 For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.” 12 “Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow [the sea] ^{▼▼MT plow there} with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood— 13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar ^{▼▼Lo-debar means nothing} and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim ^{▼▼Karnaim means horns (a symbol of strength)} by our own strength?’ 14 For behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of Hosts, “and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”