Amo 6 | HCSB | STEP | 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.

Amos 6

Woe to the Complacent

1 Woe to those who are at ease in ^{▼▼Zion: Originally a term for the fortified section of Jerusalem and then, by extension, used for the temple and the city of Jerusalem both in the present time and in the future}Zion ^b
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 ^c and see;
go from there to great Hamath; ^d
then go down to Gath ^e of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
3 You dismiss any thought of the evil day ^f
and bring in a reign of violence. ^g

4 They lie on beds inlaid with ivory, ^h
sprawled out on their couches, ⁱ
and dine on lambs from the flock ^j
and calves from the stall.
5 They improvise songs ^{▼▼Hb obscure} to the sound of the harp ^l
and invent ^{▼▼Or compose on} their own musical instruments like David. ⁿ
6 They drink wine by the bowlful ^o
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. ^p
7 Therefore, they will now go into exile
as the first of the captives, ^q
and the feasting ^r of those who sprawl out
will come to an end.

Israel’s Pride Judged

8 The Lord God has sworn by Himself ^s – this is the declaration of ^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh, the God of ^{▼▼Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel}Hosts:

I loathe Jacob’s pride ^v
and hate his citadels, ^w
so I will hand over the city ^x and everything in it.

9 And if there are 10 men left in one house, they will die. ^y 10 A close relative ^{▼▼Lit His uncle} and burner ^{▼▼A burner of incense, a memorial fire, or a body; Hb obscure
,} ^ab will remove his corpse ^{▼▼Lit remove bones} 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.” ^ad

11 For the Lord commands:

The large house will be smashed to pieces,
and the small house to rubble. ^ae

12 Do horses gallop on the cliffs;
does anyone plow there with oxen? ^{▼▼Some emend to plow the sea}
Yet you have turned justice into poison ^ag
and the fruit of righteousness into ^{▼▼wormwood: A small shrub used as a medicinal herb, noted for its bitter taste}wormwood ^ai –
13 you who rejoice over Lo-debar ^aj
and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim
for ourselves by our own strength?” ^ak
14 But look, I am raising up a nation
against you, house of Israel ^al –
this is the declaration of the Lord,

the God of Hosts –

and they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath ^{▼▼Or from Lebo-hamath
,} ^an
to the Brook of the ^{▼▼Arabah: The section of the Great Rift in Palestine, extending from the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqabah. The Hebrew word can also be translated as "plain," referring to any plain or to any part of the Arabah.}Arabah. ^{▼▼Probably the Valley of Zared at the southeast end of the Dead Sea}