Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to you(A) who are complacent(B) in Zion,
and to you who feel secure(C) on Mount Samaria,(D)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!(E)
2 Go to Kalneh(F) and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,(G)
and then go down to Gath(H) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(I) your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.(J)
4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.(K)
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.(L)
5 You strum away on your harps(M) like David
and improvise on musical instruments.(N)
6 You drink wine(O) by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve(P) over the ruin of Joseph.(Q)
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(R)
your feasting and lounging will end.(S)
The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(T)—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor(U) the pride of Jacob(V)
and detest his fortresses;(W)
I will deliver up(X) the city
and everything in it.(Y)”
9 If ten(Z) people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[a](AA) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(AB) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash(AC) the great house(AD) into pieces
and the small house into bits.(AE)
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea[b] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(AF)
and the fruit of righteousness(AG) into bitterness(AH)—
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[c]
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[d] by our own strength?(AI)”
14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation(AJ) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath(AK) to the valley of the Arabah.(AL)”
Footnotes
- Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
- Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
- Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
- Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.
Cross references
- Amos 6:1 : Lk 6:24
- Amos 6:1 : Zep 1:12
- Amos 6:1 : S Job 24:23
- Amos 6:1 : S Am 3:9
- Amos 6:1 : Isa 32:9-11
- Amos 6:2 : S Ge 10:10
- Amos 6:2 : S 2Ki 17:24; S Jer 49:23
- Amos 6:2 : S Jos 11:22; 2Ch 26:6
- Amos 6:2 : Na 3:8
- Amos 6:3 : S Isa 56:12; S Eze 12:22; Am 9:10
- Amos 6:4 : S Est 1:6; S Pr 7:17
- Amos 6:4 : S Isa 1:11; S Eze 34:2-3; S Am 3:12
- Amos 6:5 : S Ps 137:2; S Isa 14:11; Am 5:23
- Amos 6:5 : S 1Ch 15:16
- Amos 6:6 : S Isa 28:1; S Am 2:8
- Amos 6:6 : S Eze 9:4
- Amos 6:6 : S Eze 16:49
- Amos 6:7 : S Am 5:27
- Amos 6:7 : S Jer 16:9; S La 4:5
- Amos 6:8 : S Ge 22:16; Heb 6:13
- Amos 6:8 : S Lev 26:30
- Amos 6:8 : S Ps 47:4
- Amos 6:8 : S Jer 12:8
- Amos 6:8 : Am 4:2
- Amos 6:8 : S Lev 26:19; Dt 32:19
- Amos 6:9 : S Am 5:3
- Amos 6:10 : S 1Sa 31:12
- Amos 6:10 : Am 8:3
- Amos 6:11 : S Isa 34:5
- Amos 6:11 : S Am 3:15
- Amos 6:11 : Isa 55:11
- Amos 6:12 : Hos 10:4
- Amos 6:12 : S Am 3:10
- Amos 6:12 : S Isa 1:21; S Am 5:7
- Amos 6:13 : S Job 8:15; Isa 28:14-15
- Amos 6:14 : Jer 5:15
- Amos 6:14 : S Nu 13:21
- Amos 6:14 : S Am 3:11