Amos 6

At ease in the cities

1Woe to those at ease in Zion
and those secure on Samaria’s mountain—
the renowned men of the foremost nation,
to whom the house of Israel comes! 2Cross over to Calneh and look;
go from there to great Hamath,
then down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are they better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours? 3You push the evil day far away
while bringing the reign of violence near. 4You lie on ivory beds
and sprawl on couches,
eating lambs from the flock
and calves from the stall. 5You improvise to the sound of the harp
and invent musical instruments for yourselves like David. 6You drink wine from bowls
and anoint yourselves with the finest oils,
but you do not grieve over Joseph’s ruin. 7So now you will lead the way into exile,
and the revelry of those who sprawl will end.

The city handed over

8The Lord GOD has sworn by himself,
declares the LORD, the God of Armies:
“I detest Jacob’s pride and hate his citadels.
I will hand over the city and everything in it.” 9If ten men remain in one house, they too will die. 10When a man’s relative, the one who burns the body, carries out the bones, he will ask someone in the back of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” The answer will be, “No one.” Then he will say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD.” 11For look: the LORD gives the command,
and the great house is smashed to pieces,
the small house split apart. 12Do horses run on rock?
Does anyone plow it with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood. 13You rejoice over Lo-debar
and say, “Did we not capture Karnaim by our own strength?” 14“Look, house of Israel, I am raising a nation against you,”
declares the LORD, the God of Armies.
“They will oppress you from Lebo-hamath
to the Wadi of the Arabah.”