6
1 Woe
to those who
are at ease
in Zion,
and to those
who are secure on
the mountain of
Samaria,
the notable men
of the chief
of the nations,
to whom the
house of Israel
come!
2 Go
to Calneh, and
see.
From there go
to Hamath the
great.
Then go down
to Gath of
the Philistines.
Are they better
than these kingdoms?
Is their border
greater than your
border?
3 Alas for
you who put far
away the evil
day,
and cause the
seat of violence
to come near,
4 who lie
on beds of
ivory,
and stretch
themselves on
their couches,
and eat the lambs
out of the
flock,
and the calves
out of the
middle of the
stall,
5 who strum
on the strings of
a harp,
who invent for
themselves instruments
of music, like
David;
6 who
drink wine in
bowls,
and anoint
themselves with
the best oils,
but they are
not grieved for
the affliction of
Joseph.
7 Therefore
they will now go
captive with the
first who go
captive.
The feasting and lounging will end.
8 “The
Lord GOD has
sworn by himself,”
says the LORD,
the God of
Armies:
“I abhor the
pride of Jacob,
and detest
his fortresses.
Therefore I will
deliver up the
city with all
that is in
it.
9 It
will happen that
if ten men remain
in one house,
they will die.
10 “When
a man’s relative
carries him, even
he who burns
him, to
bring bodies out
of the house,
and asks him who
is in the
innermost parts of
the house, ‘Is
there yet any
with you?’ And
he says, ‘No;’
then he will say,
‘Hush! Indeed we
must not mention
the LORD’s name.’
11 “For,
behold, the LORD
commands, and the
great house will
be smashed to
pieces,
and the little
house into bits.
12 Do
horses run on
the rocky crags?
Does one plow there
with oxen?
But you have
turned justice
into poison,
and the fruit
of righteousness
into bitterness,
13 you
who rejoice in
a thing of
nothing, who say,
‘Haven’t we taken
for ourselves horns
by our own
strength?’
14 For,
behold, I will
raise up against
you a nation,
house of Israel,”
says the LORD,
the God of
Armies;
“and they will
afflict you from
the entrance of
Hamath to the
brook of the
Arabah.”