עמוס ו

Ah, you who are at ease in Zion
And confident on the hill of Samaria,
You notables of the leading nation
On whom the House of Israel pin their hopes: as synonymous with baʼ ʻad; see Isa. 45.24 and second note there.

Cross over to Calneh and see,
Go from there to Great Hamath,
And go down to Gath of the Philistines:
Are [you] better than those kingdoms,
Or is their territory larger than yours?

Yet you ward off [the thought of] a day of woe
And convene a session of lawlessness.

They lie on ivory beds,
Lolling on their couches,
Feasting on lambs from the flock
And on calves from the stalls.

They hum snatches of song
To the tune of the lute—
They account themselves musicians like David.

They drink [straight] from the wine bowls
And anoint themselves with the choicest oils—
But they are not concerned about the ruin of Joseph.

Assuredly, right soon
They shall head the column of exiles;
They shall loll no more at festive meals.

The Sovereign GOD wholeheartedly swears:
I loathe the Pride of Jacob,
And I detest his fortresses.
I will declare forfeit city and inhabitants alike
—declares the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts.

If ten people are left in one house, they shall die.

And if someone’s kinsman—who is to burn incense for one of the deceased—comes to carry the remains out of the house, and he calls to the one at the rear of the house, “Are there any alive besides you?” the answer will be, “No, none.” And he will say, “Hush!”—so that no one may utter GOD’s name.

For GOD will command,
And the great house shall be smashed to bits,
And the little house to splinters.

Can horses gallop on a rock?
Can it be plowed with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into poison weed
And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood.

[Ah,] those who are so happy about Lo-dabar,
Who exult, “By our might
We have captured Karnaim”!

But I, O House of Israel,
Will raise up a nation against you
—declares the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts—
Who will harass you from Lebo-hamath
To the Wadi Arabah.