1 W oe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those on the mountain of Samaria who are careless and feel secure, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!

It is bad for those who are taking it easy in Zion, and for those who feel safe on the mountain of Samaria, you great men of the most important nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

2 P ass over to Calneh and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? Or are their boundaries greater than your boundaries,

Go over to Calneh and look. And go from there to great Hamath. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these nations? Is their land better than yours?

3 O you who put far away the evil day, yet cause the sitting of violence to come near?

You put off the day of trouble, and bring near the seat of anger.

4 W oe to those who lie upon beds of ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock and the calves out of the midst of the stall,

How bad it will be for you who lie on beds of ivory and spread out upon your long seats! You eat lambs from the flock and calves from the cattle-house.

5 W ho sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and invent for themselves instruments of music like David’s,

You sing songs to the sound of the harp. Like David you write songs for yourselves.

6 W ho drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved and sick at heart over the affliction and ruin of Joseph (Israel)!

You drink wine from the holy dishes, and pour the best oil on yourselves. Yet you are not filled with sorrow because Joseph has been destroyed!

7 T herefore now shall they go captive with the first who go into exile, and the revelry and banqueting of those who stretch themselves shall be ended.

You will be among the first to be taken away as prisoners to a strange land, and your happy times of rest will pass away.

8 T he Lord God has sworn by Himself—the Lord, the God of hosts, says: I abhor, reject, and despise the pride and false, futile glory of Jacob (Israel), and I hate his palaces and strongholds; and I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

The Lord God has promised by Himself. The Lord God of All has said, “I hate the pride of Jacob, and I hate his strong-places, so I will give up the city and everything in it.”

9 A nd it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die.

If ten men are left in one house, they will die.

10 A nd then a man’s uncle or kinsman, he who is to make a burning to cremate and dispose, comes in to bring the bones out of the house, and he shall say to another still alive in the farthest parts of the house, Is there anyone else with you? and he shall say, No. Then shall the newcomer say, Hush! Hold your tongue! We dare not so mention the name of the Lord.

The dead man’s brother, who is to take care of the body, will lift him up to carry his bones from the house. And he will say to the one inside the house, “Is anyone else with you?” That one will say, “No.” Then he will say, “Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord must not be spoken.”

11 F or behold, the Lord commands and He will smite the great house into ruins and the little house into fragments.

For the Lord is going to say that the great house must be broken apart and the small house into pieces.

12 D o horses run upon rocks? Do men plow the ocean with oxen? But you have turned justice into gall and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—

Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned what is fair into poison. You have turned what is right and good into something bitter.

13 Y ou who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim or horns for ourselves?

You who have joy in Lo-debar, and say, “Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?”

14 F or behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict and oppress you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.

The Lord God of All says, “I am going to raise up a nation against you, O people of Israel. And they will bring much suffering upon you from the gate of Hamath to the river of the Arabah.”