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!

Wo those secure in Zion, And those confident in the mount of Samaria, The marked of the chief of the nations, And come to them have the house of Israel.

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,

Pass ye over Calneh and see, And go thence Hamath the great, And go down Gath of the Philistines, Are better than these kingdoms? Greater their border than your border?

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

Who are putting away the day of evil, And ye bring nigh the seat of violence,

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,

Who are lying down on beds of ivory, And are spread out on their couches, And are eating lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the stall,

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

Who are taking part according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music;

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)!

Who are drinking with bowls of wine, And chief perfumes anoint, And have not been pained for the breach of Joseph.

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.

Therefore now they remove at the head of the captives, And turned aside is the mourning-feast of stretched-out ones.

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.

Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by Himself, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts: I am abominating the excellency of Jacob, And his high places I have hated, And I have delivered up the city and its fulness.

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

And if there are left ten persons in one house, It hath come to pass -- that they have died.

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.

And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who in the sides of the house, `Is there yet with thee?' And he said, `None,' then he said, `Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.'

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

For lo, Jehovah is commanding, And He hath smitten the great house breaches, And the little house clefts.

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 a rock? Doth one plough with oxen? For ye have turned to gall judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood.

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

O ye who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, `Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves horns?'

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.

Surely, lo, I am raising against you a nation, O house of Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts, And they have oppressed you from the coming in to Hamath, Unto the stream of the desert.