1 W oe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!

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 ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?

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 - ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

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

4 t hat 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 t hat sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

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

6 t hat drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

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 shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.

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 Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

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, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

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

10 A nd when a man's uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.

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, Jehovah commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

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

12 S hall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? that ye 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 e that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

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, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto 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.”