1 ¶ Woe unto those that are at ease in Zion and to those that trust in the mountain of Samaria, who are named principals among the same nations which shall come upon them, O house of Israel!

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 unto Calneh and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Palestinians. Are they better than these kingdoms? or 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 Y e 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 chant to the sound of the flute and invent to 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 ointments, 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 now they shall go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of those that stretched themselves upon their couches shall be removed.

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 ¶ The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, the LORD God of the hosts said, I abhor the grandeur of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore I will give the city with all that is therein over to the enemy.

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 their uncle shall take each one and burn them to bring out the bones out of the house and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then he shall say, Hold thy tongue, for we may not make mention of 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 shall command, and he will smite the great house 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 rocks? will one plow there with oxen? why have ye turned judgment into hemlock, 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 who rejoice in a thing of nought, who 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 B ut, behold, I will raise up against you Gentiles, O house of Israel, said the LORD God of the hosts, and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

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.”