1 W oe to those who are at ease in Zion And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria, The distinguished men of the foremost of nations, To whom the house of Israel comes.

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!

2 G o over to Calneh and look, And go from there to Hamath the great, Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms, Or is their territory greater than yours?

Go 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 is their border greater than your border?

3 D o you put off the day of calamity, And would you bring near the seat of violence?

Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 T hose who recline on beds of ivory And sprawl on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall,

Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall;

5 W ho improvise to the sound of the harp, And like David have composed songs for themselves,

who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

6 W ho drink wine from sacrificial bowls While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

7 T herefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, And the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away.

Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.

8 T he Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared: “I loathe the arrogance of Jacob, And detest his citadels; Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains.”

“The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

9 A nd it will be, if ten men are left in one house, they will die.

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

10 T hen one’s uncle, or his undertaker, will lift him up to carry out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will answer, “ Keep quiet. For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned.”

“When a man’s relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is there yet any with you?’ And he says, ‘No;’ then he will say, ‘Hush! Indeed we must not mention Yahweh’s name.’

11 F or behold, the Lord is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.

“For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.

12 D o horses run on rocks? Or does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;

13 Y ou who rejoice in Lodebar, And say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?”

you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, ‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’

14 “ For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God of hosts, “And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the brook of the Arabah.”

For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies; “and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”