1 W oe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, 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 G o over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory?

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 W oe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near;

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

4 W ho lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from 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 idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David;

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

6 W ho drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

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

7 T herefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.

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 God of hosts says: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And 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 T hen it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain 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 when a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, “ Are there any more with you?” Then someone will say, “None.” And he will say, “Hold your tongue! For we dare not 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 gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house into pieces.

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

12 D o horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet 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 over Lo Debar, Who say, “Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves By our own strength?”

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

14 “ But, behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” Says the Lord God of hosts; “And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the Valley 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.