Amos.6.1
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
Amos.6.1
Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion, who think Mount Samaria is the good life. You assume you're at the top of the heap, voted the number-one best place to live.
Amos.6.1
Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!
Amos.6.1
Woe 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!
Amos.6.1
How terrible it will be for you who lounge in luxury and think you are secure in Jerusalem and Samaria! You are famous and popular in Israel, you to whom the people go for help.
Amos.6.2
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
Amos.6.2
Well, wake up and look around. Get off your pedestal. Take a look at Calneh. Go and visit Great Hamath. Look in on Gath of the Philistines. Doesn't that take you off your high horse? Compared to them, you're not much, are you?
Amos.6.2
Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?
Amos.6.2
Go 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?
Amos.6.2
Go over to Calneh and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath and on down to the Philistine city of Gath. You are no better than they were, and look at how they were destroyed.
Amos.6.3
Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
Amos.6.3
Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster! Catastrophe is just around the corner!
Amos.6.3
You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror.
Amos.6.3
Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near;
Amos.6.3
You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer.
Amos.6.4
That 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;
Amos.6.4
Woe to those who live in luxury and expect everyone else to serve them!
Amos.6.4
You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.
Amos.6.4
Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall;
Amos.6.4
How terrible it will be for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves.
Amos.6.5
That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;
Amos.6.5
Woe to those who live only for today, indifferent to the fate of others! Woe to the playboys, the playgirls, who think life is a party held just for them!
Amos.6.5
You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.
Amos.6.5
Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David;
Amos.6.5
You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and you fancy yourselves to be great musicians, as King David was.
Amos.6.6
That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Amos.6.6
Woe to those addicted to feeling good--life without pain! those obsessed with looking good--life without wrinkles! They could not care less about their country going to ruin.
Amos.6.6
You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
Amos.6.6
Who drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Amos.6.6
You drink wine by the bowlful, and you perfume yourselves with exotic fragrances, caring nothing at all that your nation is going to ruin.
Amos.6.7
Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.
Amos.6.7
But here's what's really coming: a forced march into exile. They'll leave the country whining, a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings.
Amos.6.7
Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
Amos.6.7
Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
Amos.6.7
Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your revelry will end.
Amos.6.8
The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD 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.
Amos.6.8
GOD, the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: "I hate the arrogance of Jacob. I have nothing but contempt for his forts. I'm about to hand over the city and everyone in it."
Amos.6.8
The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself-the LORD God Almighty declares: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it."
Amos.6.8
The 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."
Amos.6.8
The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the LORD God Almighty, says: "I despise the pride and false glory of Israel, and I hate their beautiful homes. I will give this city and everything in it to their enemies."
Amos.6.9
And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
Amos.6.9
Ten men are in a house, all dead.
Amos.6.9
If ten men are left in one house, they too will die.
Amos.6.9
Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.
Amos.6.9
If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die.
Amos.6.10
And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, 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 shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.
Amos.6.10
A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, "Are there any more?" The answer: "Not a soul. But hush! GOD must not be mentioned in this desecrated place."
Amos.6.10
And if a relative who is to burn the bodies comes to carry them out of the house and asks anyone still hiding there, "Is anyone with you?" and he says, "No," then he will say, "Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD."
Amos.6.10
And 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."
Amos.6.10
And when a close relative--one who is responsible for burning the dead--goes into the house to carry away a dead body, he will ask the last survivor, "Is there anyone else with you?" And the person will answer, "No!" Then he will say, "Hush! Don't even whisper the name of the LORD. He might hear you!"
Amos.6.11
For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
Amos.6.11
Note well: GOD issues the orders. He'll knock large houses to smithereens. He'll smash little houses to bits.
Amos.6.11
For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits.
Amos.6.11
For behold, the LORD gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house into pieces.
Amos.6.11
When the LORD gives the command, homes both great and small will be smashed to pieces.
Amos.6.12
Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:
Amos.6.12
Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks? Do you plow the sea with oxen? You'd cripple the horses and drown the oxen. And yet you've made a shambles of justice, a bloated corpse of righteousness,
Amos.6.12
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-
Amos.6.12
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Amos.6.12
Can horses gallop over rocks? Can oxen be used to plow rocks? Stupid even to ask--but that's how stupid you are when you turn justice into poison and make bitter the sweet fruit of righteousness.
Amos.6.13
Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
Amos.6.13
Bragging of your trivial pursuits, beating up on the weak and crowing, "Look what I've done!"
Amos.6.13
you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, "Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?"
Amos.6.13
You who rejoice over Lo Debar, Who say, "Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves By our own strength?"
Amos.6.13
And just as stupid is this bragging about your conquest of Lo-debar. You boast, "Didn't we take Karnaim by our own strength and power?"
Amos.6.14
But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
Amos.6.14
"Enjoy it while you can, you Israelites. I've got a pagan army on the move against you" -this is your GOD speaking, God-of-the-Angel-Armies--"And they'll make hash of you, from one end of the country to the other."
Amos.6.14
For the LORD God Almighty declares, "I will stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah."
Amos.6.14
"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."
Amos.6.14
"O people of Israel, I am about to bring an enemy nation against you," says the LORD God Almighty. "It will oppress you bitterly throughout your land--from Lebo-hamath in the north to the Arabah Valley in the south."
