Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
a“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on bthe mountain of Samaria,
cthe notable men of dthe first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
2 Pass over to aCalneh, and see,
and from there go to bHamath the great;
then go down to cGath of the Philistines.
dAre you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3 aO you who put far away the day of disaster
band bring near the seat of violence?
4 “Woe to those awho lie on bbeds of ivory
aand stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
cand calves from the midst of the stall,
5 awho sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David ainvent for themselves instruments of music,
6 awho drink wine in bowls
and banoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 aTherefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
8 aThe Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:
“I abhor bthe pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
cand I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
9 And aif ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one’s relative, athe one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, b“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, the Lord commands,
and athe great house shall be struck down into fragments,
and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there with oxen?
aBut you have turned justice into bpoison
aand the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
13 you who rejoice in Lo‑debar,
who say, a“Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, aI will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from bLebo‑hamath
to the Brook of cthe Arabah.”