Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
aWoe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The bdistinguished men of the first of the nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
2 Pass on over to aCalneh and look,
And go from there to bHamath the great,
Then go down to cGath of the Philistines.
Are they better than these kingdoms,
Or are their borders greater than your borders?
3 Do you aput off the day of calamity,
And would you bcause the seat of violence to approach?
4 Those who lie down on beds of ivory
And sprawl on their acouches
And beat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall,
5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have composed asongs for themselves,
6 Who adrink wine from sacrificial bowls
While they anoint themselves with the first pick of the oils,
Yet they have not bgrieved over the destruction of Joseph.
7 Therefore, they will now ago into exile among the first of the exiles,
And the bsprawlers’ banqueting will turn aside.
8 Lord Yahweh has asworn by Himself, Yahweh God of hosts has declared:
“I babhor the lofty pride of Jacob
And hate his ccitadels;
Therefore I will ddeliver up the city as well as its fullness.”
9 And it will be, if aten men are left in one house, they will die. 10 Then one’s uncle, or the one who aburns his bones, will lift him up to bring 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, “bKeep quiet. For the name of Yahweh is cnot to be mentioned.” 11 For behold, Yahweh is going to acommand and will strike the bgreat house to pieces and the small house to fragments.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one plow them with oxen?
Yet you have overturned ajustice into gall
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
13 You who are glad in aLo‑debar
And say, “Have we not bby our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, aI am going to raise up a nation against you,
O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh God of hosts,
“And they will press down on you from bLebo‑hamath
To the bbrook of the Arabah.”