Warnings to Zion and Samaria
Woe ato you who are at bease in Zion,
And ctrust in Mount Samaria,
Notable persons in the dchief nation,
To whom the house of Israel comes!
2 aGo over to bCalneh and see;
And from there go to cHamath the great;
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
dAre you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory?
3 Woe to you who aput far off the day of bdoom,
cWho cause dthe seat of violence to come near;
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;
5 aWho sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments,
And invent for yourselves bmusical instruments clike David;
6 Who adrink wine from bowls,
And anoint yourselves with the best ointments,
bBut are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore they shall now go acaptive as the first of the captives,
And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
8 aThe Lord God has sworn by Himself,
The Lord God of hosts says:
“I abhor bthe pride of Jacob,
And hate his palaces;
Therefore I will deliver up the city
And all that is in it.”
9 Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 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, a“Hold your tongue! bFor we dare not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, athe Lord gives a command:
bHe will break the great house into bits,
And the little house into pieces.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there with oxen?
Yet ayou have turned justice into gall,
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
13 You who rejoice over Lo Debar,
Who say, “Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves
By our own strength?”
14 “But, behold, aI will raise up a nation against you,
O house of Israel,”
Says the Lord God of hosts;
“And they will afflict you from the bentrance of Hamath
To the Valley of the Arabah.”
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved.