Online Bible

“Those at Ease in Zion”

^aWoe (judgment is coming) to those who are at ease and carefree in Zion (Judah)And to those on the mountain of Samaria who feel secure,The ^bdistinguished men of the foremost of nations,To whom the house of Israel comes. Luke 6:24, 252 Go over to ^aCalneh in Babylonia and look,And from there go north of Damascus to the great city of ^bHamath;Then go down to ^cGath of the Philistines.Are they better than these kingdoms of yours,Or is their territory greater than yours?3 Do you ^aput off the day of punishment,Yet cause the seat of violence to ^bcome near?

4 Those who lie on luxurious beds of ivoryAnd lounge around out on their ^acouches,And ^beat lambs from the flockAnd calves from the midst of the stall,5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp—Like David they have composed ^asongs for themselves— 1+@Chr 23:56 Who ^adrink wine from sacrificial bowlsAnd anoint themselves with the finest oils reflecting their unrestrained celebration;Yet they are not ^bgrieved over the ruin of Joseph (Israel) . Gen 49:22, 237 Therefore, they will now ^ago into exile with the first of the captives,And the cultic revelry and banqueting of ^bthose who lounge around on their luxurious couches will pass away.

8 The Lord ¹GOD has ^asworn an oath by Himself—the LORD God of hosts, says:“I ^bloathe and reject the self-centered arrogance of Jacob (Israel) ,And I hate his ^cpalaces and citadels;Therefore, I shall ^dhand over the idolatrous city of Samaria with all that it contains to the Assyrian invaders.”

9 And it shall come to pass that if there remain ^aten men in one house, they shall die by the pestilence that comes with war. 10 Then one’s uncle, or his ^aundertaker, shall come to bring the disease-infected body out of the house, to cremate it, and he will say to another in the farthest part of the house, “Is there anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will respond, “^bHush! Keep quiet! For the name of the LORD is ^cnot to be mentioned even casually, for fear that we might invoke even more punishment.” 1+@Sam 31:12 11 For behold, the LORD ^ais going to command that the ^bgreat house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.

12 Do horses run on rocks?Do men plow rocks with oxen? Of course not!Yet you have turned ^ajustice into poisonAnd the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (bitterness) ,13 You who self-confidently rejoice in ¹^aLo-debar (Nothing) ,Who say, “Have we not ^bby our own strength taken ²Karnaim (Strength) for ourselves?”14 “For behold, ^aI am going to stir up a nation against you,O house of Israel,” says the LORD, the God of hosts,“And they will afflict and torment you to the entire limits of Israel from the ^bentrance of Hamath in the northTo the ^cbrook of the Arabah in the south.”

“Those at Ease in Zion”

^aWoe to those who are at ease in ZionAnd to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,The ^bdistinguished men of the foremost of nations,To whom the house of Israel comes.2 Go over to ^aCalneh and look,And go from there to ^bHamath the great,Then go down to ^cGath of the Philistines.Are ¹they better than these kingdoms,Or is their territory greater than yours?3 Do you ^aput off the day of calamity,And would you ^bbring near the seat of violence?

4 Those who recline on beds of ivoryAnd sprawl on their ^acouches,And ^beat lambs from the flockAnd calves from the midst of the stall,5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,And like David have ¹composed ^asongs for themselves,6 Who ^adrink wine from ¹sacrificial bowlsWhile they anoint themselves with the finest of oils,Yet they have not ^bgrieved over the ruin of Joseph.7 Therefore, they will now ^ago into exile at the head of the exiles,And the ^bsprawlers’ ¹banqueting will ²pass away.

8 The Lord ¹GOD has ^asworn by Himself, the LORD God of hosts has declared:“I ^bloathe the arrogance of Jacob,And ²detest his ^ccitadels;Therefore I will ^ddeliver up the city and ³all it contains.”

9 And it will be, if ^aten men are left in one house, they will die. 10 Then one’s ¹uncle, or his ²^aundertaker, will lift him up to carry 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 ³answer, “^bKeep quiet. For ⁴the name of the LORD is ^cnot to be mentioned.” 11 For behold, the LORD is going to ^acommand that the ^bgreat house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.

12 Do horses run on rocks?Or does one plow ¹them with oxen?Yet you have turned ^ajustice into poisonAnd the fruit of righteousness into ²wormwood,13 You who rejoice in ¹^aLodebar,²And say, “Have we not ^bby our own strength taken ³Karnaim for ourselves?”14 “For behold, ^aI am going to raise up a nation against you,O house of Israel,” declares the LORD God of hosts,“And they will afflict you from the ^bentrance of HamathTo the ^cbrook of the Arabah.”