Online Bible

“Carefree in Zion”

^aWoe to those who are carefree in Zion,And to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,The ^bdignitaries 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 Are you ^apostponing the day of disaster,And would you ^bbring near the seat of violence?

4 Those who lie on beds of ivory,And lounge around on their ^acouches,And ^beat lambs from the flock,And calves from the midst of the fattened cattle,5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,And like David have ¹composed ^asongs for themselves,6 Who ^adrink wine from sacred bowlsWhile they anoint themselves with the finest of oils—Yet they have not ^bgrieved over the collapse of Joseph.7 Therefore, they will now ^ago into exile at the head of the exiles,And the revelry of those who ^blounge around will come to an end.

8 The Lord ¹GOD has ^asworn by Himself, the LORD God of armies has declared:“I ^bloathe the arrogance of Jacob,And ²detest his ^ccitadels;Therefore I will ^dgive 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 ^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 ²answer, “^bKeep quiet! For ³the 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 rubble.

12 Do horses run on rocks?Or does one ¹plow them with oxen?Yet you have turned ^ajustice into poison,And 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,House of Israel,” declares the LORD God of armies,“And they will torment you from the ^bentrance of HamathTo the ^cbrook of the Arabah.”

Woe to 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 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 ¹they 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 ivoryAnd sprawl on their ^acouchesAnd ^beat lambs from the flockAnd calves from the midst of the stall,5 Who improvise to the ¹sound of the harp,And like David have ²composed ^asongs for themselves,6 Who ^adrink wine from ¹sacrificial bowlsWhile 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’ ¹banqueting will turn aside.

8 Lord Yahweh has ^asworn by Himself, Yahweh God of hosts has declared:“I ^babhor the lofty pride of JacobAnd 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 ¹uncle, or the one who ²^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 ³answer, “^bKeep quiet. For ⁴the 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 ¹them with oxen?Yet you have overturned ^ajustice into gallAnd the fruit of righteousness into ²wormwood,13 You who are glad in ¹^aLo-debar²And 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 Yahweh God of hosts,“And they will press down on you from ¹^bLebo-hamathTo the ^cbrook of the Arabah.”