CHAPTER 6
Woe
to those at ease
in Zion
and those secure
on Mount
Samaria,
the distinguished ones
of the foremost
nation,
to whom
the house
of Israel
comes.
Cross over
to Calneh
and see;
go
from
there
to great
Hamath;
then go down
to Gath
of the Philistines.
Are you better than
these
kingdoms?
Is their territory
larger
than yours?
You lie
on
beds
inlaid with ivory,
and lounge
upon
your couches;
You dine on
lambs
from the flock
and calves
from
the stall.
You drink
wine
by the bowlful
and anoint yourselves
with the finest
oils,
but you fail to
grieve
over
the ruin
of Joseph.
Therefore,
you will now
go into exile
as the first
of the captives,
and your feasting
and lounging
will come to an end.
The Lord
GOD
has sworn
by Himself—
the LORD,
the God
of Hosts,
has declared:
“I
abhor
Jacob’s
pride
and detest
his citadels,
so I will deliver up
the city
and everything in it.”
And when the relative
who is to burn the bodies
picks them up
to remove them
from
the house,
he will call
to one
inside
of the house,
“Is anyone else
with you?”
“None,”
that person will answer.
“Silence,”
the relative will reply,
“for
the name
of the LORD
must not
be invoked.”
For
the LORD
gives a command:
“The great
house
will be smashed
to pieces,
and the small
house
to rubble.”
“Do horses
gallop
on the cliffs?
Does one plow the sea
with oxen?
But
you have turned
justice
into poison
and the fruit
of righteousness
into wormwood—
For
behold,
I will raise up
a nation
against you,
O house
of Israel,”
declares
the LORD,
the God
of Hosts,
“and they will oppress
you
from Lebo-hamath
to
the Brook
of the Arabah.”