How Terrible for Those Who Feel Secure When They Shouldn’t
1How terrible it will be for you men
who are so contented on Mount Zion!
How terrible for you who feel secure
on the hill of Samaria!
You are famous men from the greatest nation.
The people of Israel come to you
for help and advice.
2Go and look at the city of Kalneh.
Go from there to the great city of Hamath.
Then go down to Gath in Philistia.
Are those places better off than your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3You are trying to avoid the time
when trouble will come.
But you are only bringing closer
the Assyrian rule of terror.
4You lie down on beds
that are decorated with ivory.
You rest on your couches.
You eat the best lambs
and the fattest calves.
5You pluck away on your harps as David did.
You play new songs on musical instruments.
6You drink wine by the bowlful.
You use the finest lotions.
But Joseph’s people will soon be destroyed.
And you aren’t even sad about it.
7So you will be among the first
to be taken away as prisoners.
You won’t be able to enjoy good food.
You won’t lie around on couches anymore.
The Lord Hates the Pride of Israel
8The Lord and King has made a promise in his own name. He is the Lord God who rules over all. He announces,
“I hate the pride of Jacob’s people.
I can’t stand their forts.
I will hand the city of Samaria
and everything in it over to their enemies.”
9Ten people might be left in one house. If they are, they will die there. 10Relatives might come to burn the dead bodies. If they do, they’ll have to carry them out of the house first. They might ask someone still hiding there, “Is anyone else here with you?” If the answer is no, the relatives will go on to say, “Be quiet! We must not pray in the Lord’s name.”
11That’s because the Lord has already given an order.
He will smash large houses to pieces.
He will crush small houses to bits.
12Horses don’t run on rocky ground.
People don’t plow the sea with oxen.
But you have turned fair treatment into poison.
You have turned the fruit of right living into bitterness.
13You are happy because you captured the town of Lo Debar.
You say, “We were strong enough to take Karnaim too.”
14But the Lord God rules over all. He announces, “People of Israel,
I will stir up a nation against you.
They will crush you from Lebo Hamath
all the way down to the Arabah Valley.”
Woe to the complacent
1Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,
and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!
2Go to Kalneh and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,
and then go down to Gath in Philistia.
Are they better off than your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.
4You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.
5You strum away on your harps like David
and improvise on musical instruments.
6You drink wine by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
7Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;
your feasting and lounging will end.
The Lord abhors the pride of Israel
8The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself – the Lord God Almighty declares:
‘I abhor the pride of Jacob
and detest his fortresses;
I will deliver up the city
and everything in it.’
9If ten people are left in one house, they too will die. 10And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honour of the dead asks anyone who might be hiding there, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ and he says, ‘No,’ then he will go on to say, ‘Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.’
11For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash the great house into pieces
and the small house into bits.
12Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plough the sea6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plough there with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness –
13you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolises strength. by our own strength?’
14For the Lord God Almighty declares,
‘I will stir up a nation against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.’
