Amos 6

₁The important people of Israel will suffer.

These are the people who think they do not have to worry,

and those who think they are safe at Mount Samaria.

You think you are important leaders

of the most important nation

because the Israelites come to you for help.

₂Go and see what happened to the town of Kalneh

and the great cities of Hamath and Gath,

the city of the Philistines.

People of Israel and Judah,

are you stronger than they were? No.

Were their lands better than your land? No.

₃But you think there is a lot of time

to do what you have to do.

You think you will not suffer and that is why

cruel people will come and destroy you.

₄You lie down on beds

that you have made beautiful with ivory,

and you sit on your beautiful chairs.

You eat fat lambs and calves.

₅You play music on harps,

and you make new music to play like King David did.

₆You drink wine from the bowls

that you use for bringing offerings

and you put the best olive oil onto your bodies.

But you are not worried that the Israelites

are going down and are being destroyed.

₇That is why your enemies will catch you.

They will first catch your leaders

and take them away to another land.

The time has gone,

and you will not celebrate any more.

₈The Lord, the God who rules over all,

has promised, and He Himself is the Witness.

He said: ‘The descendants of Joseph are very proud

and I don't like that. I hate their strong buildings.

I will give the city and everything in it to their enemies.

₉If there were 10 men left over in a house,

then they will all die too.

₁₀A relative of that family will come

and he will carry out the bodies

of the dead people to bury them.

If there is someone who is still_alive

at the back of the house, the relative will ask him:

“Is there anyone with you?”

And he will say: “No, I am alone.”

Then the relative of the family will say:

“We must not talk.

Be careful not to say the name of the Lord.” ’

₁₁When the Lord says it is the right time,

the enemies will break down all the houses,

the big houses and the small houses.

₁₂Horses do not run over rocks

and people don't plough there with oxen.

But you are not fair to innocent people,

and you make them suffer.

You make it very difficult for good people.

₁₃You boast because you have defeated

the 2 towns of Lo-Debar and Karnaim.

You say you did it because you are so strong.

₁₄But the Lord, the God

who rules over all says:

‘Israelites, I will bring a nation

to make war_against you,

and they will make all the people in your land suffer,

from the town of Lebo-Hamath

to the valley of the Arabah.’