1How terrible it will be for those who are comfortable in Zion and those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the prominent people of the leading nation, to whom the house of Israel looks for help!
2Go to Calneh and examine it; from there, go to Hamath the Great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are these kingdoms better than yours? Is their territory larger than yours?
3You push away the thought of a day of disaster, but you bring closer a rule of violence.
4You lie on beds made of ivory and sprawl on your couches, eating lambs from the flock and calves from the fattening stall.
5You improvise on the harp and invent musical instruments for yourselves, like David.
6You drink wine from large bowls and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you are not concerned about the ruin of Joseph.
7Therefore, you will be among the first to go into exile, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.
8“The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself,” says Yahweh, the God of Armies: “I detest the pride of Jacob and hate his fortresses. Therefore, I will hand over the city and everything in it.”
9If ten men remain in one house, they will all die.
10When a relative comes to carry away a body for cremation, and asks anyone inside the house, ‘Is there anyone else with you?’ and the answer is ‘No,’ then the relative will say, ‘Hush! We must not even mention Yahweh’s name.’
11For Yahweh commands, and the large house will be shattered, and the small house will be smashed to pieces.
12Do horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
13You celebrate over a worthless thing and say, ‘Haven’t we gained power by our own strength?’
14The Lord Yahweh, the God of Armies, says, 'Listen! I will send a nation against you, people of Israel, and they will oppress you from Hamath in the north all the way to the Brook of the Arabah in the south.'