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Amos 6:6-14

Amos 6:3-14 The Message (MSG)

Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster! Catastrophe is just around the corner! Woe to those who live in luxury and expect everyone else to serve them! Woe to those who live only for today, indifferent to the fate of others! Woe to the playboys, the playgirls, who think life is a party held just for them! Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain! those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles! They could not care less about their country going to ruin. But here’s what’s really coming: a forced march into exile. They’ll leave the country whining, a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings. GOD, the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: “I hate the arrogance of Jacob. I have nothing but contempt for his forts. I’m about to hand over the city and everyone in it.” Ten men are in a house, all dead. A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, “Are there any more?” The answer: “Not a soul. But hush! GOD must not be mentioned in this desecrated place.” Note well: GOD issues the orders. He’ll knock large houses to smithereens. He’ll smash little houses to bits. Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks? Do you plow the sea with oxen? You’d cripple the horses and drown the oxen. And yet you’ve made a shambles of justice, a bloated corpse of righteousness, Bragging of your trivial pursuits, beating up on the weak and crowing, “Look what I’ve done!” “Enjoy it while you can, you Israelites. I’ve got a pagan army on the move against you” —this is your GOD speaking, God-of-the-Angel-Armies— “And they’ll make hash of you, from one end of the country to the other.”

Amos 6:6-14 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls And anoint themselves with the finest oils [reflecting their unrestrained celebration]; Yet they are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph (Israel). [Gen 49:22, 23] Therefore, they will now go into exile with the first of the captives, And the cultic revelry and banqueting of those who lounge around [on their luxurious couches] will pass away. ¶The Lord GOD has sworn [an oath] by Himself—the LORD God of hosts, says: “I loathe and reject the [self-centered] arrogance of Jacob (Israel), And I hate his palaces and citadels; Therefore, I shall hand over the [idolatrous] city [of Samaria] with all that it contains [to the Assyrian invaders].” And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war]. Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, shall come to bring the [disease-infected] body out of the house, [to cremate it], and he will say to another in the farthest part of the house, “Is there anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will respond, “Hush! Keep quiet! For the name of the LORD is not to be mentioned [even casually, for fear that we might invoke even more punishment].” [1 Sam 31:12] For behold, the LORD is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments. ¶Do horses run on rocks? Do men plow rocks with oxen? [Of course not!] Yet you have turned justice into poison And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood (bitterness), You who [self-confidently] rejoice in Lo-debar (Nothing), Who say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim (Strength) for ourselves?” “For behold, I am going to stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” says the LORD, the God of hosts, “And they will afflict and torment you [to the entire limits of Israel] from the entrance of Hamath [in the north] To the brook of the Arabah [in the south].”

Amos 6:6-14 The Passion Translation (TPT)

You guzzle wine by the bucketful, and slather yourselves with the finest lotions. Yet you do not grieve over Israel’s impending doom. That is why they will be the first to go into captivity. Their lying around while enjoying the good life will come to an end. Lord YAHWEH has sworn by his own being — YAHWEH, God of Angel Armies, declares: “I hate the pride of the people of Jacob, and I despise their strongholds, I will hand over their capital city to their enemies and everything in it.” Even if there are ten hiding in a house, they will all die. If a relative who is to light a memorial fire for the dead comes to carry the bodies out of the house for burial and asks, “Is anyone else inside the house with you?” and that person answers, “No,” then the one who asked will say, “Quiet! We must not mention the name of YAHWEH.” YAHWEH Behold, YAHWEH strikes with his command: “Houses large and small will be smashed to pieces!” Can horses gallop over rocky cliffs? Can boulder-strewn hills be plowed with oxen? Of course not! Yet you have managed to pervert justice into poison and the sweet fruits of righteousness into bitter fruit. You rejoice over conquering the city of Lo Debar, saying, “Wasn’t it by our own strength that we captured Karnaim for ourselves?” But look, house of Israel, YAHWEH, God of Angel Armies, declares to you: “I will raise up a mighty nation to come against you, and they will oppress you and overrun your land from the northern to the southern borders of your kingdom.”