| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Woe to those who live in ease in Zion, to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation. The family of Israel looks to them for leadership. | 1What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, and you who feel secure in Samaria! You are famous and popular in Israel, and people go to you for help. |
| 2They say to the people: "Journey over to Calneh and look at it! Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! Then go down to Gath of the Philistines! Are they superior to our two kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?" | 2But go over to Calneh and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath and down to the Philistine city of Gath. You are no better than they were, and look at how they were destroyed. |
| 3You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence. | 3You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer. |
| 4They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen. | 4How terrible for you who sprawl on ivory beds and lounge on your couches, eating the meat of tender lambs from the flock and of choice calves fattened in the stall. |
| 5They sing to the tune of stringed instruments; like David they invent musical instruments. | 5You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David. |
| 6They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph. | 6You drink wine by the bowlful and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions. You care nothing about the ruin of your nation. |
| 7Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile, and the religious banquets where they sprawl on couches will end. | 7Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your parties will end. |
| 8The sovereign LORD confirms this oath by his very own life. The LORD, the God who commands armies, is speaking: "I despise Jacob's arrogance; I hate their fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it." | 8The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, says: “I despise the arrogance of Israel, and I hate their fortresses. I will give this city and everything in it to their enemies.” |
| 9If ten men are left in one house, they too will die. | 9(If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die. |
| 10When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses, pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, "Is anyone else with you?" He will respond, "Be quiet! Don't invoke the LORD's name!" | 10And when a relative who is responsible to dispose of the dead goes into the house to carry out the bodies, he will ask the last survivor, “Is anyone else with you?” When the person begins to swear, “No, by . . . ,” he will interrupt and say, “Stop! Don’t even mention the name of the LORD.”) |
| 11Indeed, look! The LORD is giving the command. He will smash the large house to bits, and the small house into little pieces. | 11When the LORD gives the command, homes both great and small will be smashed to pieces. |
| 12Can horses run on rocky cliffs? Can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant, and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant. | 12Can horses gallop over boulders? Can oxen be used to plow them? But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison and the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness. |
| 13You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. You say, "Did we not conquer Karnaim by our own power?" | 13And you brag about your conquest of Lo-debar. You boast, “Didn’t we take Karnaim by our own strength?” |
| 14"Look! I am about to bring a nation against you, family of Israel." The LORD, the God who commands armies, is speaking. "They will oppress you all the way from Lebo-Hamath to the Stream of the Arabah." | 14“O people of Israel, I am about to bring an enemy nation against you,” says the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies. “They will oppress you throughout your land— from Lebo-hamath in the north to the Arabah Valley in the south.” |
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