1Woe to those who are at ease in Zion

and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,

the notables of the first of the nations,

to whom the house of Israel resorts!*

2Cross over to Calneh and see;

from there go to Hamath the great;

then go down to Gath of the Philistines.

Are you betteru than these kingdoms?

Or is yourv territory greater than theirw territory,*

3you who put far away the evil day

and bring near a reign of violence?*

4Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory

and lounge on their couches

and eat lambs from the flock

and calves from the stall,*

5who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp

and like David improvise on instruments of music,*

6who drink wine from bowls

and anoint themselves with the finest oils

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!*

7Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,

and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.*

8The Lord God has sworn by himself

(says the Lord, the God of hosts):

I abhor the pride of Jacob

and hate his strongholds,

and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.*

11For the Lord commands,

and he will shatter the great house to bits

and the little house to pieces.*

12Do horses run on rocky crags?

Does one plow the sea with oxen?z

But you have turned justice into poison

and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,*

13you who rejoice in Lo-debar,a

who say, “Have we not by our own strength

taken Karnaimb for ourselves?”

14Indeed, I am raising up against you a nation,

O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of hosts,

and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath

to the Wadi Arabah.*