הוֹי הַשַּׁאֲנַנִּים בְּצִיּוֹן וְהַבֹּטְחִים בְּהַר שֹׁמְרוֹן נְקֻבֵי רֵאשִׁית הַגּוֹיִם וּבָאוּ לָהֶם בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל

Woe! The tranquil in Zion and the secure on Mount Samaria. These feelings of security stemmed from their political and military power, as well as their economic success. They are those who name themselves the foremost of the nations, and come to them as the house of Israel. These people call themselves the primary and elect people among all the nations, and identify themselves as the house of Israel.

עִבְרוּ כַלְנֵה וּרְאוּ וּלְכוּ מִשָּׁם חֲמַת רַבָּה וּרְדוּ גַת פְּלִשְׁתִּים הֲטוֹבִים מִן הַמַּמְלָכוֹת הָאֵלֶּה ! אִם־רַב גְּבוּלָם מִגְּבֻלְכֶם!

Cross to Kalne, a small, nearby country, and see, and go from there to Greater Hamat, a large city in Syria, and go down to Gat, one of the five cities of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms of Zion and Samaria? Is their border wider than your border? Why, then, do you turn away from Me to false gods?

הַמְנַדִּים לְיוֹם רָע וַתַּגִּשׁוּן שֶׁבֶת חָמָס

Those who deny the evil day of inevitable retribution and remove it from their consciousness, and advance the regime of villainy by supporting acts of oppression;

הַשֹּׁכְבִים עַל־מִטּוֹת שֵׁן וּסְרֻחִים עַל־עַרְשׂוֹתָם וְאֹכְלִים כָּרִים מִצֹּאן וַעֲגָלִים מִתּוֹךְ מַרְבֵּק

who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches, not engaging in any productive activities, eating the large, fattened sheep from the flock and the calves from inside the stall, where they are fattened.

הַפֹּרְטִים עַל־פִּי הַנָּבֶל כְּדָוִיד חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם כְּלֵי־שִׁיר

These are the wealthy individuals who strum on the face of the lyre; they consider themselves like David with musical instruments. They equate their music with that of King David, the composer of Psalms. This is a satirical description of idle, gluttonous individuals who portray themselves as artisans.

הַשֹּׁתִים בְּמִזְרְקֵי יַיִן וְרֵאשִׁית שְׁמָנִים יִמְשָׁחוּ וְלֹא נֶחְלוּ עַל־שֵׁבֶר יוֹסֵף

It is these same individuals who drink with wine bowls and anoint themselves indulgently with fragrant virgin oils, but they are not distressed over the destruction of Joseph, the Kingdom of Israel.

לָכֵן עַתָּה יִגְלוּ בְּרֹאשׁ גֹּלִים וְסָר מִרְזַח סְרוּחִים

Therefore, now they, those complacent, spoiled individuals, will be exiled at the head of the exiles, and the revelry of the people who liked to be lounging on their beds will be removed.

נִשְׁבַּע ה' אֱלוֹהִים בְּנַפְשׁוֹ נְאֻם־ה' אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת מְתָאֵב אָנֹכִי אֶת־גְּאוֹן יַעֲקֹב וְאַרְמְנֹתָיו שָׂנֵאתִי וְהִסְגַּרְתִּי עִיר וּמְלֹאָהּ

The Lord God has taken an oath by Himself – this is the utterance of the Lord, God of hosts – I spurn the pride of Jacob, possibly a reference to the Temple, as God’s dwelling among the people heightens their feelings of pride. And I hate his palaces, due to the revelry that takes place inside them; and therefore I will deliver the city and all its contents to the enemy.

וְהָיָה אִם־יִוָּתְרוּ עֲשָׂרָה אֲנָשִׁים בְּבַיִת אֶחָד וָמֵתוּ

It shall be that if ten men remain in one house, they will die.

וּנְשָׂאוֹ דּוֹדוֹ וּמְסָרְפוֹ לְהוֹצִיא עֲצָמִים מִן־הַבַּיִת וְאָמַר לַאֲשֶׁר בְּיַרְכְּתֵי הַבַּיִת העוֹד עִמָּךְ! וְאָמַר אָפֶס וְאָמַר הָס כִּי לֹא לְהַזְכִּיר בְּשֵׁם ה'

Due to the multitude of corpses, when one’s uncle, his father’s brother, or his mother’s brother [mesarefo], who assists his father’s brother, or one who burns [soref] corpses to reduce the smell, arrive, they will carry him, the deceased, to take his bones from the house, and one of them standing at the entrance to the house he will say to the other one, who is in the rear of the house: Are there any more corpses with you? He will say: None. And he will say: Be silent so as not to mention the name of the Lord. Since the house is a place of death and impurity, do not mention the name of God in response to the calamity.

כִּי־הִנֵּה ה' מְצַוֶּה וְהִכָּה הַבַּיִת הַגָּדוֹל רְסִיסִים וְהַבַּיִת הַקָּטֹן בְּקִעִים

For, behold, the Lord commands, and He will strike the great house and break it into splinters, and the small house will be smashed into chips.

הַיְרֻצוּן בַּסֶּלַע סוּסִים! אִם־יַחֲרוֹשׁ בבְּקָרִים! כִּי־הֲפַכְתֶּם לְרֹאשׁ מִשְׁפָּט וּפְרִי צְדָקָה לְלַעֲנָה

Do horses run on rock, on rocky terrain? Can it be plowed with oxen? At best, only the corners of such areas can be plowed with a hoe. You are comparable to a rocky field that cannot be improved; nothing will sprout in your territory, for you have transformed justice into hemlock, a bitter and poisonous plant, and your hands have turned the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;

הַשְּׂמֵחִים לְלֹא דָבָר הָאֹמְרִים הֲלוֹא בְחָזְקֵנוּ לָקַחְנוּ לָנוּ קַרְנָיִם

it is you who rejoice over nothing, insignificant matters, who say: Haven’t we taken honors for ourselves with our own power, and achieved glory?

כִּי הִנְנִי מֵקִים עֲלֵיכֶם בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם־ה' אֱלֹהֵי הַצְּבָאוֹת גּוֹי וְלָחֲצוּ אֶתְכֶם מִלְּבוֹא חֲמָת עַד־נַחַל הָעֲרָבָה

For, behold, I am raising against you a nation that will conquer your land, house of Israel – this is the utterance of the Lord, God of hosts – and they will press you from Levo Hamat to the ravine of the Arava. These were the borders of the Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Yorovam son of Yo’ash, roughly a contemporary of Amos.