| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! | 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. |
| 2Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? | 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. |
| 3Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; | 3You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer. |
| 4That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; | 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. |
| 5That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; | 5You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David. |
| 6That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. | 6You drink wine by the bowlful and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions. You care nothing about the ruin of your nation. |
| 7Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. | 7Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your parties will end. |
| 8The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. | 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.” |
| 9And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. | 9(If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die. |
| 10And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. | 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.”) |
| 11For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. | 11When the LORD gives the command, homes both great and small will be smashed to pieces. |
| 12Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: | 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. |
| 13Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? | 13And you brag about your conquest of Lo-debar. You boast, “Didn’t we take Karnaim by our own strength?” |
| 14But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness. | 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.” |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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