Commentary on Joel, Amos, Obadiah

1Woe to the secure in Zion, And to the confident on the mount of Samaria; (302) Which have been renowned from the beginning of the nations; And entered in into them has the house of Israel.

2Pass ye over into Calneh and see, Go hence to Hamath the great, And come down to Gath of the Philistines, Are they better than these kingdom? Is their border larger than your border?

3 Woe to you who drive far off the evil day, And draw nigh the throne of violence;

4Who lie down on beds of ivory, And extend themselves on their couches; Who eat lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the stall;

5Who sing to the sound of the harp, And like David invent instruments of music;

6Who drink wine in bowls, And with the chief ointments anoint themselves, And grieve not for the bruising of Joseph.

7They shall now therefore emigrate at the head of the emigrants, And come shall the mourning of those who extend themselves. (312)

8Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by himself, Saith Jehovah, the God of hosts,— Abhor do I the excellency of Jacob, And his palaces I regard with hatred, And I will deliver up the city and its fullness.

9And it shall be, that when there shall remain Ten men together in one house, they shall die:

10And take him shall one’s uncle and burn him, In order to take away his bones from the house, And shall say to him who shall be at the sides of the house, “Is there yet any one with thee?” And he will say, “There is an end;” Then he shall say, “Be silent, For it is not for us to remember the name of Jehovah.”

11For, behold, Jehovah commands, And he will smite the great house with confusions, And the small house with fissures.

12Will horses run on a rock? Will it be ploughed by oxen? For to gall have ye turned judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to hemlock;

13Ye rejoice in a thing of nought, ye say,— Have we not in our own strength Raised up for ourselves horns?

14Behold, I will surely raise against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: And they shall straighten you from the entrance of Hamath to the river of the plain.