| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 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! | 1Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! |
| 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? | 2Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours? |
| 3Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; | 3You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror. |
| 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; | 4You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. |
| 5That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; | 5You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. |
| 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 use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. |
| 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 among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging 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 himself--the LORD God Almighty declares: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it." |
| 9And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. | 9If ten people are left in one house, they too will 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 if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them asks anyone who might be hiding there, "Is anyone else with you?" and he says, "No," then he will go on to say, "Hush! We must not 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. | 11For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits. |
| 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: | 12Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the 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? | 13you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, "Did we not 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. | 14For the LORD God Almighty declares, "I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah." |
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