The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Sorrow to those who are resting in comfort in Zion, and to those who have no fear of danger in the mountain of Samaria, the noted men of the chief of the nations, to whom the people of Israel come!
1
How terrible it will be for you that have such an easy life in Zion and for you that feel safe in Samaria - you great leaders of this great nation Israel, you to whom the people go for help!
2 Go on to Calneh and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are you better than these kingdoms? or is your land wider than theirs?
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Go and look at the city of Calneh. Then go on to the great city of Hamath and on down to the Philistine city of Gath. Were they any better than the kingdoms of Judah and Israel? Was their territory larger than yours?
3 You who put far away the evil day, causing the rule of the violent to come near;
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You refuse to admit that a day of disaster is coming, but what you do only brings that day closer.
4 Who are resting on beds of ivory, stretched out on soft seats, feasting on lambs from the flock and young oxen from the cattle-house;
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How terrible it will be for you that stretch out on your luxurious couches, feasting on veal and lamb!
5 Making foolish songs to the sound of corded instruments, and designing for themselves instruments of music, like David;
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You like to compose songs, as David did, and play them on harps.
6 Drinking wine in basins, rubbing themselves with the best oils; but they have no grief for the destruction of Joseph.
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You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest perfumes, but you do not mourn over the ruin of Israel.
7 So now they will go away prisoners with the first of those who are made prisoners, and the loud cry of those who were stretched out will come to an end.
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So you will be the first to go into exile. Your feasts and banquets will come to an end.
8 The Lord God has taken an oath by himself, says the Lord, the God of armies: the pride of Jacob is disgusting to me, and I have hate for his great houses: so I will give up the town with everything in it.
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The Sovereign Lord Almighty has given this solemn warning: "I hate the pride of the people of Israel; I despise their luxurious mansions. I will give their capital city and everything in it to the enemy."
9 Then it will come about that if there are still ten men in a house, death will overtake them.
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If there are ten men left in a family, they will die.
10 And when a man's relation, even the one who is responsible for burning his body, lifting him up to take his bones out of the house, says to him who is in the inmost part of the house, Is there still anyone with you? and he says, No; then he will say, Keep quiet, for the name of the Lord may not be named.
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The dead man's relative, the one in charge of the funeral, will take the body out of the house. The relative will call to whoever is still left in the house, "Is anyone else there with you?" The person will answer, "No!" Then the relative will say, "Be quiet! We must be careful not even to mention the Lord's name."
11 For see, at the order of the Lord the great house will be full of cracks and the little house will be broken.
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When the Lord gives the command, houses large and small will be smashed to pieces.
12 Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?
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Do horses gallop on rocks? Does anyone plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison, and right into wrong.
13 You whose joy is in a thing of no value, who say, Have we not taken for ourselves horns by the strength which is ours?
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You brag about capturing the town of Lodebar. You boast, "We were strong enough to take Karnaim."
14 For see, I will send against you a nation, O Israel, says the Lord, the God of armies, ruling you cruelly from the way into Hamath as far as the stream of the Arabah.
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The Lord God Almighty himself says, "People of Israel, I am going to send a foreign army to occupy your country. It will oppress you from Hamath Pass in the north to the Brook of the Arabah in the south."
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.