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| Photo by Jim Tracy |
1 Woe 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!
Here is a warning to Israel who is trusting in their natural defenses and the fact that their nation is hundreds of years old.
2 Pass 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?
Take a look around you. You are no better fortified than your neighbors and they were conquered.
3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
4 That 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;
5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David;
6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Israel has those who are living a life of luxury but are not at all concerned about the poor or about sins.
7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.
The rich will be carried off first. In fact, Assyria left the poorest people to take care of the land. It’s the rich they punished the hardest.
8 The 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.
“Your riches disgust Me, so I am going to destroy you.”
9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
10 And 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."
The New Living Bible says, “9 If there are ten men left in one house, they will all die. 10 And 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.’ ”
11 For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and He will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
12 Shall 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:
Of course horses don’t run on rocks or they go lame and you sure can’t plow rocky land. Israel is as likely to judge righteously as horses are to run on the rocks or a farmer to take up planting in a rock garden (some translations read this as plowing the sea which is even more pointless).
Galls are abnormal growths on plants, usually caused by parasites. They are ugly and steal nutrition from the plant without providing any benefit.
Hemlock is the most poisonous plant in the world. If you eat it, you will die within hours.
13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, "Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?"
Israel was bragging about some minor military victories and trusting that that proved they could defeat the Assyrians.
14 But, 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.
The Message Bible says it best; ”And they’ll make hash of you, from one end of the country to the other.”