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22 Ah! Those who are champions at drinking wine,
    masters at mixing drink!

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Chapter 6

Third Woe

Woe to those who are complacent in Zion,
    secure on the mount of Samaria,
Leaders of the first among nations,
    to whom the people of Israel turn.
Pass over to Calneh and see,
    go from there to Hamath the great,
    and down to Gath[a] of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms,
    or is your territory greater than theirs?
You who would put off the day of disaster,
    yet hasten the time of violence!
Those who lie on beds of ivory,
    and lounge upon their couches;
Eating lambs taken from the flock,
    and calves from the stall;
Who improvise to the music of the harp,
    composing on musical instruments like David,
Who drink wine from bowls,
    and anoint themselves with the best oils,
    but are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph;
Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,
    and the carousing of those who lounged shall cease.

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Footnotes

  1. 6:2 Calneh…Hamath…Gath: city-states overcome by the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C., whose fate should be a lesson to the Israelites. The prophet castigates the leaders for being more intent on pursuing a luxurious lifestyle (vv. 1, 4–6) than reading the signs of the times.