Глава 6

Am.6:1. To those who despise Zion and trust in Mount Samaria, they embraced the firstfruits of tongues and came down to themselves. Pitiful, and very pitiful are those, says the Prophet, who despise Zion, put their trust in Samaria, but do not see that in Zion the revered God led them into the land of promise, completely destroying those who inhabited it from ancient times, and giving them a vast place to live. If you think that this is not so: Am.6:2. Go to Mimoid Halana, and go from there to Hamath the great, and bring down the foreigners to Gath, the strongest of all these kingdoms: how great are their borders, your border? Go to the cities mentioned above, the greatest and belonging to the named kingdoms, and find out for sure that the land you cultivate is no less than that which they own. Am.6:3. Those who come in the day of evil, those who draw near and touch the lying Sabbaths, “They who come in the day of evil”, as having made themselves worthy of punishment. For the Prophet calls the day of punishment “an evil day.” “They who approach and touch the lying Sabbaths,” apparently honoring the Sabbaths, but committing thousands of iniquities on them. Am.6:4–5. sleeping on a bed of ivory bones and tender-hearted on their beds, eating goats from the pastures and calves fed with milk from the midst of the flocks: splashing to the voice of arquebuses, Then he blames them, beyond what has been said, for luxury, for making beds of ivory bones, allowing themselves every kind of pleasure, for bringing them goats and calves from the herds, their organs sounding and their sounds are accompanied by applause, serving them fragrant and, moreover, strained wine, and fragrant myrrh completes their extravagance. They are so devoted to immoderation, says the Prophet, they love a pampered life, they think that all this is permanent and durable, and do not reason about how fleeting it is. For the Prophet signified this when he said: Am.6:5–6. Like a standing mnesha, and not like a running one. I did not suffer anything in the contrition of Jesus. Having dared to commit such lawlessness, they endured it without grieving at all. The Prophet called them Joseph because Ephraim was the son of Joseph, and he called the ten tribes Ephraim. Am.6:7–8. For this reason now there will be captives from the beginning of the mighty, and the neighing of horses will be taken away from Ephraim. For the Lord swears by Himself, says the Lord God of hosts: I abhor all the reproaches of Jacob, and I have hated his village, and I will reject the city with all those who live in it. Strong princes, says the Prophet, will take them captive, Ephraim’s dominion will come to an end; because He who pronounced this sentence on him is undeceitful and omnipotent; He determined so, being disgusted by his pride and wickedness. Am.6:9–10. And if ten men remain in one house, they will die, and there will be a remnant: and they will take them away, and they will dream of carrying their bones out of the house, and the rector will say to the house: “Have you any more?” And he says: there is not yet, and he says: be silent, do not name for the sake of the name of the Lord. There will be so many people dying among the inhabitants, says the Prophet, that in some houses all the living will be dead, and neighbors or relatives who came from other houses will begin to bury the bodies of the dead, and then inquire and ask each other: is there anyone else unburied? When will those in the houses say: no; they will go, says the Prophet, with surprise, silently, advising each other to do the same; because this sentence was pronounced by the God of all. Am.6:11. Because the Lord commands and slays a great house with crushing and a small house with division because he will equally overthrow both those living in poverty and the powerful. Am.6:12–13. Will horses ever get married in stones? What if they fall silent in the female sex? For you turn from judgment to wrath, and bring forth the fruit of righteousness to sorrow. Those who rejoice over a single word of good, saying: Are not the imams horns with our strength? Horses, says the Prophet, cannot run over stones; the enemies will attack you because of the iniquity that you have dared to commit, despising your former height. And just as horses neigh when they see mares, so the enemies will attack you with full eagerness; because you moved the Judge to anger against yourself, and forced Him to pronounce a strict, and at the same time truthful, sentence. Since it is not good deeds that make you happy, but, being proud and arrogant, you attribute your former power to your strength, then I, the Lord of all hosts and all power, will hand you over to a strong people. Am.6:14. You can’t even get into Hamath, even to the waters of the West. That is, I will drive you out of the land that you cultivated before. Jeroboam, under whom this prophecy occurred, as the history of the kingdoms shows (2 Kings 14:25), determined the border of Israel from Hamath to the western sea. That is why God says in the Prophet: I will hand over all your borders to the enemies.