Amos 5

1 Hear you this word of the Lord, even a lamentation, which I take up against you. The house of Israel is fallen; it shall no more rise.

Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

2 The virgin of Israel has fallen upon his land; there is none that shall raise her up.

The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is cast down upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

3 Therefore thus says the Lord God; The city out of which there went forth a thousand, [in it] there shall be left a hundred, and [in that] out of which there went forth a hundred, there shall be left ten to the house of Israel.

For thus saith the Lord GOD: The city that went forth a thousand shall have an hundred left, and that which went forth an hundred shall have ten left, to the house of Israel.

4 Therefore thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, Seek you me, and you shall live.

For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

5 But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgala, and cross not over to the Well of the Oath: for Galgala shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall be as that which is not.

but seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought.

6 Seek you the Lord, and you shall live; lest the house of Joseph blaze as fire, and it devour him, and there shall be none to quench it for the house of Israel.

Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour and there be none to quench it in Beth-el:

7 [It is he] that executes judgement in the height [above], and he has established justice on the earth:

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth;

8 who makes all things, and changes [them], and turns darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night: who calls for the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth: the Lord is his name:

[seek him] that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; the LORD is his name;

9 who dispenses ruin to strength, and brings distress upon the fortress.

that bringeth sudden destruction upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress.

10 They hated him that reproved in the gates, and abhorred holy speech.

They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

11 Therefore because they have struck the poor with their fists, and you have received of them choice gifts; you have built polished houses, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted desirable vineyards, but you shall not drink the wine of them.

Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof.

12 For I know your many transgressions, and your sins are great, trampling on the just, taking bribes, and turning aside [the judgement of] the poor in the gates.

For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins; ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate [from their right].

13 Therefore the prudent shall be silent at that time; for it is a time of evils.

Therefore he that is prudent shall keep silence in such a time; for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good, and not evil, that you may live: and so the Lord God Almighty shall be with you, as you have said,

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye say.

15 We have hated evil, and loved good: and restore you judgement in the gates; that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God Almighty; In all the streets [shall be] lamentations; and in all the ways shall it be said, Woe, woe! the husbandman shall be called to mourning and lamentation, and to them that are skilled in complaining.

Therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all the broad ways; and they shall say in all the streets, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

17 And [there shall be] lamentation in all the ways; because I will pass through the midst of you, says the Lord.

And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith the LORD.

18 Woe to you that desire the day of the Lord! what is this day of the Lord to you? whereas it is darkness, and not light.

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! wherefore would ye have the day of the LORD? it is darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him; and he should spring into his house, and lean his hands upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? and is not this [day] gloom without brightness?

Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

21 I hate, I reject your feasts, and I will not smell [your] meat-offerings in your general assemblies.

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 Therefore if you should bring me your whole burnt sacrifices and meat-offerings, I will not accept [them]: neither will I have respect to your grand peace-offerings.

Yea, though ye offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

23 Remove from me the sound of your songs, and I will not hear the music of your instruments.

Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

24 But let judgement roll down as water, and righteousness as an impassable torrent.

But let judgment roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

25 Have you offered to me victims and sacrifices, O house of Israel, forty years in the wilderness?

Did ye bring unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26 Yes, you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Raephan, the images of them which you made for yourselves.

Yea, ye have borne Siccuth your king and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

27 And I will carry you away beyond Damascus, says the Lord, the Almighty God is his name.

Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.