Amos 5

1 Hear ye this word, which I take up concerning you for a lamentation. The house of Israel is fallen, and it shall rise no more.

Hear these words, which I utter concerning you; This lamentation, O house of Israel!

2 The virgin of Israel is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up.

She is fallen, she shall rise no more, The virgin of Israel! She is prostrate on her own ground, there is none to raise her up!

3 For thus saith the Lord God: The city, out of which came forth a thousand, there shall be left in it a hundred: and out of which there came a hundred, there shall be left in it ten, in the house of Israel.

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah; The city which sent out a thousand shall have a hundred left, And that which sent out a hundred shall have ten left, To the house of Israel.

4 For thus saith the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and you shall live.

For thus saith Jehovah to the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and ye shall live!

5 But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgal, neither shall you pass over to Bersabee: for Galgal shall go into captivity, and Bethel shall be unprofitable.

Seek not Bethel, And go not to Gilgal, And pass not over to Beersheba! For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity! And Bethel shall come to naught.

6 Seek ye the Lord, and live: lest the house of Joseph be burnt with fire, and it shall devour, and there shall be none to quench Bethel.

Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live! Lest he rush like a fire on the house of Joseph, And it devour, and there be none to quench it in the house of Israel.

7 You that turn judgment into wormwood, and forsake justice in the land,

Ye who turn justice into wormwood, And cast righteousness down to the ground.

8 Seek him that maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and that turneth darkness into morning, and that changeth day into night: that calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.

Seek him, that made the Pleiades and Orion; That changeth death-like darkness into morning, And darkeneth day into night; That calleth up the waters of the sea, And poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is his name!

9 He that with a smile bringeth destruction upon the strong, and waste upon the mighty.

Who sendeth sudden destruction upon the strong, And bringeth desolation upon the fortress.

10 They have hated him that rebuketh in the gate: and have abhorred him that speaketh perfectly.

They hate him that pleadeth in the gate, And abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

11 Therefore because you robbed the poor, and took the choice prey from him: you shall build houses with square stone, and shall not dwell in them: you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them.

Since, then, ye trample upon the poor, And take from him presents of wheat, Though ye build houses of hewn stone, ye shall not dwell in them; Though ye plant pleasant vineyards, ye shall not drink their wine.

12 Because I know your manifold crimes, and your grievous sins: enemies of the just, taking bribes, and oppressing the poor in the gate.

For I know that your sins are many, And your transgressions manifold, Ye who afflict the righteous, and take a bribe, And oppress the poor in the gate!

13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence at that time, for it is an evil time.

Therefore the wise man shall be silent at that time, For it shall be an evil time.

14 Seek ye good, and not evil, that you may live: and the Lord the God of hosts will be with you, as you have said.

Seek ye good, and not evil, that ye may live; Then shall Jehovah, the God of hosts, be with you, as ye boast.

15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be the Lord the God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

Hate ye evil, and love good, And establish justice in the gate; It may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will have pity upon the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of hosts the sovereign Lord: In every street there shall be wailing: and in all places that are without, they shall say: Alas, alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful in lamentation to lament.

Thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: In all the streets shall there be wailing, And in all the highways shall they cry, Alas! alas! They shall call the husbandmen to mourning, And those who are skilful in lamentation to wailing,

17 And in all vineyards there shall be wailing: because I will pass through in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.

And in all vineyards shall be sounds of woe, For I will pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah.

18 Woe to them that desire the day of the Lord: to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.

Woe unto them that ask for the day of Jehovah! What is the day of Jehovah to you? It shall be darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him: or enter into the house, and lean with his hand upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

As if a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him; Or went into a house and leaned his hand on a wall, And a serpent bit him;

20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light: and obscurity, and no brightness in it?

So shall the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light, Even thick darkness, and no brightness in it.

21 I hate, and have rejected your festivities: and I will not receive the odour of your assemblies.

I hate, I despise your feasts; I have no delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 And if you offer me holocausts, and your gifts, I will not receive them: neither will I regard the vows of your fat beasts.

When ye offer me burnt-offerings and flour-offerings, I will not accept them; And upon the thank-offerings of your fatlings I will not look.

23 Take away from me the tumult of thy songs: and I will not hear the canticles of thy harp.

Take ye away from me the noise of your songs, And the music of your harps let me not hear!

24 But judgment shall be revealed as water, and justice as a mighty torrent.

Let justice flow forth as waters, And righteousness as a mighty stream!

25 Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me in the desert for forty years, O house of Israel?

Did ye offer me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness, for forty years, O house of Israel?

26 But you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch, and the image of your idols, the star of your god, which you made to yourselves.

But ye bore the tabernacle of your king, And the shrine of your images, The star of your god, which ye made for yourselves.

27 And I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, the God of hosts is his name.

Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, Saith Jehovah, whose name is the God of hosts!