Amos 5

1 Listen, people of Israel, to this funeral lament that I sing about you!

Heare ye this worde, which I lift vp vpon you, euen a lamentation of the house of Israel.

2 Virgin Israel has fallen, and will never rise again! She lies abandoned on the ground, and there is no one to help her up.

The virgine Israel is fallen, and shall no more rise: shee is left vpon her lande, and there is none to raise her vp.

3 This is what the Lord says: From a city that sends out a thousand soldiers, only a hundred will return; from a city that sends out a hundred soldiers, only ten will return.

For thus saith ye Lord God, The citie which went out by a thousand, shall leaue an hundreth: and that which went forth by an hundreth, shall leaue ten to the house of Israel.

4 This is what the Lord says to the people of Israel: Look to me so you may live!

For thus saith the Lord vnto the house of Israel, Seeke ye me, and ye shall liue.

5 Do not look to the false gods of Bethel, do not go to the pagan shrines of Gilgal or travel to those of Beersheba. For Gilgal will go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.

But seeke not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and go not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall goe into captiuitie, and Beth-el shall come to nought.

6 Look to the Lord so you may live! Otherwise he will explode like fire against the descendants of Joseph and no one from Bethel will be able to quench it.

Seeke the Lord, and yee shall liue, least he breake out like fire in the house of Ioseph and deuoure it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

7 You twist justice and make it bitter, you throw integrity to the ground.

They turne iudgement to wormewood, and leaue off righteousnes in the earth.

8 The One who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns the darkness into morning, and daytime into night, who calls for the water of the seas, and pours it down as rain upon the earth—the Lord is his name!

He maketh Pleiades, and Orion, and he turneth the shadowe of death into the morning, and he maketh the day darke as night: he calleth the waters of the sea, and powreth them out vpon the open earth: the Lord is his Name.

9 In a flash he cuts down the strong and destroys the fortresses.

He strengtheneth the destroyer against the mightie: and the destroyer shall come against the fortresse.

10 You hate anyone who confronts injustice and loathe anyone who speaks honestly.

They haue hated him, that rebuked in the gate: and they abhorred him that speaketh vprightly.

11 Because you trample down the poor and impose a tax on their grain, building for yourselves impressive houses, you will not live in them, and you will not drink wine from the fine vineyards you have planted.

Forasmuch then as your treading is vpon the poore, and yee take from him burdens of wheate, ye haue built houses of hewen stone, but ye shall not dwel in them: ye haue plated pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drinke wine of them.

12 For I know the extent of your wrongdoing and your numerous sins. You oppress good people by taking bribes, and you prevent the poor from getting justice in the courts.

For I know your manifold transgressions, and your mightie sinnes: they afflict the iust, they take rewards, and they oppresse the poore in ye gate.

13 So smart people keep quiet in such evil times.

Therefore the prudent shall keepe silence in that time, for it is an euill time.

14 Do what is right, and not evil, so you may live. Then the Lord God of power will be with you, as you claim he is.

Seeke good and not euil, that ye may liue: and the Lord God of hostes shalbe with you, as you haue spoken.

15 Hate evil and love good—and make sure justice wins out in your courts. Maybe the Lord God of power will have mercy on those who are left of Jacob's people.

Hate the euil, and loue the good, and establish iudgement in the gate: it may bee that the Lord God of hostes will be mercifull vnto the remnant of Ioseph.

16 For this is what the Lord, the Lord God of power says: There will be weeping in the city squares and wailing in the streets. They will call even the farmers to grieve, as well as the professional mourners.

Therfore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord saith thus, Mourning shalbe in all streetes: and they shall say in al the hie wayes, Alas, alas: and they shall call the husbandman to lamentation, and such as can mourne, to mourning.

17 There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will pass through the midst of you, says the Lord.

And in al the vines shalbe lamentation: for I wil passe through thee, saith the Lord.

18 How disastrous it will be for those of you who long for the day of the Lord. Why would you want the day of the Lord to come? It will bring darkness, not light.

Woe vnto you, that desire the day of the Lord: what haue you to do with it? the day of the Lord is darkenes and not light.

19 It will be like a man running away from a lion only to meet a bear; or a man who goes home and leans his hand on a wall, only to be bitten by a snake.

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

20 Isn't the day of the Lord darkness without light? Yes, pitch dark without a glimmer of light.

Shal not the day of the Lord be darkenes, and not light? euen darkenes and no light in it?

21 I hate, I despise your festivals and take no delight in your religious assemblies.

I hate and abhorre your feast dayes, and I wil not smelll in your solemne assemblies.

22 Even though you present me with burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. As for your peace offerings of fattened cattle—I will not even look at them.

Though ye offer me burnt offrings and meat offrings, I wil not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offrings of your fat beasts.

23 Stop your noisy worship songs. I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

Take thou away from me the multitude of thy songs (for I wil not heare the melodie of thy violes)

24 Rather let justice flow like a river, and doing right like an ever-flowing stream.

And let iudgement runne downe as waters, and righteousnesse as a mightie riuer.

25 Did you bring me sacrifices during those forty years in the desert, people of Israel?

Haue ye offered vnto me sacrifices and offrings in the wildernesse fourtie yeeres, O house of Israel?

26 But now you carry idols of Sakkuth your king and Kaiwan your star god that you made for yourselves.

But you haue borne Siccuth your King, and Chiun your images, and the starre of your gods, which ye made to your selues.

27 So I will send you into exile in a land beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of power.

Therefore wil I cause you to goe into captiuitie beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose Name is the God of hostes.