Amos 5

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

Hear these words, which I utter concerning you; This lamentation, O 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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

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 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 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 So smart people keep quiet in such evil times.

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

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 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 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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Did ye offer me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness, for forty years, 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 ye bore the tabernacle of your king, And the shrine of your images, The star of your god, which ye made for yourselves.

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

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