Amos 5

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

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

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

She is fallen, she will not rise again—the virgin of Israel: she is thrown down upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

3 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.

For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, The city that goeth forth with a thousand shall retain but a hundred, and she that goeth forth with a hundred shall retain but ten, [left] to the house of Israel.

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

For thus hath said the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye for me, and ye shall live;

5 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.

But seek not for Beth-el, and into Gilgal enter not, and to Beer-sheba' do not pass over; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Beth-el shall become naught.

6 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.

Seek for the Lord, and ye shall live: so that he come not suddenly like fire over the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el;

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

Ye who change justice into wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth!

8 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.

[But] he maketh the seven stars and Orion, and changeth into morning the shadow of death, and maketh the day dark into night; he it is that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out over the face of the earth: The Lord is his name;

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

That causeth wasting to prevail against the strong, so that wasting shall come against the fortress.

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

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

11 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.

Therefore forasmuch as you tread down upon the poor, and ye take from him onerous contributions of corn: if ye have built houses of hewn stone, ye shall not dwell in them; if ye have planted pleasant vineyards, ye shall not drink their wine.

12 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.

For I know your manifold transgressions and your numerous sins: ye are those that are the adversaries of the just, that take a ransom, and that wrest [the cause of] the needy in the gate.

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

Therefore will the intelligent keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

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

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

15 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.

Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice firmly in the gate: perhaps the Lord the God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

16 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.

Therefore thus hath said the Eternal, the God of hosts, the Lord, On all public places there is lamentation, and in all the streets they cry, Woe! woe! and they call the husbandman to mourning, and to lamentation those skilled in wailing.

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

And in all vineyards there is lamentation; for I will pass through thy midst, saith the Lord.

18 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.

Woe unto you that long for the day of the Lord! for what do you wish the day of the Lord? it is [one of] darkness, and not of light.

19 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.

As if a man were to flee from a lion, and a bear should meet him; and he enter into the house, and lean his hand against the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

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

Behold the day of the Lord is [one of] darkness, and not of light; yea, it is obscure, and hath no brightness.

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

I hate, I despise your feast-days, and I will not smell [the sacrifices] on your festive assemblies.

22 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.

For though ye should offer me burnt-offerings and your meat-offerings, I will not accept them in favor: and the peace-offerings of your fatted cattle will I not look at.

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

Remove thou from around me the noise of thy songs: and the playing of thy psalteries I will not hear.

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

But let justice roll along like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

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

Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and meat-offerings in the wilderness [during] forty years, O house of Israel?

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

Bear then the canopy of your chief idol, and the figure of your images, the star of your god, which ye have made for yourselves.

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

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