Amos 5

1 Hear all of you this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:

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

'Fallen, not again to rise, hath the virgin of Israel, Left on her land — she hath no raiser up.'

3 For thus says the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

For thus said the Lord Jehovah: The city that is going out a thousand, Doth leave an hundred, And that which is going out an hundred, Doth leave ten to the house of Israel.

4 For thus says the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek all of you me, and all of you shall live:

For thus said Jehovah to the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live,

5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.

And seek not Beth-El, and Gilgal enter not, And Beer-Sheba pass not through, For Gilgal doth utterly remove, And Beth-El doth become vanity.

6 Seek the LORD, and all of you shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

Seek ye Jehovah, and live, Lest He prosper as fire [against] the house of Joseph, And it hath consumed, And there is no quencher for Beth-El.

7 All of you who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

Ye who are turning to wormwood judgment, And righteousness to the earth have put down,

8 Seek him that makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night: that calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

The maker of Kimah and Kesil, And the turner to morning of death-shade, And day [as] night He hath made dark, Who is calling to the waters of the sea, And poureth them on the face of the earth, Jehovah [is] His name;

9 That strengthens the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

Who is brightening up the spoiled against the strong, And the spoiled against a fortress cometh.

10 They hate him that rebukes in the gate, and they detest him that speaks uprightly.

They have hated a reprover in the gate, And a plain speaker they abominate.

11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and all of you take from him burdens of wheat: all of you have built houses of hewn stone, but all of you shall not dwell in them; all of you have planted pleasant vineyards, but all of you shall not drink wine of them.

Therefore, because of your trampling on the poor, And the tribute of corn ye take from him, Houses of hewn work ye have built, And ye do not dwell in them, Desirable vineyards ye have planted, And ye do not drink their wine.

12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

For I have known — many [are] your transgressions, And mighty your sins, Adversaries of the righteous, taking ransoms, And the needy in the gate ye turned aside.

13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Therefore is the wise at that time silent, For an evil time it [is].

14 Seek good, and not evil, that all of you may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as all of you have spoken.

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live, And it is so; Jehovah, God of Hosts, [is] with you, as ye said.

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

Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be Jehovah, God of Hosts, doth pity the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD, says thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the farmer to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, the Lord, In all broad places [is] lamentation, And in all out-places they say, 'Alas, alas,' And called the husbandman to mourning, And to lamentation the skilful of wailing.

17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through you, says the LORD.

And in all vineyards [is] lamentation, For I pass into thy midst, said Jehovah.

18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

Ho, ye who are desiring the day of Jehovah, Why [is] this to you — the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light,

19 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.

As [when] one fleeth from the face of the lion, And the bear hath met him, And he hath come in to the house, And hath leant his hand on the wall, And the serpent hath bitten him.

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

Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that hath no brightness?

21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

I have hated — I have loathed your festivals, And I am not refreshed by your restraints.

22 Though all of you offer me burnt offerings and your food offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

For though ye cause burnt-offerings and your presents to ascend to Me, I am not pleased, And the peace-offering of your fatlings I behold not.

23 Take you away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your viols.

Turn aside from Me the noise of thy songs, Yea, the praise of thy psaltery I hear not.

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

And roll on as waters doth judgment, And righteousness as a perennial stream.

25 Have all of you offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

Sacrifices and offering did ye bring nigh to Me, In a wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26 But all of you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which all of you made to yourselves.

And ye bare Succoth your king, and Chiun your images, The star of your god, that ye made for yourselves.

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

And I removed you beyond Damascus, Said Jehovah, God of Hosts [is] His name.