Amos 5

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

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

2 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.

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

3 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.

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.

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

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

5 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.

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.

6 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;

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.

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

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

8 [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;

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:

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

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

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

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

11 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.

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.

12 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.

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.

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

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

14 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.

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.

15 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.

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.

16 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.

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.

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

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

18 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.

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.

19 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

22 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

26 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.

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.

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

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