Amos 5

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

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

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

For thus saith Jehovah to the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and ye 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Therefore the wise man shall be silent at that time, For it shall be 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 ye good, and not evil, that ye may live; Then shall Jehovah, the God of hosts, be with you, as ye boast.

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 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 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.

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

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

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 them that ask for the day of Jehovah! What is the day of Jehovah to you? It shall be 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 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 Behold the day of the Lord is [one of] darkness, and not of light; yea, it is obscure, and hath no brightness.

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

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

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

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

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

Let justice flow forth 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?

Did ye offer me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness, for 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 ye bore the tabernacle of your king, And the shrine of your images, The star of your god, which ye made for 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, Saith Jehovah, whose name is the God of hosts!