Amos 5

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

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

2 “Fallen, not to rise again, has the virgin of Israel, Left on her land—she has none [to] raise [her] up.”

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

3 For thus said Lord YHWH: “The city that is going out one thousand, Leaves one hundred, And that which is going out one hundred, Leaves ten to the house of Israel.”

For thus says the lord Jehovah: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, to the house of Israel.

4 For thus said YHWH to the house of Israel: “Seek Me, and live,

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

5 And do not seek Beth-El, and do not enter Gilgal, And do not pass through Beer-Sheba, For Gilgal utterly removes, And Beth-El becomes vanity.

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 naught.

6 Seek YHWH, and live, Lest He prosper as fire [against] the house of Joseph, And it has consumed, And there is no quencher for Beth-El—

Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

7 You who are turning judgment to wormwood, And have put down righteousness to the earth!”

Ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,

8 The Maker of the Pleiades and Orion, And He who is turning death-shade to the morning—And He has made day [as] dark [as] night—Who is calling to the waters of the sea, And pours them on the face of the earth, YHWH [is] His Name;

seek him who makes the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth (Jehovah is his name),

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

who brings sudden destruction upon the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

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

They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks uprightly.

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

Inasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions of wheat from him. Ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them. Ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof.

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

For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins-ye who afflict the just man, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the gate.

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

Therefore he who is prudent shall keep silence in such a time, for it is an evil time.

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

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live, and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say.

15 Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be YHWH, God of Hosts, pities the remnant of Joseph.

Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate. It may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore, thus said YHWH, God of Hosts, the Lord: “Lamentation is in all broad places, And in all out-places they say, Oh! Oh! And called the farmer to mourning, And the skillful of wailing to lamentation.

Therefore thus says Jehovah, the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall be in all the broad ways. And they shall say in all the streets, Alas! Alas! And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful in lamentation to wailing.

17 And in all vineyards [is] lamentation, For I pass into your midst,” said YHWH.

And in all vineyards shall be wailing, for I will pass through the midst of thee, says Jehovah.

18 Behold, you who are desiring the Day of YHWH, Why [is] this to you—the Day of YHWH? It is darkness, and not light,

Woe to you who desire the day of Jehovah! Why would ye have the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light.

19 As [when] one flees from the face of the lion, And the bear has met him, And he has come into the house, And has leaned his hand on the wall, And the serpent has bitten him.

As if a man fled 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 Is not the Day of YHWH darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that has no brightness?

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

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

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

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

Yea, though ye offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

23 Turn the noise of your songs aside from Me, Indeed, I do not hear the praise of your stringed instruments.

Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

24 And judgment rolls on as waters, And righteousness as a perennial stream.

But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

25 Did you bring sacrifices and offerings near to Me, In a wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

Did ye bring sacrifices and offerings to me in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26 And you bore Succoth your king, and Chiun your images, The star of your god, that you made for yourselves.

Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, your images which ye made to yourselves.

27 And I removed you beyond Damascus,” said YHWH—God of Hosts [is] His Name.

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