Amos 5

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

Listen to the words of the funeral song I am singing for you, Israel:

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

Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel! Hurled down upon her own soil she lies, with no one to lift 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 the Lord God says this: The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers has only a hundred left, and the one that marches out with a hundred has only ten left.

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

For the Lord says this to Israel: Seek me and 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 do not seek Bethel, do not enter Gilgal, do not go over to Beer-sheba. For Gilgal will enter exile, and Bethel will go to destruction.

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 the Lord and live, or he will cast fire on the house of Joseph, and it will devour and there will be no one to quench it for Bethel.

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

You who turn judgment to bitter wormwood, and cast righteousness into the dirt:

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;

He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns deep darkness into dawn, who darkens day again into night, who summons the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the earth’s surface, the Lord is his name!

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

He causes destruction to burst over the strong. He brings devastation on the fortress.

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

You who hate the arbiters at the city gate, and abhor anyone who speaks the truth:

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.

Because you trample on the weak, and tax their grain, although you have built houses of hewn stone, you will not live in them, although you have planted charming vineyards, you will not drink their wine.

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 many are your crimes, and how great are your sins! You persecutors of the righteous, takers of bribes! You deny the poor their justice at the city gate.

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

It would be wise to keep quiet in such 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 you may live, so the Lord, God of hosts, may be with you, as you have claimed he is.

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 evil and love good, establish justice at the city gate. Perhaps the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to a surviving 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 the Lord, the God of hosts, says: In all the public squares there will be wailing, in every street the sound of mourning. They will summon the farmers to mourning, and professional mourners to wailing.

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

In all vineyards there will be lamenting, when I pass through your midst, says the Lord.

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,

Fools who long for the day of the Lord! What does the day of the Lord mean to you? 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.

It is as when one flees from a lion, and is attacked by a bear, as when one reaches home, leans his hand on the wall, and a snake bites him.

20 Is not the Day of YHWH darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that has no brightness?

Won’t the Lord’s day be darkness and not light, murky darkness without a ray of light 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, I will not smell the savor of your festivals,

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.

I will not be pleased with your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, I will not accept the peace offerings of your fattened calves.

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

Spare me the noise of your songs, I will not listen to the melody of your lyres.

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

But let justice roll on as a flood of waters, and righteousness like an unfailing stream.

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

Was it only sacrifices and grain offerings you brought me during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel?

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

But now you will lift up your “king” Sikkuth and “star god” Kiyyun, your idols which you have made for yourselves,

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

as I drive you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.