Amos 5

1 Hear these words, which I utter concerning you; This lamentation, O house of Israel!

Listen, people of Israel, to this funeral lament that I sing about you!

2 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!

Virgin Israel has fallen, and will never rise again! She lies abandoned on the ground, and there is no one to help her up.

3 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.

This is what the Lord says: From a city that sends out a thousand soldiers, only a hundred will return; from a city that sends out a hundred soldiers, only ten will return.

4 For thus saith Jehovah to the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and ye shall live!

This is what the Lord says to the people of Israel: Look to me so you may live!

5 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.

Do not look to the false gods of Bethel, do not go to the pagan shrines of Gilgal or travel to those of Beersheba. For Gilgal will go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.

6 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.

Look to the Lord so you may live! Otherwise he will explode like fire against the descendants of Joseph and no one from Bethel will be able to quench it.

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

You twist justice and make it bitter, you throw integrity to the ground.

8 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!

The One who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns the darkness into morning, and daytime into night, who calls for the water of the seas, and pours it down as rain upon the earth—the Lord is his name!

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

In a flash he cuts down the strong and destroys the fortresses.

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

You hate anyone who confronts injustice and loathe anyone who speaks honestly.

11 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.

Because you trample down the poor and impose a tax on their grain, building for yourselves impressive houses, you will not live in them, and you will not drink wine from the fine vineyards you have planted.

12 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!

For I know the extent of your wrongdoing and your numerous sins. You oppress good people by taking bribes, and you prevent the poor from getting justice in the courts.

13 Therefore the wise man shall be silent at that time, For it shall be an evil time.

So smart people keep quiet in such evil times.

14 Seek ye good, and not evil, that ye may live; Then shall Jehovah, the God of hosts, be with you, as ye boast.

Do what is right, and not evil, so you may live. Then the Lord God of power will be with you, as you claim he is.

15 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.

Hate evil and love good—and make sure justice wins out in your courts. Maybe the Lord God of power will have mercy on those who are left of Jacob's people.

16 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,

For this is what the Lord, the Lord God of power says: There will be weeping in the city squares and wailing in the streets. They will call even the farmers to grieve, as well as the professional mourners.

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

There will be wailing in every vineyard, for I will pass through the midst of you, says the Lord.

18 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.

How disastrous it will be for those of you who long for the day of the Lord. Why would you want the day of the Lord to come? It will bring darkness, not light.

19 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;

It will be like a man running away from a lion only to meet a bear; or a man who goes home and leans his hand on a wall, only to be bitten by a snake.

20 So shall the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light, Even thick darkness, and no brightness in it.

Isn't the day of the Lord darkness without light? Yes, pitch dark without a glimmer of light.

21 I hate, I despise your feasts; I have no delight in your solemn assemblies.

I hate, I despise your festivals and take no delight in your religious assemblies.

22 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.

Even though you present me with burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. As for your peace offerings of fattened cattle—I will not even look at them.

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

Stop your noisy worship songs. I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

24 Let justice flow forth as waters, And righteousness as a mighty stream!

Rather let justice flow like a river, and doing right like an ever-flowing stream.

25 Did ye offer me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness, for forty years, O house of Israel?

Did you bring me sacrifices during those forty years in the desert, people of Israel?

26 But ye bore the tabernacle of your king, And the shrine of your images, The star of your god, which ye made for yourselves.

But now you carry idols of Sakkuth your king and Kaiwan your star god that you made for yourselves.

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

So I will send you into exile in a land beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of power.