Amos 5

1 Hear ye this word, which, I, am taking up concerning you—even a dirge, O house of Israel.

Hear ye this word of the Lord, even a lamentation, which I take up against you. The house of Israel is fallen; it shall no more rise.

2 She hath fallen—she cannot again rise, the virgin, Israel, —she lieth forsaken on her soil, there is none to raise her up.

The virgin of Israel has fallen upon his land; there is none that shall raise her up.

3 For, thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, The city that goeth out a thousand strong, shall have left it a hundred, —And, that which goeth out a hundred strong, shall have left it ten, belonging to the house of Israel.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; The city out of which there went forth a thousand, [in it] there shall be left a hundred, and [in that] out of which there went forth a hundred, there shall be left ten to the house of Israel.

4 For, thus, saith Yahweh, to the house of Israel, —Seek me, and live;

Wherefore thus saith the Lord to the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live.

5 Then do not seek Bethel, and, Gilgal, shall ye not enter, and, unto Beer-sheba, shall ye not cross over, For, Gilgal, shall, surely go into exile, and, Bethel, shall become a trouble.

But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgala, and cross not over to the Well of the Oath: for Galgala shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall be as that which is not.

6 Seek ye Yahweh, and live, —lest he break forth, like a fire, upon the house of Joseph, and it devour with none to quench it, for Bethel.

Seek ye the Lord, and ye shall live; lest the house of Joseph blaze as fire, and it devour him, and there shall be none to quench it for the house of Israel.

7 Ye who turn, into, wormwood, justice, and, righteousness—to the ground have let fall.

[It is he] that executes judgment in the height [above], and he has established justice on the earth:

8 [Seek him] who made the Cluster and the Giant, and turneth, into morning, the shadow of death, and who, day into night, doth darken, Him who calleth to the waters of the sea, and poureth them out on the face of the land, Yahweh, is his name:

who makes all things, and changes [them], and turns darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night: who calls for the water of the sea, and pours it out on the face of the earth: the Lord is his name:

9 Him who flasheth force on the strong, —and, force, on the fortress, alighteth!

who dispenses ruin to strength, and brings distress upon the fortress.

10 They hate the man who, in the gate, rebuketh, —and, him who speaketh truthfully, they abhor.

They hated him that reproved in the gates, and abhorred holy speech.

11 Therefore—because ye have trampled on the poor, and, the gift of corn, ye would take away from him, though, houses of hewn stone, ye have built, Yet shall ye not dwell in them, —Though, delightful vineyards, ye have planted, Yet shall ye not drink the wine of them.

Therefore because they have smitten the poor with their fists, and ye have received of them choice gifts; ye have built polished houses, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted desirable vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine of them.

12 For I know how numerous are your transgressions, and how surpassing your sins, —ye adversaries of the righteous! ye acceptors of a bribe! Even the needy in the gate, have they turned away!

For I know your many transgressions, and your sins are great, trampling on the just, taking bribes, and turning aside [the judgment of] the poor in the gates.

13 Therefore, the prudent man, at that time, will be dumb, —Because an evil time, it is!

Therefore the prudent shall be silent at that time; for it is a time of evils.

14 Seek ye right and not wrong, that ye nay live, —that, so, Yahweh God of hosts, may be with you, as ye have said.

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord God Almighty shall be with you, as ye have said,

15 Hate wrong, and love right, and station, Justice, in the gate, —Peradventure, Yahweh, God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

We have hated evil, and loved good: and restore ye judgment in the gates; that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore, thus, saith Yahweh, God of hosts, My Lord, In all broadways, shall be lamentation, and, in all streets, shall they say, Alas! Alas! And they shall call the husbandman unto the mourning, and, unto the lamentation, them who know a wailing song;

Therefore thus saith the Lord God Almighty; In all the streets [shall be] lamentations; and in all the ways shall it be said, Woe, woe! the husbandman shall be called to mourning and lamentation, and to them that are skilled in complaining.

17 Ye, in all vineyards, lamentation, —For I will pass along through thy midst, saith Yahweh.

And [there shall be] lamentation in all the ways; because I will pass through the midst of thee, saith the Lord.

18 Alas for them who are longing for the day of Yahweh, —What good to you, is the day of Yahweh? it, being darkness and not light:

Woe to you that desire the day of the Lord! what is this day of the Lord to you? whereas it is darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and there should meet him—a bear! or he should have entered the house, and leaned his hand upon the wall, and there should bite him—a serpent!

As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him; and he should spring into his house, and lean his hands upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.

20 Shall not the day of Yahweh be, darkness, and not light? yea, thick darkness and no brightness in it?

Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? and is not this [day] gloom without brightness?

21 I hate, I despise your festivals, —and can scent no fragrance in your solemn feasts.

I hate, I reject your feasts, and I will not smell [your] meat-offerings in your general assemblies.

22 Nay, though ye cause to ascend unto me ascending-sacrifices, and your meal-offerings, I will not accept [them], —nor, the peace-offering of your fat heifers, will I regard.

Wherefore if ye should bring me your whole-burnt-sacrifices and meat-offerings, I will not accept [them]: neither will I have respect to your grand peace-offerings.

23 Take thou away from me, the noise of thy songs, —Even the melody of thy harps, will I not hear.

Remove from me the sound of thy songs, and I will not hear the music of thine instruments.

24 But let, justice, roll along like water, —and, righteousness, as a torrent over flowing.

But let judgment roll down as water, and righteousness as an impassable torrent.

25 The sacrifices and meal-offering, ye brought near unto me, in the desert, for forty years O house of Israel;

Have ye offered to me victims and sacrifices, O house of Israel, forty years in the wilderness?

26 But ye carried the tent of your king-idol, and your Saturn-images, —the star of your gods, which ye made for yourselves:

Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Raephan, the images of them which ye made for yourselves.

27 Therefore will I carry you into exile beyond Damascus, —saith Yahweh, God of hosts, is his name.

And I will carry you away beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, the Almighty God is his name.