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 which I take up against you, as a lamentation, O house of Israel.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

For thus hath said the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye for 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 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.

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 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;

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

Ye who change justice into wormwood, and cast down righteousness to 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:

[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;

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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

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 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.

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

Behold the day of the Lord is [one of] darkness, and not of light; yea, it is obscure, and hath no brightness.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and meat-offerings in the wilderness [during] forty years, O house of Israel?

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

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.

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

And I will cause you to go into exile far beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, The God of hosts is his name.