Amos 5

1 Hear this word that I take up as a lament over you, house of Israel.

Give ear to this word, my song of sorrow over you, O children of Israel.

2 The virgin Israel has fallen; she will rise no more; she is forsaken on her land; there is no one to raise her up.

The virgin of Israel has been made low, never again to be lifted up: she is stretched out by herself on her land; there is no one to put her on her feet again.

3 For this is what the Lord Yahweh says: “The city that went out with a thousand will have a hundred left, and the one that went out with a hundred will have ten left belonging to the house of Israel.”

For these are the words of the Lord God: The town which was able to send out a thousand, will have only a hundred; and that which sent out a hundred, will have only ten, in Israel.

4 For this is what Yahweh says to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live!

For these are the words of the Lord to the children of Israel: Let your hearts be turned to me, so that you may have life:

5 Do not seek Bethel; nor enter Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into captivity, and Bethel will become nothing.

Do not be looking for help to Beth-el, and do not go to Gilgal, or make your way to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal will certainly be taken prisoner, and Beth-el will come to nothing.

6 Seek Yahweh and live, or he will break out like fire in the house of Joseph. It will devour, and there will be no one to quench it in Bethel.

Go to the Lord for help so that you may have life; for fear that he may come like fire bursting out in the family of Joseph, causing destruction, and there will be no one to put it out in Beth-el.

7 Those people turn justice into a bitter thing and throw righteousness down to the ground!”

You who make the work of judging a bitter thing, crushing down righteousness to the earth;

8 God made the Pleiades and Orion; he turns darkness into the morning; he makes the day dark with night and calls for the waters of the sea; he pours them out on the surface of the earth. Yahweh is his name!

Go for help to him who makes Orion and the Pleiades, by whom the deep dark is turned into morning, who makes the day black with night; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, sending them out over the face of the earth: the Lord is his name;

9 He brings sudden destruction on the strong so that destruction comes on the fortresses.

Who sends sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the walled town.

10 They hate anyone who corrects them in the city gate, and they abhor anyone who speaks the truth.

They have hate for him who makes protest against evil in the public place, and he whose words are upright is disgusting to them.

11 Because you trample down the poor and take portions of wheat from him— although you have built houses of worked stone, you will not live in them. You have delightful vineyards, but you will not drink their wine.

So because the poor man is crushed under your feet, and you take taxes from him of grain: you have made for yourselves houses of cut stone, but you will not take your rest in them; the fair vine-gardens planted by your hands will not give you wine.

12 For I know how many are your offenses and how great are your sins— you who afflict the just, take bribes, and turn aside the needy in the city gate.

For I have seen how your evil-doing is increased and how strong are your sins, you troublers of the upright, who take rewards and do wrong to the cause of the poor in the public place.

13 Therefore any prudent person is silent at such a time, for it is an evil time.

So the wise will say nothing in that time; for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. So Yahweh, the God of hosts, will really be with you, as you say he is.

Go after good and not evil, so that life may be yours: and so the Lord, the God of armies, will be with you, as you say.

15 Hate evil, love good, establish justice in the city gate. Perhaps Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Be haters of evil and lovers of good, and let right be done in the public place: it may be that the Lord, the God of armies, will have mercy on the rest of Joseph.

16 Therefore, this is what Yahweh says, the God of hosts, the Lord, “Wailing will be in all the squares, and they will say in all the streets, 'Woe! Woe!' They will call the farmers to mourning and the mourners to wail.

So these are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the Lord: There will be weeping in all the open spaces; and in all the streets they will say, Sorrow! sorrow! and they will get in the farmer to the weeping, and the makers of sad songs to give cries of grief.

17 In all vineyards there will be wailing, for I will pass through your midst,” says Yahweh.

In all the vine-gardens there will be cries of grief: for I will go through among you, says the Lord.

18 Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It will be darkness and not light,

Sorrow to you who are looking for the day of the Lord! what is the day of the Lord to you? it is dark and not light.

19 as when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or he goes in a house and puts his hand on the wall and a snake bites him.

As if a man, running away from a lion, came face to face with a bear; or went into the house and put his hand on the wall and got a bite from a snake.

20 Will not the day of Yahweh be darkness and not light? Gloom and no brightness?

Will not the day of the Lord be dark and not light? even very dark, with no light shining in it?

21 “I hate, I despise your festivals, I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

Your feasts are disgusting to me, I will have nothing to do with them; I will take no delight in your holy meetings.

22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them, neither will I look at the fellowship offerings of your fattened animals.

Even if you give me your burned offerings and your meal offerings, I will not take pleasure in them: I will have nothing to do with the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.

23 Remove from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the sound of your harps.

Take away from me the noise of your songs; my ears are shut to the melody of your instruments.

24 Instead, let justice flow like water, and righteousness like a constantly flowing stream.

But let the right go rolling on like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel?

Did you come to me with offerings of beasts and meal offerings in the waste land for forty years, O Israel?

26 You have lifted up the images of Sikkuth, your king, and Kaiwan, your star god, which you made for yourselves.

Truly, you will take up Saccuth your king and Kaiwan your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.

27 Therefore I will exile you beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of hosts.

And I will send you away as prisoners farther than Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of armies.