Amos 5

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

Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house 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.

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

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 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.”

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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—

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

You who are turning judgment to wormwood, And have put 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!

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;

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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 known—many [are] your transgressions, And mighty your sins, Adversaries of the righteous, taking ransoms, And you turned aside the needy in the gate.

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

Therefore the wise is silent at 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.

Seek good, and not evil, that you may live, and it is so; YHWH, God of Hosts, [is] with you, as you said.

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.

Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be YHWH, God of Hosts, pities the remnant 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.

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.

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

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

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,

Behold, you who are desiring the Day of YHWH, Why [is] this to you—the Day of YHWH? It is darkness, 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 [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.

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

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

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

“I have hated—I have loathed your festivals, And I am not refreshed by your restraints.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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