Amos 5

1 Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:

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

2 'Fallen, not again to rise, hath the virgin of Israel, Left on her land — she hath no raiser 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 said the Lord Jehovah: The city that is going out a thousand, Doth leave an hundred, And that which is going out an hundred, Doth leave ten 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 said Jehovah to the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live,

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

5 And seek not Beth-El, and Gilgal enter not, And Beer-Sheba pass not through, For Gilgal doth utterly remove, And Beth-El doth become vanity.

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 ye Jehovah, and live, Lest He prosper as fire [against] the house of Joseph, And it hath consumed, And there is no quencher for Beth-El.

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 are turning to wormwood judgment, And righteousness to the earth have put down,

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

8 The maker of Kimah and Kesil, And the turner to morning of death-shade, And day [as] night He hath made dark, Who is calling to the waters of the sea, And poureth them on 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 is brightening up the spoiled against the strong, And the spoiled against a fortress cometh.

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

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

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

11 Therefore, because of your trampling on the poor, And the tribute of corn ye take from him, Houses of hewn work ye have built, And ye do not dwell in them, Desirable vineyards ye have planted, And ye do 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 have known — many [are] your transgressions, And mighty your sins, Adversaries of the righteous, taking ransoms, And the needy in the gate ye turned aside.

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 is the wise at that time silent, For an evil time it [is].

So smart people keep quiet in such evil times.

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

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 evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be Jehovah, God of Hosts, doth pity 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 Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, the Lord, In all broad places [is] lamentation, And in all out-places they say, 'Alas, alas,' And called the husbandman to mourning, And to lamentation the skilful of 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 [is] lamentation, For I pass into thy midst, said Jehovah.

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

18 Ho, ye who are desiring the day of Jehovah, Why [is] this to you — the day of Jehovah? It is 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 [when] one fleeth from the face of the lion, And the bear hath met him, And he hath come in to the house, And hath leant his hand on the wall, And the serpent hath bitten 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 Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that hath no brightness?

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

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

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

22 For though ye cause burnt-offerings and your presents to ascend to Me, I am not pleased, And the peace-offering of your fatlings I behold not.

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 Turn aside from Me the noise of thy songs, Yea, the praise of thy psaltery I hear not.

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

24 And roll on as waters doth judgment, And righteousness as a perennial stream.

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

25 Sacrifices and offering did ye bring nigh to Me, In a wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

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

26 And ye bare Succoth your king, and Chiun your images, The star of your god, that ye made for yourselves.

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

27 And I removed you beyond Damascus, Said Jehovah, God of Hosts [is] His name.

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