Amos 5

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

Hear ye this word which I take up against you, [even] a lamentation, O house of Israel.

2 'Fallen, not again to rise, hath the virgin of Israel, Left on her land — she hath no raiser up.'

The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; [there is] none to raise 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.

For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

4 For thus said Jehovah to the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live,

For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall 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.

But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought.

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.

Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and [there be] none to quench [it] in Beth-el.

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

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

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;

[Seek him] that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name:

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

That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

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

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

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.

Forasmuch therefore as your treading [is] upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

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 your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate [from their right].

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

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time.

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

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

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 the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

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.

Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing [shall be] in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

17 And in all vineyards [is] lamentation, For I pass into thy midst, said Jehovah.

And in all vineyards [shall be] wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith 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,

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and 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.

As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

20 Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, Even thick darkness that hath no brightness?

[Shall] not the day of the LORD [be] darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

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

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn 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.

Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept [them: ] neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

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

Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

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

But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

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

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

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

But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

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

Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name [is] The God of hosts.