Amos 5

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

Listen to the words of the funeral song I am singing for you, Israel:

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

Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel! Hurled down upon her own soil she lies, with no one to lift 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 the Lord God says this: The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers has only a hundred left, and the one that marches out with a hundred has only ten left.

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

For the Lord says this to Israel: Seek me and 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 do not seek Bethel, do not enter Gilgal, do not go over to Beer-sheba. For Gilgal will enter exile, and Bethel will go to destruction.

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 live, or he will cast fire on the house of Joseph, and it will devour and there will be no one to quench it for Bethel.

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

You who turn judgment to bitter wormwood, and cast righteousness into the dirt:

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;

He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns deep darkness into dawn, who darkens day again into night, who summons the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the earth’s surface, the Lord is his name!

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

He causes destruction to burst over the strong. He brings devastation on the fortress.

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

You who hate the arbiters at the city gate, and abhor anyone who speaks the truth:

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 on the weak, and tax their grain, although you have built houses of hewn stone, you will not live in them, although you have planted charming vineyards, you will not drink their wine.

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 how many are your crimes, and how great are your sins! You persecutors of the righteous, takers of bribes! You deny the poor their justice at the city gate.

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

It would be wise to keep quiet in such 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 you may live, so the Lord, God of hosts, may be with you, as you have claimed 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, establish justice at the city gate. Perhaps the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to a surviving 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, says: In all the public squares there will be wailing, in every street the sound of mourning. They will summon the farmers to mourning, and professional mourners to wailing.

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

In all vineyards there will be lamenting, when I pass through your midst, 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,

Fools who long for the day of the Lord! What does the day of the Lord mean to you? It 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.

It is as when one flees from a lion, and is attacked by a bear, as when one reaches home, leans his hand on the wall, and a snake bites him.

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

Won’t the Lord’s day be darkness and not light, murky darkness without a ray of light in it?

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

I hate, I despise your feasts, I will not smell the savour of your festivals,

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.

I will not be pleased with your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, I will not accept the peace offerings of your fattened calves.

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

Spare me the noise of your songs, I will not listen to the melody of your lyres.

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

But let justice roll on as a flood of waters, and righteousness like an unfailing stream.

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

Was it only sacrifices and grain offerings you brought me during the forty years in the wilderness, 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 will lift up your “king” Sikkuth and “star god” Kiyyun, your idols which you have made for yourselves,

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

as I drive you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.