Amos 5

1Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

2The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

3For 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.

4For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

5But 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.

6Seek 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.

7Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

8Seek 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:

9That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.footnote a

10They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

11Forasmuch 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.footnote b

12For 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.footnote c

13Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

14Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

15Hate 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.

16Therefore 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.

17And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

18Woe 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.

19As 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.

20Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

21I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.footnote d

22Though 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.footnote e

23Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

24But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.footnote f

25Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.footnote g

27Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

A Lamentation against Israel

1Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you:

2“Fallen is Virgin Israel,never to rise again.She lies abandoned on her land,with no one to raise her up.”

3This is what the Lord GOD says:“The city that marches out a thousand strongwill have but a hundred left,and the one that marches out a hundred strongwill have but ten left in the house of Israel.”

A Call to Repentance

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

5Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal;do not journey to Beersheba,for Gilgal will surely go into exile,and Bethel will come to nothing.footnote a 6Seek the LORD and live,or He will sweep like fire through the house of Joseph;it will devour everything,with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.

7There are those who turn justice into wormwoodand cast righteousness to the ground.

8He who made the Pleiades and Orion,who turns darkness into dawnand darkens day into night,who summons the waters of the seaand pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD is His name— 9He flashes destruction on the strong,so that fury comes upon the stronghold.

10There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gateand despise him who speaks with integrity. 11Therefore, because you trample on the poorand exact from him a tax of grain,you will never livein the stone houses you have built;you will never drink the winefrom the lush vineyards you have planted.

12For I know that your transgressions are manyand your sins are numerous.You oppress the righteous by taking bribes;you deprive the poor of justice in the gate. 13Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times,for the days are evil.

14Seek good, not evil,so that you may live.And the LORD, the God of Hosts,will be with you, as you have claimed. 15Hate evil and love good;establish justice in the gate.Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts,will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

Woe to Rebellious Israel

16Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says:“There will be wailing in all the public squaresand cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets.The farmer will be summoned to mourn,and the mourners to wail. 17There will be wailing in all the vineyards,for I will pass through your midst,”says the LORD. 18Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD!What will the Day of the LORD be for you?It will be darkness and not light. 19It will be like a man who flees from a lion,only to encounter a bear,or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall,only to be bitten by a snake. 20Will not the Day of the LORDbe darkness and not light,even gloom with no brightness in it?

21“I hate, I despise your feasts!I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. 22Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings,I will not accept them;for your peace offerings of fattened cattleI will have no regard. 23Take away from Me the noise of your songs!I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24But let justice roll on like a river,and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25Did you bring Me sacrifices and offeringsforty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26You have taken along Sakkuth your kingand Kaiwan your star god,footnote bthe idols you made for yourselves. 27Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,”footnote csays the LORD, whose name is the God of Hosts.