Amos 5:10–24
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in courtd
and detest the one who tells the truth.e
11 You levy a straw tax on the poorf
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,g
you will not live in them;h
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.i
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.j
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribesk
and deprive the poorl of justice in the courts.m
13 Therefore the prudent keep quietn in such times,
for the times are evil.o
that you may live.p
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
maintain justice in the courts.s
Perhapst the Lord God Almighty will have mercyu
on the remnantv of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailingw in all the streetsx
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmersy will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailingz in all the vineyards,
for I will pass througha your midst,”
says the Lord.b
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!c
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?d
That day will be darkness,e not light.f
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,g
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.h
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,i not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?j
21 “I hate,k I despise your religious festivals;l
your assembliesm are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offeringsn and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.o
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.p
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.q
24 But let justicer roll on like a river,