Amos 5

A Lament and Call to Repentance

Hear this word, house of Israel, this lament^a I take up concerning you:

“Fallen is Virgin^b Israel,

never to rise again,

deserted in her own land,

with no one to lift her up.^c”

This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the house of Israel:

“Your city that marches out a thousand strong

will have only a hundred left;

your town that marches out a hundred strong

will have only ten left.^d”

This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel:

“Seek^e me and live;^f

do not seek Bethel,

do not go to Gilgal,^g

do not journey to Beersheba.^h

For Gilgal will surely go into exile,

and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.ⁱ”

Seek^j the Lord and live,^k

or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire;^l

it will devour them,

and Bethel^m will have no one to quench it.ⁿ

There are those who turn justice into bitterness^o

and cast righteousness^p to the ground.^q

He who made the Pleiades and Orion,^r

who turns midnight into dawn^s

and darkens day into night,^t

who calls for the waters of the sea

and pours them out over the face of the land—

the Lord is his name.^u

He flashes destruction on the stronghold

and brings the fortified city to ruin.^v

There are those who hate the one who reproves in court^w

and detest the one who tells the truth.^x

You levy a straw tax on the poor^y

and impose a tax on their grain.

Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,^z

you will not live in them;^a

though you have planted lush vineyards,

you will not drink their wine.^b

For I know how many are your offenses

and how great your sins.^c

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes^d

and deprive the poor^e of justice in the courts.^f

Therefore the prudent keep quiet^g in such times,

for the times are evil.^h

Seek good, not evil,

that you may live.ⁱ

Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,

just as you say he is.

Hate evil,^j love good;^k

maintain justice in the courts.^l

Perhaps^m the Lord God Almighty will have mercyⁿ

on the remnant^o of Joseph.

Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing^p in all the streets^q

and cries of anguish in every public square.

The farmers^r will be summoned to weep

and the mourners to wail.

There will be wailing^s in all the vineyards,

for I will pass through^t your midst,”

says the Lord.^u

The Day of the Lord

Woe to you who long

for the day of the Lord!^a

Why do you long for the day of the Lord?^b

That day will be darkness,^c not light.^d

It will be as though a man fled from a lion

only to meet a bear,^e

as though he entered his house

and rested his hand on the wall

only to have a snake bite him.^f

Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,^g not light—

pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?^h

“I hate,ⁱ I despise your religious festivals;^j

I cannot stand your assemblies.^k

Even though you bring me burnt offerings^l and grain offerings,

I will not accept them.^mn

Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,

I will have no regard for them.^op

Away with the noise of your songs!

I will not listen to the music of your harps.^q

But let justice^r roll on like a river,

righteousness^s like a never-failing stream!^t

“Did you bring me sacrifices^u and offerings

forty years^v in the wilderness, house of Israel?

You have lifted up the shrine of your king,

the pedestal of your idols,^w

the star of your god—

which you made for yourselves.

Therefore I will send you into exile^x beyond Damascus,”

says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.^y