Amos 5

¹ Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel: ² The virgin of Israel is fallen, She shall no more rise; She is cast down upon her land, There is none to raise her up. ³ For thus saith the Lord GOD: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, of the house of Israel. ⁴ For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live; ⁵ 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 the LORD, and live Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And it devour, and there be none to quench it in Bethel ⁷ Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, And cast righteousness to the ground; ⁸ Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, And bringeth on the shadow of death in the morning, And darkeneth the day into 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 That causeth destruction to flash upon the strong, So that destruction cometh upon the fortress. ¹⁰ They hate him that reproveth in the gate, And they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. ¹¹ Therefore, because ye trample upon the poor, And take from him exactions 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 thereof. ¹² For I know how manifold are your transgressions, And how mighty are your sins; Ye that afflict the just, that take a ransom, And that turn aside the needy in the gate. ¹³ Therefore the prudent doth keep silence in such a time; For it is an evil time. ¹⁴ Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; And so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say. ¹⁵ Hate the evil, and love the good, And establish justice in the gate; It may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, Will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. ¹⁶ Therefore thus saith the LORD, The God of hosts, the Lord: Lamentation shall be in all the broad places, And they shall say in all the streets: "Alas! alas! " And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, And proclaim lamentation to such as are skilful of wailing. ¹⁷ And in all vineyards shall be lamentation; For I will pass through the midst of thee, Saith the LORD. ¹⁸ Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! Wherefore would ye have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light. ¹⁹ As if a man did flee from a lion, And a bear met him; And went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him. ²⁰ Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it? ²¹ I hate, I despise your feasts, And I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. ²² Yea, though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meal-offerings, I will not accept them; Neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. ²³ Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; And let Me not hear the melody of thy psalteries. ²⁴ But let justice well up as waters, And righteousness as a mighty stream. ²⁵ Did ye bring unto Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? ²⁶ So shall ye take up Siccuth your king and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. ²⁷ Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith He, whose name is the LORD God of hosts.