Amos 5:1-27
5 Listen to this word that I am striking up about you, a dirge, house of Israel:
2 Maid Israel is down,shall rise no more,Is flung down on her own ground,has nobody to help her up.
3 For the Lord Jehovah says, The house of Israel shall have the city that went out a thousand left with a hundred and the city that went out a hundred left with ten.
4 For the Lord Jehovah says to the house of Israel, Resort to me and live,
5 * and do not resort to Bethel; nor are you to go into the Gilgal nor pass Beer-Shebaʽ. For the Gilgal shall depart deported and Beth-El shall become Aven.
6 * Resort to Jehovah and live, for fear he should strike in with fire in the house of Joseph and Bethel have nobody to quench it,
7 * those who turn the law to wormwood and leave right lying on the ground:
8 * him who makes the Pleiades and Orion, and turns gloom to morning and darkens day to night, him who calls the waves of the sea and pours them on the land—his name is Jehovah;
9 * him who launches wreck upon a mighty one, and rapine comes upon a fortress.
10 They hate in the gate a corrector, and detest an honest talker.
11 So, since you trample on a needy man and take from him exactions of grain, you have built houses of dressed stone but you shall not live in them, you have planted fancy vineyards but you shall not drink the wine from them;
12 for I know your crimes are many and your sins profuse—people that assail a man who has right on his side, that take composition-money, and put poor men out of court.
13 So the canny man in that time will be quiet, because it is a bad time.
14 Make good and not evil your object, in order that you may live and so Jehovah the God of Armies be with you as you say.
15 Hate evil and love good and plant justice in the gate: perhaps Jehovah the God of Armies will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16 * So Jehovah the God of Armies, the Lord, says, In all squares shall be wailing and in all streets they shall say “Alack, clack!” and issue a call of mourning to the farmer and wailing to experts in lamentation,
17 and in all vineyards shall be wailing, because I will go through your midst, says Jehovah.
18 Ha, you who hanker after Jehovah’s day! what do you want of Jehovah’s day? it is darkness and not light;
19 as a man runs away from a lion and encounters a bear, and goes into a house and rests his hand on the wall and a snake bites him.
20 Is not Jehovah’s day darkness and not light? murky and not radiant?
21 I hate, I reject your feasts, and will not smell your holiday scents.
22 * For if you offer me burnt-offerings, I will not accept your offerings, nor will I look at your welfare-sacrifice of stall-fed calves.
23 Get your uproar of songs out of my way; your harp-music I do not listen to;
24 but let justice roll like water, and right like a perennial brook.
25 Did you bring on to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel?
26 ** but you carried your King’s pavilion and your God’s housing.
27 But I will deport you beyond Damascus, says Jehovah, whose name is God of Armies.
Footnotes
^ 5:5 Beth-Aven is a place close to Bethel; Aven means trouble
^ 5:6 Codd. like fire Susp.
^ 5:7 Conj. that this verse belongs after verse 9
^ 5:8 Or Sirius and Orion
^ 5:9 Lit. (unc.) cheers wreck upon
^ 5:16 Susp.; codd. call a farmer to mourning, and wailing to experts
^ 5:22 Or if you offer me your burnt-offerings and your grain-offerings, I will not accept them or if you offer me your burnt-and-grain offerings I will not accept them
^ 5:26 Unc.; susp.
^ 5:26 Codd. and the housing of your images, your god’s star that you made for yourselves Var. your god’s star Caivan, their images that you made for yourselves
