Amos 5New King James Version
A Lament for Israel
5 Hear this word which I(A)take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There isno one to raise her up.
3 For thus says the LordGod:
“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
A Call to Repentance
4 For thus says theLordto the house of Israel:
(B)“Seek Me(C)and live;
5 But do not seek(D)Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to(E)Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And(F)Bethel shall come to nothing.
6 (G)Seek theLordand live,
Lest He break out like fireinthe house of Joseph,
And devourit,
With no one to quenchitin Bethel—
7 You who(H)turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8 He made the(I)Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
(J)And makes the day dark as night;
He(K)calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
(L)TheLordisHis name.
9 He[a]rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10 (M)They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they(N)abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11 (O)Therefore, because you[b]tread down the poor
And take grain[c]taxes from him,
Though(P)you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted[d]pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.
12 For I(Q)know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
(R)Afflicting the justandtaking bribes;
(S)Diverting the poorfrom justiceat the gate.
13 Therefore(T)the prudent keep silent at that time,
For itisan evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So theLordGod of hosts will be with you,
(U)As you have spoken.
15 (V)Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
(W)It may be that theLordGod of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
The Day of theLord
16 Therefore theLordGod of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“There shall bewailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
(X)And skillful lamenters to wailing.
17 In all vineyardsthere shall bewailing,
For(Y)I will pass through you,”
Says theLord.
18 (Z)Woe to you who desire the day of theLord!
For what goodis(AA)the day of theLordto you?
Itwill bedarkness, and not light.
19 Itwill be(AB)as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Oras thoughhe went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
20 Isnot the day of theLorddarkness, and not light?
Is it notvery dark, with no brightness in it?
21 “I(AC)hate, I despise your feast days,
And(AD)I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
22 (AE)Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not acceptthem,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
24 (AF)But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
25 “Did(AG)you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 You also carried[e]Sikkuth[f](AH)your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into captivity(AI)beyond Damascus,”
Says theLord,(AJ)whose nameisthe God of hosts.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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