Amos 5:1-17

``Seek Me that You May Live"

1 Hear this word which I take up for you as a ¹dirge, O house of Israel:

2 She has fallen, she will ²not rise again - The ³virgin Israel. She lies neglected on her land; There is ⁴none to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord GOD, "The city which goes forth a thousand strong Will have a ⁵hundred left, And the one which goes forth a hundred strong Will have ⁶ten left to the house of Israel."

4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, "⁷Seek Me ⁸that you may live.

5 "But do not resort to ⁹Bethel And do not come to ¹⁰Gilgal, Nor cross over to ¹¹Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble.

6 "¹²Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a ¹³fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,

7 For those who turn ¹⁴justice into wormwood And cast righteousness down to the earth."

8 He who made the ¹⁵Pleiades and Orion And ¹⁶changes deep darkness into morning, Who also ¹⁷darkens day into night, Who ¹⁸calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The ¹⁹LORD is His name.

9 It is He who ²⁰flashes forth with destruction upon the strong, So that ²¹destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who ²²reproves in the gate, And they ²³abhor him who speaks with integrity.

11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built ²⁴houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will ²⁵not drink their wine.

12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, You who ²⁶distress the righteous and accept bribes And turn aside the poor in the gate.

13 Therefore at such a time the prudent person ²⁷keeps silent, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, ²⁸Just as you have said!

15 ²⁹Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts ³⁰May be gracious to the ³¹remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, "There is ³²wailing in all the plazas, And in all the streets they say, 'Alas! Alas!' They also call the ³³farmer to mourning And ³⁴professional mourners to lamentation.

17 "And in all the ³⁵vineyards there is wailing, Because I will pass through the midst of you," says the LORD.

Amos 5:1-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 5

In this chapter the prophet exhorts Israel to hear his lamentation over them for their impending ruin, Am 5:1-3; nevertheless to seek the Lord, and all that is good; to forsake their idols, and repent of their sins, in hopes of finding mercy, and living comfortably; or otherwise they must expect the wrath of God for their iniquities, especially their oppression of the poor, Am 5:4-15; otherwise it would be a time of weeping and wailing, of darkness and distress, however they might harden or flatter themselves, or make a jest of it, Am 5:16-20; for all their sacrifices and ceremonial worship would signify nothing, so long as they continued their idolatry with them Am 5:21-26; and therefore should surely go into captivity, Am 5:27.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 7:29; Jeremiah 9:10, 17; Ezekiel 19:1
• 2. Amos 8:14
• 3. Jeremiah 14:17
• 4. Isaiah 51:18; Jeremiah 50:32
• 5. Isaiah 6:13
• 6. Amos 6:9
• 7. Deuteronomy 4:29; Deuteronomy 32:46, 47; Jeremiah 29:13
• 8. Isaiah 55:3
• 9. 1 Kings 12:28, 29; Amos 3:14; Amos 4:4; Amos 7:10, 13
• 10. 1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 11:14
• 11. Genesis 21:31-33; Amos 8:14
• 12. Is 55:3, 6, 7; Amos 5:14
• 13. Deuteronomy 4:24
• 14. Amos 2:3; Amos 5:12; Amos 6:12
• 15. Job 9:9; Job 38:31
• 16. Job 12:22; Job 38:12; Isaiah 42:16
• 17. Psalms 104:20
• 18. Psalms 104:6-9; Amos 9:6
• 19. Amos 4:13
• 20. Isaiah 29:5; Amos 2:14
• 21. Micah 5:11
• 22. Isaiah 29:21; Amos 5:15
• 23. 1 Kings 22:8; Isaiah 59:15; Jeremiah 17:16-18
• 24. Amos 3:15; Amos 6:11
• 25. Micah 6:15
• 26. Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:23; Amos 2:6
• 27. Ecclesiastes 3:7; Hosea 4:4
• 28. Micah 3:11
• 29. Psalms 97:10; Romans 12:9
• 30. Joel 2:14
• 31. Mic 5:3, 7, 8
• 32. Jer 9:10, 18-20; Amos 8:3
• 33. Joel 1:11
• 34. 2 Chronicles 35:25; Jeremiah 9:17
• 35. Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 48:33

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
• [b]. Lit "seek"
• [c]. Or "become iniquity"
• [d]. Or in "the house"
• [e]. Lit "they have put down"
• [f]. Lit "And He darkened"
• [g]. I.e. the place where court was held
• [h]. Another reading is "trample upon"
• [i]. Lit "they turn"
• [j]. I.e. the place where court was held
• [k]. Lit "that time"
• [l]. I.e. the place where court was held
• [m]. Lit "those who know lamentation"