Amos 5 (Today's New International Version)

A Lament and Call to Repentance

1 Hear this word, house of Israel, this lament¹ I take up concerning you: 2 "Fallen is Virgin² Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.³" 3 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.⁴" 4 This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: "Seek⁵ me and live;⁶ 5 do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal,⁷ do not journey to Beersheba.⁸ For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.^a9" 6 Seek¹⁰ the LORD and live,¹¹ or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire;¹² it will devour them, and Bethel¹³ will have no one to quench it.¹⁴ 7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness¹⁵ and cast righteousness¹⁶ to the ground.¹⁷ 8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,¹⁸ who turns midnight into dawn¹⁹ and darkens day into night,²⁰ who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land-- the LORD is his name.²¹ 9 He flashes destruction on the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin.²² 10 There are those who hate the one who reproves in court²³ and detest the one who tells the truth.²⁴ 11 You levy a straw tax on the poor²⁵ and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,²⁶ you will not live in them;²⁷ though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.²⁸ 12 For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.²⁹ There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes³⁰ and deprive the poor³¹ of justice in the courts.³² 13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet³³ in such times, for the times are evil.³⁴ 14 Seek good, not evil, that you may live.³⁵ Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. 15 Hate evil,³⁶ love good;³⁷ maintain justice in the courts.³⁸ Perhaps³⁹ the LORD God Almighty will have mercy⁴⁰ on the remnant⁴¹ of Joseph. 16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: "There will be wailing⁴² in all the streets⁴³ and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers⁴⁴ will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail. 17 There will be wailing⁴⁵ in all the vineyards, for I will pass through⁴⁶ your midst," says the LORD.⁴⁷

The Day of the LORD

18 Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD!⁴⁸ Why do you long for the day of the LORD?⁴⁹ That day will be darkness,⁵⁰ not light.⁵¹ 19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear,⁵² as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.⁵³ 20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness,⁵⁴ not light-- pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?⁵⁵ 21 "I hate,⁵⁶ I despise your religious festivals;⁵⁷ I cannot stand your assemblies.⁵⁸ 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings⁵⁹ and grain offerings, I will not accept them.⁶⁰⁶¹ Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.⁶²⁶³ 23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.⁶⁴ 24 But let justice⁶⁵ roll on like a river, righteousness⁶⁶ like a never-failing stream!⁶⁷ 25 "Did you bring me sacrifices⁶⁸ and offerings forty years⁶⁹ in the wilderness, house of Israel? 26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols,⁷⁰ the star of your god^b-- which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore I will send you into exile⁷¹ beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.⁷²