Amos 5:1-9

1 Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

2 "The virgin of Israel has fallen; She shall rise no more. She is cast down on her land; There is no one to raise her up."

3 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, And that which went forth one hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel."

4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel: "Seek me, and you will live;

5 But don't seek Bethel, Nor enter into Gilgal, And don't pass to Beersheba: For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.

6 Seek Yahweh, and you will live; Lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.

7 You who turn justice to wormwood, And cast down righteousness to the earth:

8 Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, And turns the shadow of death into the morning, And makes the day dark with night; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,

9 Who brings sudden destruction on the strong, So that destruction comes on the fortress.

Amos 5:1-9 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.