Amos 5-6

New International Version

A Lament and Call to Repentance

5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament^(A) I take up concerning you:

²“Fallen is Virgin^(B) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.^(C)”

³This is what the Sovereign Lord says to 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.^(D)”

⁴This is what the Lord says to Israel:

“Seek^(E) me and live;^(F)
⁵    do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,^(G)
    do not journey to Beersheba.^(H)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
    and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.^[a]^(I)”
⁶Seek^(J) the Lord and live,^(K)
    or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;^(L)
it will devour them,
    and Bethel^(M) will have no one to quench it.^(N)

⁷There are those who turn justice into bitterness^(O)
and cast righteousness^(P) to the ground.^(Q)

⁸He who made the Pleiades and Orion,^(R)
    who turns midnight into dawn^(S)
    and darkens day into night,^(T)
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.^(U)
⁹With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
    and brings the fortified city to ruin.^(V)

¹⁰There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court^(W)
and detest the one who tells the truth.^(X)

¹¹You levy a straw tax on the poor^(Y)
    and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,^(Z)
    you will not live in them;^(AA)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
    you will not drink their wine.^(AB)
¹²For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.^(AC)

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes^(AD)
and deprive the poor^(AE) of justice in the courts.^(AF)
¹³Therefore the prudent keep quiet^(AG) in such times,
for the times are evil.^(AH)

¹⁴Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.^(AI)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
¹⁵Hate evil,^(AJ) love good;^(AK)
    maintain justice in the courts.^(AL)
Perhaps^(AM) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy^(AN)
    on the remnant^(AO) of Joseph.

¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing^(AP) in all the streets^(AQ)
    and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers^(AR) will be summoned to weep
    and the mourners to wail.
¹⁷There will be wailing^(AS) in all the vineyards,
    for I will pass through^(AT) your midst,”
says the Lord.^(AU)

The Day of the Lord

¹⁸Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!^(AV)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?^(AW)
    That day will be darkness,^(AX) not light.^(AY)
¹⁹It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,^(AZ)
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.^(BA)
²⁰Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,^(BB) not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?^(BC)

²¹“I hate,^(BD) I despise your religious festivals;^(BE)
    your assemblies^(BF) are a stench to me.
²²Even though you bring me burnt offerings^(BG) and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.^(BH)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.^(BI)
²³Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.^(BJ)
²⁴But let justice^(BK) roll on like a river,
    righteousness^(BL) like a never-failing stream!^(BM)

²⁵“Did you bring me sacrifices^(BN) and offerings
    forty years^(BO) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
²⁶You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
    the pedestal of your idols,^(BP)
    the star of your god^[b]—
    which you made for yourselves.
²⁷Therefore I will send you into exile^(BQ) beyond Damascus,”
    says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.^(BR)

Woe to the Complacent

6 Woe to you^(BS) who are complacent^(BT) in Zion,
    and to you who feel secure^(BU) on Mount Samaria,^(BV)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
    to whom the people of Israel come!^(BW)
²Go to Kalneh^(BX) and look at it;
    go from there to great Hamath,^(BY)
    and then go down to Gath^(BZ) in Philistia.
Are they better off than^(CA) your two kingdoms?
    Is their land larger than yours?
³You put off the day of disaster
    and bring near a reign of terror.^(CB)
⁴You lie on beds adorned with ivory
    and lounge on your couches.^(CC)
You dine on choice lambs
    and fattened calves.^(CD)
⁵You strum away on your harps^(CE) like David
    and improvise on musical instruments.^(CF)
⁶You drink wine^(CG) by the bowlful
    and use the finest lotions,
    but you do not grieve^(CH) over the ruin of Joseph.^(CI)
⁷Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;^(CJ)
    your feasting and lounging will end.^(CK)

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

⁸The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself^(CL)—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor^(CM) the pride of Jacob^(CN)
and detest his fortresses;^(CO)
I will deliver up^(CP) the city
and everything in it.^(CQ)”

⁹If ten^(CR) people are left in one house, they too will die. ¹⁰And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them^[c]^(CS) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!^(CT) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

¹¹For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash^(CU) the great house^(CV) into pieces
and the small house into bits.^(CW)

¹²Do horses run on the rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea^[d] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison^(CX)
    and the fruit of righteousness^(CY) into bitterness^(CZ)—
¹³you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar^[e]
    and say, “Did we not take Karnaim^[f] by our own strength?^(DA)”

¹⁴For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation^(DB) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath^(DC) to the valley of the Arabah.^(DD)”

Footnotes

Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
Amos 5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols
Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.

Psalm 104

New International Version

Psalm 104

¹Praise the Lord, my soul.^(A)

Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.^(B)

²The Lord wraps^(C) himself in light^(D) as with a garment;
    he stretches^(E) out the heavens^(F) like a tent^(G)
³    and lays the beams^(H) of his upper chambers on their waters.^(I)
He makes the clouds^(J) his chariot^(K)
    and rides on the wings of the wind.^(L)
⁴He makes winds his messengers,^[a]^(M)
    flames of fire^(N) his servants.

⁵He set the earth^(O) on its foundations;^(P)
    it can never be moved.
⁶You covered it^(Q) with the watery depths^(R) as with a garment;
    the waters stood^(S) above the mountains.
⁷But at your rebuke^(T) the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder^(U) they took to flight;
⁸they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned^(V) for them.
⁹You set a boundary^(W) they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

¹⁰He makes springs^(X) pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
¹¹They give water^(Y) to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys^(Z) quench their thirst.
¹²The birds of the sky^(AA) nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.^(AB)
¹³He waters the mountains^(AC) from his upper chambers;^(AD)
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.^(AE)
¹⁴He makes grass grow^(AF) for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food^(AG) from the earth:
¹⁵wine^(AH) that gladdens human hearts,
    oil^(AI) to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains^(AJ) their hearts.
¹⁶The trees of the Lord^(AK) are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon^(AL) that he planted.
¹⁷There the birds^(AM) make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
¹⁸The high mountains belong to the wild goats;^(AN)
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.^(AO)

¹⁹He made the moon to mark the seasons,^(AP)
    and the sun^(AQ) knows when to go down.
²⁰You bring darkness,^(AR) it becomes night,^(AS)
    and all the beasts of the forest^(AT) prowl.
²¹The lions roar for their prey^(AU)
    and seek their food from God.^(AV)
²²The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.^(AW)
²³Then people go out to their work,^(AX)
    to their labor until evening.^(AY)

²⁴How many are your works,^(AZ) Lord!
    In wisdom you made^(BA) them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.^(BB)
²⁵There is the sea,^(BC) vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.^(BD)
²⁶There the ships^(BE) go to and fro,
    and Leviathan,^(BF) which you formed to frolic^(BG) there.^(BH)

²⁷All creatures look to you
    to give them their food^(BI) at the proper time.
²⁸When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied^(BJ) with good things.
²⁹When you hide your face,^(BK)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.^(BL)
³⁰When you send your Spirit,^(BM)
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord^(BN) endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works^(BO)—
³²he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,^(BP)
who touches the mountains,^(BQ) and they smoke.^(BR)

³³I will sing^(BS) to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice^(BT) in the Lord.
³⁵But may sinners vanish^(BU) from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.^(BV)