Seek the Lord and Live

Hear this word that I (A)take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

“Fallen, no more to rise,
    is (B)the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
    with none to raise her up.”

For thus says the Lord God:

“The city that went out a thousand
    shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
    shall have ten left
    to the house of Israel.”

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

(C)“Seek me and live;
    but do not seek (D)Bethel,
and do not enter into (E)Gilgal
    or cross over to (F)Beersheba;
for (G)Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
    and (H)Bethel shall come to nothing.”

(I)Seek the Lord and live,
    (J)lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
    and it devour, with none to quench it for (K)Bethel,
O (L)you who turn justice to wormwood[a]
    and cast down righteousness to the earth!

He who made the (M)Pleiades and Orion,
    and turns deep darkness into the morning
    and (N)darkens the day into night,
who (O)calls for the waters of the sea
    (P)and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
(Q)the Lord is his name;
(R)who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
    so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 (S)They hate him who reproves (T)in the gate,
    and they (U)abhor him who speaks the truth.
11 Therefore because you (V)trample on[b] the poor
    and you exact taxes of grain from him,
(W)you have built houses of hewn stone,
    but you shall not dwell in them;
(X)you have planted pleasant vineyards,
    but you shall not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your transgressions
    and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who (Y)take a bribe,
    and (Z)turn aside the needy (AA)in the gate.
13 Therefore he who is prudent will (AB)keep silent in such a time,
    (AC)for it is an evil time.

14 (AD)Seek good, and not evil,
    that you may live;
and so the Lord, (AE)the God of hosts, will be with you,
    as you have said.
15 (AF)Hate evil, and love good,
    and establish justice (AG)in the gate;
(AH)it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
    will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord, (AI)the God of hosts, the Lord:

“In all the squares (AJ)there shall be wailing,
    and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
    and (AK)to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17 and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
    for (AL)I will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.

Let Justice Roll Down

18 Woe to you who desire (AM)the day of the Lord!
    Why would you have the day of the Lord?
(AN)It is darkness, and not light,
19     (AO)as if a man fled from a lion,
    and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
    and a serpent bit him.
20 (AP)Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
    and gloom with no brightness in it?

21 (AQ)“I hate, I despise your feasts,
    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 (AR)Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
    I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
    to (AS)the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 (AT)“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 (AU)You (AV)shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 (AW)and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is (AX)the God of hosts.

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

(AY)“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
    and to those who feel secure on (AZ)the mountain of Samaria,
(BA)the notable men of (BB)the first of the nations,
    to whom the house of Israel comes!
Pass over to (BC)Calneh, and see,
    and from there go to (BD)Hamath the great;
    then go down to (BE)Gath of the Philistines.
(BF)Are you better than these kingdoms?
    Or is their territory greater than your territory,
(BG)O you who put far away the day of disaster
    (BH)and bring near the seat of violence?

“Woe to those (BI)who lie on (BJ)beds of ivory
    (BK)and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
    (BL)and calves from the midst of the stall,
(BM)who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
    and like David (BN)invent for themselves instruments of music,
(BO)who drink wine in bowls
    and (BP)anoint themselves with the finest oils,
    but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
(BQ)Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
    and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

(BR)The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

“I abhor (BS)the pride of Jacob
    and hate his strongholds,
    (BT)and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”

And (BU)if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one's relative, (BV)the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, (BW)“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For behold, the Lord commands,
    and (BX)the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
    and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
    Does one plow there[c] with oxen?
(BY)But you have turned justice into (BZ)poison
    (CA)and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood[d]
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[e]
    who say, (CB)“Have we not by our own strength
    captured Karnaim[f] for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (CC)I will raise up against you a nation,
    O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from (CD)Lebo-hamath
    to the Brook of (CE)the Arabah.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:7 Or to bitter fruit
  2. Amos 5:11 Or you tax
  3. Amos 6:12 Or the sea
  4. Amos 6:12 Or into bitter fruit
  5. Amos 6:13 Lo-debar means nothing
  6. Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns (a symbol of strength)

Bible Gateway Recommends

ESV Holy Bible for Kids, Softcover Economy Edition
ESV Holy Bible for Kids, Softcover Economy Edition
Retail: $9.99
Our Price: $6.99
Save: $3.00 (30%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $28.99
Save: $16.00 (36%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
Revelation, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Revelation, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Retail: $6.99
Our Price: $4.79
Save: $2.20 (31%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Study Bible, Burgundy Genuine Leather with Thumb Index
ESV Study Bible, Burgundy Genuine Leather with Thumb Index
Retail: $124.99
Our Price: $69.99
Save: $55.00 (44%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Women's Study Bible, hardcover
ESV Women's Study Bible, hardcover
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $33.99
Save: $16.00 (32%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars