Amos 5
English Standard Version
Seek the Lord and Live
5 Hear this word that I (A)take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 “Fallen, no more to rise,
is (B)the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up.”
3 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.”
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
(C)“Seek me and live;
5 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.”
6 (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,
7 O (L)you who turn justice to wormwood[a]
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8 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;
9 (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.
Amos 5
New American Standard Bible
“Seek Me So That You May Live”
5 Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a (A)song of mourning, house of Israel:
2 She has fallen, she will (B)not rise again—
The (C)virgin Israel.
She lies unnoticed on her land;
There is (D)no one to raise her up.
3 For this is what the Lord [a]God says:
“The city which goes forth a thousand strong
Will have a (E)hundred left,
And the one which goes forth a hundred strong
Will have (F)ten left to the house of Israel.”
4 For this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel:
“(G)Seek Me (H)so that you may live.
5 But do not [b]resort to (I)Bethel
And do not come to (J)Gilgal,
Nor cross over to (K)Beersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
And Bethel will [c]come to nothing.
6 (L)Seek the Lord so that you may live,
Or He will break through like a (M)fire, [d]house of Joseph,
And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,
7 For those who turn (N)justice into wormwood,
And [e]throw righteousness to the earth.”
8 He who made the (O)Pleiades and Orion,
And (P)changes deep darkness into morning,
[f]Who also (Q)darkens day into night,
Who (R)calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the surface of the earth,
The (S)Lord is His name.
9 It is He who (T)makes destruction flash upon the strong,
So that (U)destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate him who (V)rebukes in the [g]gate,
And they (W)despise him who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore because you impose heavy [h]rent on the poor
And take a tribute of grain from them,
Though you have built (X)houses of cut stone,
Yet you will not live in them;
You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will (Y)not drink their wine.
12 For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great,
You who are (Z)hostile to the righteous and accept bribes,
And [i]turn away the poor from justice at the [j]gate.
13 Therefore at [k]such a time the prudent person (AA)keeps quiet, because it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live;
And so may the Lord God of armies be with you,
(AB)Just as you have said!
15 (AC)Hate evil, love good,
And establish justice in the [l]gate!
Perhaps the Lord God of armies
(AD)Will be gracious to the (AE)remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord God of armies, the Lord says:
“There is (AF)mourning in all the public squares,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’
They also call the (AG)farmer to mourning
And [m](AH)professional mourners to mourning rites.
17 And in all the (AI)vineyards there is mourning,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.
18 Woe to you who are longing for the (AJ)day of the Lord,
For what [n]purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be (AK)darkness and not light;
19 As when a man (AL)flees from a lion
And a bear confronts him,
[o]Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,
And a snake bites him.
20 Will the day of the Lord not be (AM)darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I (AN)reject your festivals,
Nor do I [p](AO)delight in your festive assemblies.
22 Even though you (AP)offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the (AQ)peace offerings of your fattened oxen.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
24 But let (AR)justice roll out like waters,
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 “[q](AS)Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel? 26 (AT)You also carried along [r]Sikkuth your king and [s]Kiyyun, your images, [t]the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of armies.
Footnotes
- Amos 5:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Amos 5:5 Lit seek
- Amos 5:5 Lit be
- Amos 5:6 Or in the house
- Amos 5:7 Lit they have thrown
- Amos 5:8 Lit And He darkened
- Amos 5:10 I.e., the place where court was held
- Amos 5:11 Or tax
- Amos 5:12 Lit they turn
- Amos 5:12 I.e., the place where court was held
- Amos 5:13 Lit that time
- Amos 5:15 I.e., the place where court was held
- Amos 5:16 Lit those who know mourning
- Amos 5:18 Lit will this be to you, the day
- Amos 5:19 Or Then
- Amos 5:21 Lit like to smell your
- Amos 5:25 Or You presented Me with the sacrifices and a grain offering
- Amos 5:26 Or Sakkuth (Saturn), or the tabernacle of your Moloch
- Amos 5:26 Or Kaiwan (Saturn), or stands of
- Amos 5:26 Or your star gods
Amos 5
New King James Version
A Lament for Israel
5 Hear this word which I (A)take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.
3 For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
A Call to Repentance
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
(B)“Seek Me (C)and live;
5 But do not seek (D)Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to (E)Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And (F)Bethel shall come to nothing.
6 (G)Seek the Lord and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—
7 You who (H)turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8 He made the (I)Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
(J)And makes the day dark as night;
He (K)calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
(L)The Lord is His name.
9 He [a]rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10 (M)They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they (N)abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11 (O)Therefore, because you [b]tread down the poor
And take grain [c]taxes from him,
Though (P)you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted [d]pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.
12 For I (Q)know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
(R)Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
(S)Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
13 Therefore (T)the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,
(U)As you have spoken.
15 (V)Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
(W)It may be that the Lord God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
The Day of the Lord
16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“There shall be wailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
(X)And skillful lamenters to wailing.
17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
For (Y)I will pass through you,”
Says the Lord.
18 (Z)Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is (AA)the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
19 It will be (AB)as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
21 “I(AC) hate, I despise your feast days,
And (AD)I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
22 (AE)Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
24 (AF)But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
25 “Did(AG) you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 You also carried [e]Sikkuth[f] (AH)your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into captivity (AI)beyond Damascus,”
Says the Lord, (AJ)whose name is the God of hosts.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
