Amos 5
International Children’s Bible
Israel Needs a Change of Heart
5 Listen to this funeral song that I sing about you, people of Israel.
2 “Israel has fallen.
It will not rise up again.
It was left alone in the land.
There is no one to lift it up.”
3 This is what the Lord God says:
“If 1,000 soldiers leave a city,
only 100 will return.
If 100 soldiers leave a city,
only 10 will return.”
4 This is what the Lord says to the nation of Israel:
“Come to me and live.
5 But do not look in Bethel.
Do not go to Gilgal,
and do not go down to Beersheba.
The people of Gilgal will be taken away as captives.
And Bethel will become nothing.”
6 Come to the Lord and live.
If you don’t, he will destroy the descendants of Joseph as a fire would.
The fire will burn.
But there will be no one to put it out for Bethel.
7 You change the justice of the courts into something unfair.
You reject what is right.
8 God is the one who made the star groups Pleiades and Orion.
He changes darkness into the morning light.
And he changes the day into the dark night.
He calls for the waters of the sea
to pour out on the earth.
The Lord is his name.
9 He destroys the protected city.
And he ruins the strong, walled city.
10 You hate those who speak in court against evil.
And you hate those who tell the truth.
11 You walk on poor people.
You force them to give you grain.
You have built fancy houses of cut stone.
But you will not live in them.
You have planted beautiful vineyards.
But you will not drink the wine from them.
12 It is because I know your many crimes.
I know your terrible sins.
You hurt people who do right.
You accept money to do wrong.
You keep the poor from getting justice in court.
13 In such times the wise man will keep quiet,
because it is a bad time.
14 Try to do good, not evil.
Then you will live.
And the Lord God of heaven’s armies will be with you
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil and love good.
Be fair in the courts.
Maybe the Lord God of heaven’s armies will be kind
to the people of Joseph who are left alive.
16 This is what the Lord, the Lord God of heaven’s armies, says:
“People will be crying in all the public places.
They will be saying, ‘Oh, no!’ in the streets.
They will call the farmers to come and weep.
They will pay people to cry out loud for them.
17 People will be crying in all the vineyards.
This is because I will pass among you to punish you,” says the Lord.
The Lord’s Day of Judging
18 How terrible it will be for you who want
the Lord’s day of judging to come.
Why do you want that day to come?
It will bring darkness for you, not light.
19 It will be like a man who runs from a lion
and meets a bear.
It will be like him going into his house
and putting his hand on the wall.
And then a snake bites him.
20 So the Lord’s day of judging will bring darkness, not light.
It will be a time of sadness, not joy.
21 The Lord says, “I hate and reject your feasts.
I cannot stand your religious meetings.
22 You offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings.
But I won’t accept them.
You bring the best fellowship offerings.
But I will ignore them.
23 Take the noise of your songs away from here!
I won’t listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice flow like a river.
Let goodness flow like a never-ending stream.
25 “People of Israel, you did not bring me sacrifices and offerings
while you traveled in the desert for 40 years.
26 But now you will have to carry with you
your king, the false god Sakkuth,
and Kaiwan your idol
and the idols of your other star gods you have made.
27 This is because I will send you away as captives beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord. His name is God of heaven’s armies.
阿摩司书 5
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
哀歌
5 以色列家啊！要聽這話，
就是我為你們唱的輓歌：
2 “童貞女以色列，
跌倒了，不能再起來；
她被拋棄在自己的地上，
沒有人扶她起來。”
3 因為主耶和華論以色列家這樣說：
“這城派兵一千，
剩下的只有一百；
出兵一百，
只剩下十個。”
尋求主得以存活
4 耶和華對以色列家這樣說：
“尋求我，就必存活；
5 不要去伯特利尋求我，
不要去吉甲，
也不要過去別是巴。
因為吉甲必被擄掠，
伯特利必化為烏有。”
6 尋求耶和華，就必存活，
免得他像火在約瑟家猛烈蔓延，吞滅他們；
沒有人能把伯特利的火撲滅。
7 他們使公正變為苦堇，
把公義棄於地上。
8 那創造昴星和參星，
把幽暗變為黎明，
把白日轉為黑夜；
又吩咐海水，
把海水倒在地上的；
耶和華就是他的名。
9 是他使毀滅像閃電臨到堡壘，
使毀滅臨到堅固的城。
10 他們討厭那在城門口主持公道的人，
恨惡說正直話的。
11 你們欺壓窮人，
強徵他們的五穀；
因此，你們用琢磨過的石頭建造房屋，
卻不能住在其中；
你們栽種美好的葡萄園，
卻不能喝園中的酒。
12 因為我知道你們的過犯眾多，罪大惡極；
你們迫害義人，收受賄賂，
在城門口屈枉窮乏人；
13 為此，聰明人在這時代緘默無聲，
因這時代邪惡。
14 你們要尋求良善，不要尋求邪惡，
這樣才可以存活。
耶和華萬軍的 神就必與你們同在，
正如你們所說的。
15 你們要喜愛良善，恨惡邪惡，
在城門口伸張正義；
這樣，耶和華萬軍的 神或會恩待約瑟的餘民。
16 因此，主耶和華萬軍的 神這樣說：
“各廣場充滿哀慟的聲音，
街上只聽見‘苦啊！苦啊！’的喊聲；
人要召農夫來哀哭，
召善於哭喪的人來哀喊。
17 所有葡萄園充滿哀慟的聲音，
因為我必在你們中間經過。”
這是耶和華說的。
18 渴望耶和華日子來臨的人，你們有禍了！
耶和華的日子對你們有甚麼好處呢？
那日是黑暗，沒有光明的日子。
19 那日就像一個人避過了獅子，
卻遇上了熊；
回到家裡，手靠在牆上，
卻被蛇咬。
20 耶和華的日子不是黑暗，沒有光明，
只有幽暗，全無光輝嗎？
神不喜歡外表的敬虔
21 我憎恨、厭惡你們的節期，
也不喜愛你們的節日。
22 雖然你們給我獻上燔祭和素祭，
我卻不接受。
你們獻上肥美的牲畜作平安祭，
我也不悅納。
23 你們唱歌的吵聲要遠離我，
我不想聽見你們的琴聲。
24 但願公正好像潮水滾流，
公義好像河水長流。
25 以色列家啊！你們在曠野四十年，
有獻燔祭和素祭給我嗎？
26 你們抬著你們的神“撒固”王，和你們的星神“迦溫”的神像，就是你們為自己所做的。
27 我必使你們被擄，流亡到大馬士革以外。這是耶和華說的，萬軍的 神就是他的名。
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
