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

⁷ There are those who turn justice into bitterness^(K)
    and cast righteousness^(L) to the ground.^(M)

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

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

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

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes^(Z)
    and deprive the poor^(AA) of justice in the courts.^(AB)

²¹ “I hate,^(A) I despise your religious festivals;^(B)
    your assemblies^(C) are a stench to me.
²² Even though you bring me burnt offerings^(D) and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.^(E)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.^(F)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.^(G)
24 But let justice^(H) roll on like a river,
    righteousness^(I) like a never-failing stream!^(J)