Font Size
Amos 5:4-15
Legacy Standard Bible
Amos 5:4-15
Legacy Standard Bible
4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel,
“(A)Seek Me (B)that you may live.
5 But do not seek (C)Bethel,
And do not come to (D)Gilgal,
Nor cross over to (E)Beersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into [a]exile,
And Bethel will become [b]evil.
6 (F)Seek Yahweh that you may live,
Lest He come mightily like a (G)fire, [c]O house of Joseph,
And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,
7 For those who overturn (H)justice into wormwood
And put righteousness down to the earth.”
8 He who made the (I)Pleiades and Orion
And (J)overturns the shadow of death into morning,
[d]Who also (K)darkens day into night,
Who (L)calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the surface of the earth,
(M)Yahweh is His name.
9 It is He who (N)flashes forth with devastation upon the strong
So that (O)devastation comes upon the fortification.
10 They hate him who (P)reproves in the [e]gate,
And they (Q)abhor him who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore because you [f]impose heavy rent on the poor
And take a tribute of grain from them,
Though you have built (R)houses of cut stone,
Yet you will not live in them;
You have planted desirable vineyards, yet you will (S)not drink their wine.
12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are mighty,
You who (T)distress the righteous and take bribes
And [g]turn aside the needy in the [h]gate.
13 Therefore at [i]such a time the one with insight (U)keeps silent, for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, in order that you may live;
And thus may Yahweh God of hosts be with you,
(V)Just as you have said!
15 (W)Hate evil, love good,
And set justice at the [j]gate!
Perhaps Yahweh God of hosts
(X)May be gracious to the (Y)remnant of Joseph.
Footnotes
- Amos 5:5 Gilgal sounds like Heb root galah, which means to go into exile
- Amos 5:5 Or Beth Aven, cf. Hos 4:15; 5:8; 10:5
- Amos 5:6 Or in the house
- Amos 5:8 Lit And He darkened
- Amos 5:10 The place where court was held
- Amos 5:11 Or trample upon
- Amos 5:12 Lit they turn
- Amos 5:12 The place where court was held
- Amos 5:13 Lit that time
- Amos 5:15 The place where court was held
Amos 5:4-15
Common English Bible
Amos 5:4-15
Common English Bible
Words of encouragement
4 The Lord proclaims to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live.
5 But don’t seek Bethel,
don’t enter into Gilgal,
or cross over to Beer-sheba;
for Gilgal will go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
6 Seek the Lord and live,
or else God might rush like a fire against the house of Joseph.
The fire will burn up Bethel, with no one to put it out.
Words of doom
7 Doom to you who turn justice into poison,
and throw righteousness to the ground!
8 The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning,
and darkens the day into night;
who summons the waters of the sea,
and pours them out on the surface of the earth—
this one’s name is the Lord—
9 who causes destruction to flash out against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who judges at the city gate,
and they reject the one who speaks the truth.
11 Truly, because you crush the weak,
and because you tax their grain,
you have built houses of carved stone,
but you won’t live in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you won’t drink their wine.
12 I know how many are your crimes,
and how numerous are your sins—
afflicting the righteous,
taking money on the side,
turning away the poor who seek help.
13 Therefore, the one who is wise will keep silent in that time;
it is an evil time.
Words of inspiration
14 Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of heavenly forces,
will be with you just as you have said.
15 Hate evil, love good,
and establish justice at the city gate.
Perhaps the Lord God of heavenly forces
will be gracious to what is left of Joseph.
Amos 5:4-15
New International Version
Amos 5:4-15
New International Version
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“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)
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)
Footnotes
- Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.