He who made the (A)Pleiades and Orion,
    and turns deep darkness into the morning
    and (B)darkens the day into night,
who (C)calls for the waters of the sea
    (D)and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
(E)the Lord is his name;
(F)who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
    so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 (G)They hate him who reproves (H)in the gate,
    and they (I)abhor him who speaks the truth.
11 Therefore because you (J)trample on[a] the poor
    and you exact taxes of grain from him,
(K)you have built houses of hewn stone,
    but you shall not dwell in them;
(L)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 (M)take a bribe,
    and (N)turn aside the needy (O)in the gate.
13 Therefore he who is prudent will (P)keep silent in such a time,
    (Q)for it is an evil time.

14 (R)Seek good, and not evil,
    that you may live;
and so the Lord, (S)the God of hosts, will be with you,
    as you have said.
15 (T)Hate evil, and love good,
    and establish justice (U)in the gate;
(V)it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
    will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

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

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

Let Justice Roll Down

18 Woe to you who desire (AA)the day of the Lord!
    Why would you have the day of the Lord?
(AB)It is darkness, and not light,
19     (AC)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 (AD)Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
    and gloom with no brightness in it?

21 (AE)“I hate, I despise your feasts,
    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 (AF)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 (AG)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 (AH)“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 (AI)You (AJ)shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 (AK)and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is (AL)the God of hosts.

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

(AM)“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
    and to those who feel secure on (AN)the mountain of Samaria,
(AO)the notable men of (AP)the first of the nations,
    to whom the house of Israel comes!
Pass over to (AQ)Calneh, and see,
    and from there go to (AR)Hamath the great;
    then go down to (AS)Gath of the Philistines.
(AT)Are you better than these kingdoms?
    Or is their territory greater than your territory,
(AU)O you who put far away the day of disaster
    (AV)and bring near the seat of violence?

“Woe to those (AW)who lie on (AX)beds of ivory
    (AY)and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
    (AZ)and calves from the midst of the stall,
(BA)who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
    and like David (BB)invent for themselves instruments of music,
(BC)who drink wine in bowls
    and (BD)anoint themselves with the finest oils,
    but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
(BE)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.”

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

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

And (BI)if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one's relative, (BJ)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, (BK)“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For behold, the Lord commands,
    and (BL)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[b] with oxen?
(BM)But you have turned justice into (BN)poison
    (BO)and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood[c]
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[d]
    who say, (BP)“Have we not by our own strength
    captured Karnaim[e] for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (BQ)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 (BR)Lebo-hamath
    to the Brook of (BS)the Arabah.”

Footnotes

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

He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(A)
    who turns midnight into dawn(B)
    and darkens day into night,(C)
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.(D)
With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
    and brings the fortified city to ruin.(E)

10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court(F)
    and detest the one who tells the truth.(G)

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

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes(M)
    and deprive the poor(N) of justice in the courts.(O)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet(P) in such times,
    for the times are evil.(Q)

14 Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.(R)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil,(S) love good;(T)
    maintain justice in the courts.(U)
Perhaps(V) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy(W)
    on the remnant(X) of Joseph.

16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing(Y) in all the streets(Z)
    and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(AA) will be summoned to weep
    and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(AB) in all the vineyards,
    for I will pass through(AC) your midst,”
says the Lord.(AD)

The Day of the Lord

18 Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!(AE)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(AF)
    That day will be darkness,(AG) not light.(AH)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,(AI)
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.(AJ)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(AK) not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(AL)

21 “I hate,(AM) I despise your religious festivals;(AN)
    your assemblies(AO) are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings(AP) and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.(AQ)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.(AR)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.(AS)
24 But let justice(AT) roll on like a river,
    righteousness(AU) like a never-failing stream!(AV)

25 “Did you bring me sacrifices(AW) and offerings
    forty years(AX) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
    the pedestal of your idols,(AY)
    the star of your god[a]
    which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile(AZ) beyond Damascus,”
    says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.(BA)

Woe to the Complacent

Woe to you(BB) who are complacent(BC) in Zion,
    and to you who feel secure(BD) on Mount Samaria,(BE)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
    to whom the people of Israel come!(BF)
Go to Kalneh(BG) and look at it;
    go from there to great Hamath,(BH)
    and then go down to Gath(BI) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(BJ) your two kingdoms?
    Is their land larger than yours?
You put off the day of disaster
    and bring near a reign of terror.(BK)
You lie on beds adorned with ivory
    and lounge on your couches.(BL)
You dine on choice lambs
    and fattened calves.(BM)
You strum away on your harps(BN) like David
    and improvise on musical instruments.(BO)
You drink wine(BP) by the bowlful
    and use the finest lotions,
    but you do not grieve(BQ) over the ruin of Joseph.(BR)
Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(BS)
    your feasting and lounging will end.(BT)

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(BU)—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor(BV) the pride of Jacob(BW)
    and detest his fortresses;(BX)
I will deliver up(BY) the city
    and everything in it.(BZ)

If ten(CA) people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[b](CB) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(CC) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For the Lord has given the command,
    and he will smash(CD) the great house(CE) into pieces
    and the small house into bits.(CF)

12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea[c] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(CG)
    and the fruit of righteousness(CH) into bitterness(CI)
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[d]
    and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[e] by our own strength?(CJ)

14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
    “I will stir up a nation(CK) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
    from Lebo Hamath(CL) to the valley of the Arabah.(CM)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols
  2. Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
  3. Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
  4. Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
  5. Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.