Amos 5
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
5 Hear ye this word, which I take up concerning you for a lamentation. The house of Israel is fallen, and it shall rise no more.
2 The virgin of Israel is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up.
3 For thus saith the Lord God: The city, out of which came forth a thousand, there shall be left in it a hundred: and out of which there came a hundred, there shall be left in it ten, in the house of Israel.
4 For thus saith the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and you shall live.
5 But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgal, neither shall you pass over to Bersabee: for Galgal shall go into captivity, and Bethel shall be unprofitable.
6 Seek ye the Lord, and live: lest the house of Joseph be burnt with fire, and it shall devour, and there shall be none to quench Bethel.
7 You that turn judgment into wormwood, and forsake justice in the land,
8 Seek him that maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and that turneth darkness into morning, and that changeth day into night: that calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
9 He that with a smile bringeth destruction upon the strong, and waste upon the mighty.
10 They have hated him that rebuketh in the gate: and have abhorred him that speaketh perfectly.
11 Therefore because you robbed the poor, and took the choice prey from him: you shall build houses with square stone, and shall not dwell in them: you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them.
12 Because I know your manifold crimes, and your grievous sins: enemies of the just, taking bribes, and oppressing the poor in the gate.
13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence at that time, for it is an evil time.
14 Seek ye good, and not evil, that you may live: and the Lord the God of hosts will be with you, as you have said.
15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be the Lord the God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of hosts the sovereign Lord: In every street there shall be wailing: and in all places that are without, they shall say: Alas, alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful in lamentation to lament.
17 And in all vineyards there shall be wailing: because I will pass through in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.
18 Woe to them that desire the day of the Lord: to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
19 As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear should meet him: or enter into the house, and lean with his hand upon the wall, and a serpent should bite him.
20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light: and obscurity, and no brightness in it?
21 I hate, and have rejected your festivities: and I will not receive the odour of your assemblies.
22 And if you offer me holocausts, and your gifts, I will not receive them: neither will I regard the vows of your fat beasts.
23 Take away from me the tumult of thy songs: and I will not hear the canticles of thy harp.
24 But judgment shall be revealed as water, and justice as a mighty torrent.
25 Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me in the desert for forty years, O house of Israel?
26 But you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch, and the image of your idols, the star of your god, which you made to yourselves.
27 And I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, the God of hosts is his name.
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.
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
