Amos 5:4-15
English Standard Version
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
(A)“Seek me and live;
5 but do not seek (B)Bethel,
and do not enter into (C)Gilgal
or cross over to (D)Beersheba;
for (E)Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and (F)Bethel shall come to nothing.”
6 (G)Seek the Lord and live,
(H)lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for (I)Bethel,
7 O (J)you who turn justice to wormwood[a]
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8 He who made the (K)Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and (L)darkens the day into night,
who (M)calls for the waters of the sea
(N)and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
(O)the Lord is his name;
9 (P)who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 (Q)They hate him who reproves (R)in the gate,
and they (S)abhor him who speaks the truth.
11 Therefore because you (T)trample on[b] the poor
and you exact taxes of grain from him,
(U)you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them;
(V)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 (W)take a bribe,
and (X)turn aside the needy (Y)in the gate.
13 Therefore he who is prudent will (Z)keep silent in such a time,
(AA)for it is an evil time.
14 (AB)Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, (AC)the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15 (AD)Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice (AE)in the gate;
(AF)it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Amos 5:4-15
Christian Standard Bible
Seek God and Live
4 For the Lord says to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live!(A)
5 Do not seek Bethel(B)
or go to Gilgal(C)
or journey to Beer-sheba,(D)
for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
6 Seek the Lord(E) and live,
or he will spread like fire(F)
throughout the house of Joseph;
it will consume everything
with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.(G)
7 Those who turn justice into wormwood(H)
also throw righteousness to the ground.
8 The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,(I)
who turns darkness[a] into dawn(J)
and darkens day into night,(K)
who summons the water of the sea(L)
and pours it out over the surface of the earth(M)—
the Lord is his name.(N)
9 He brings destruction[b] on the strong,[c](O)
and it falls on the fortress.(P)
10 They hate the one who convicts the guilty(Q)
at the city gate,
and they despise(R) the one who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor(S)
and exact a grain tax from him,
you will never live in the houses of cut stone(T)
you have built;
you will never drink the wine
from the lush vineyards
you have planted.(U)
12 For I know your crimes are many
and your sins innumerable.
They oppress the righteous,(V) take a bribe,
and deprive the poor of justice(W) at the city gates.
13 Therefore, those who have insight will keep silent[d](X)
at such a time,
for the days are evil.
14 Pursue good and not evil
so that you may live,
and the Lord, the God of Armies,
will be with you
as you have claimed.(Y)
15 Hate evil and love good;(Z)
establish justice at the city gate.(AA)
Perhaps the Lord, the God of Armies, will be gracious(AB)
to the remnant of Joseph.(AC)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.