Amos 5:4-15
New King James Version
A Call to Repentance
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
(A)“Seek Me (B)and live;
5 But do not seek (C)Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to (D)Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And (E)Bethel shall come to nothing.
6 (F)Seek the Lord and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—
7 You who (G)turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8 He made the (H)Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
(I)And makes the day dark as night;
He (J)calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
(K)The Lord is His name.
9 He [a]rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10 (L)They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they (M)abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11 (N)Therefore, because you [b]tread down the poor
And take grain [c]taxes from him,
Though (O)you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted [d]pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.
12 For I (P)know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
(Q)Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
(R)Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
13 Therefore (S)the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,
(T)As you have spoken.
15 (U)Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
(V)It may be that the Lord God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Amos 5:4-15
21st Century King James Version
4 For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel: “Seek ye Me, and ye shall live;
5 but seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
6 Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel—
7 ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth!”
8 Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night, who calleth for the waters of the sea and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is His name,
9 who strengtheneth the despoiled against the strong, so that the despoiled shall come against the fortress.
10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat, ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine from them.
12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor at the gate from their right.
13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, that ye may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.