Amos 5:4-15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live,(A)
5 but do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over to Beer-sheba,
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and Bethel shall come to nothing.(B)
6 Seek the Lord and live,
or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire,
and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.(C)
7 Ah, you who turn justice to wormwood
and bring 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 calls for the water of the sea
and pours it out on the surface of the earth,
the Lord is his name,(D)
9 who makes destruction flash out against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who reproves in the gate,
and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.(E)
11 Therefore because you trample on the poor
and take from them levies of grain,
you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not live in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.(F)
12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe
and push aside the needy in the gate.(G)
13 Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time,
for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
that you may live,
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
just as you have said.(H)
15 Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.(I)
Amos 5:4-15
International Standard Version
Seek God, and Live
4 “For this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel:
‘Seek me and live,
5 but don’t seek Bethel.
Don’t go to Gilgal,
and don’t pass over to Beer-sheba.
Because Gilgal will surely go into captivity,[a]
and Bethel will come to nothing.
6 ‘Seek the Lord and live!
Otherwise, he may break out like a fire in the house of Joseph
and devour Bethel,[b]
and there will be no one to extinguish it.
7 Those of you who are making justice taste bitter,[c]
and who have thrown righteousness to the ground:
8 Seek[d] the one who fashions the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns the deep darkness[e] into morning,
who darkens day into night,
who calls out to the waters of the sea,
pouring them out onto the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.
9 It is he who is raining sudden destruction
upon the strong like lightning,[f]
so that ruin comes upon the fortress.
10 They have hated those who are presenting their cases in court,[g]
detesting the one who speaks truthfully.
11 ‘Therefore, since you trample the poor continuously,
taxing his grain,
building houses of stone in which you won’t live
and planting fine vineyards from which you won’t drink—
12 and because I know that your transgressions are many,
and your sins are numerous
as you oppose the righteous,
taking bribes as a ransom,
and turning away the poor in court[h]—
13 therefore the prudent person remains silent at such a time,
for the time is evil.
14 ‘Pursue good and not evil,
so that you may live,
and this is what will happen:[i]
The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies will be with you,
as you have been claiming.
15 Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in court—[j]
perhaps the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies,
will be gracious to the survivors of Joseph.’”
Footnotes
- Amos 5:5 The root Heb. for Gilgal is a pun on the Heb. go into captivity
- Amos 5:6 So MT; LXX reads devour the House of Israel
- Amos 5:7 Lit. are turning justice into wormwood
- Amos 5:8 The Heb. lacks Seek
- Amos 5:8 Or the shadow of death
- Amos 5:9 The Heb. lacks like lightning
- Amos 5:10 Lit. in the gate
- Amos 5:12 Lit. in the gate
- Amos 5:14 Lit. And so it was
- Amos 5:15 Lit. in the gates
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