Amos 5:4-15
World English Bible
4 For Yahweh says to the house of Israel:
“Seek me, and you will live;
5 but don’t seek Bethel,
nor enter into Gilgal,
and don’t pass to Beersheba:
for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
and Bethel shall come to nothing.
6 Seek Yahweh, and you will live;
lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.
7 You who turn justice to wormwood,
and cast down righteousness to the earth:
8 seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion,
and turns the shadow of death into the morning,
and makes the day dark with night;
who calls for the waters of the sea,
and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,
9 who brings sudden destruction on the strong,
so that destruction comes on the fortress.
10 They hate him who reproves in the gate,
and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly.
11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor,
and take taxes from him of wheat:
You have built houses of cut stone,
but you will not dwell in them.
You have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your offenses,
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the just,
who take a bribe,
and who turn away the needy in the courts.
13 Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time,
for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be with you,
as you say.
15 Hate evil, love good,
and establish justice in the courts.
It may be that Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
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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