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
Common English Bible
Words of encouragement
4 The Lord proclaims to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live.
5 But don’t seek Bethel,
don’t enter into Gilgal,
or cross over to Beer-sheba;
for Gilgal will go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
6 Seek the Lord and live,
or else God might rush like a fire against the house of Joseph.
The fire will burn up Bethel, with no one to put it out.
Words of doom
7 Doom to you who turn justice into poison,
and throw 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 summons the waters of the sea,
and pours them out on the surface of the earth—
this one’s name is the Lord—
9 who causes destruction to flash out against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who judges at the city gate,
and they reject the one who speaks the truth.
11 Truly, because you crush the weak,
and because you tax their grain,
you have built houses of carved stone,
but you won’t live in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you won’t drink their wine.
12 I know how many are your crimes,
and how numerous are your sins—
afflicting the righteous,
taking money on the side,
turning away the poor who seek help.
13 Therefore, the one who is wise will keep silent in that time;
it is an evil time.
Words of inspiration
14 Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of heavenly forces,
will be with you just as you have said.
15 Hate evil, love good,
and establish justice at the city gate.
Perhaps the Lord God of heavenly forces
will be gracious to what is left of Joseph.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible