Amos 5:4-15
New International Version
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek(A) me and live;(B)
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,(C)
do not journey to Beersheba.(D)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[a](E)”
6 Seek(F) the Lord and live,(G)
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;(H)
it will devour them,
and Bethel(I) will have no one to quench it.(J)
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(N)
who turns midnight into dawn(O)
and darkens day into night,(P)
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(Q)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.(R)
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court(S)
and detest the one who tells the truth.(T)
11 You levy a straw tax on the poor(U)
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,(V)
you will not live in them;(W)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.(X)
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.(Y)
Footnotes
- Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
Amos 5:4-15
Holman 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 Yahweh(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)
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 waters of the sea(L)
and pours them out over the face of the earth(M)—
Yahweh is His name.(N)
9 He brings destruction[b] on the strong,[c](O)
and it falls on the stronghold.(P)
10 They hate the one who convicts the guilty(Q)
at the city gate
and 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 gates.
13 Therefore, the wise person will keep silent[d](X)
at such a time,
for the days are evil.
14 Seek good and not evil
so that you may live,
and the Lord, the God of Hosts,
will be with you,
as you have claimed.(Y)
15 Hate evil and love good;(Z)
establish justice in the gate.(AA)
Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious(AB)
to the remnant of Joseph.(AC)
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