A Lamentation for Israel
Amos 5, verse 1. O house of Israel, hear this word of the Lord, a lamentation which I take up against you. Amos 5, verse 2. The virgin of Israel has fallen; she will rise no more; she tripped over her land, and there is no one who shall raise her up. Amos 5, verse 3. For thus says the Lord God: “From the city where a thousand went out, in this group there will yet remain a hundred. And in that from which a hundred went out, ten will be left to the house of Israel.”
A Call to Repentance
Amos 5, verse 4. For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek Me, and you will live. Amos 5, verse 5. But do not seek Bethel, nor go into Gilgal, nor cross over to the Well of Oath, for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing. Amos 5, verse 6. Seek the Lord and live, lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph and devour it, with no one to extinguish the fire for the house of Israel. Amos 5, verse 7. The Lord is He who brings about justice on high and righteousness on the earth! Amos 5, verse 8. “He makes all things. He transforms the darkness into the morning and makes the day dark as night; He calls forth the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth. The Lord God Almighty is His name. Amos 5, verse 9. He rains ruin upon the strong and brings misery upon the fortress. Amos 5, verse 10. “They hated him who reproved in the gates and abhorred the upright word. Amos 5, verse 11. They tread upon the poor and take bribes from him. They built houses of hewn stone, yet they shall not dwell in them. They planted pleasant vineyards, but they shall not drink wine from them. Amos 5, verse 12. For I know your many transgressions and the enormity of your sins, devouring the righteous and taking bribes, turning away the poor at the gate. Amos 5, verse 13. Because of this, the prudent keep silent in this time, for it is an evil time. Amos 5, verse 14. Seek good and not evil so that you may live, so that the Lord God Almighty will be with you. As you have said, Amos 5, verse 15. ‘We hated evil and loved good.’ And restore justice in the gate that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.” Amos 5, verse 16. Therefore the Lord God Almighty says, “There shall be wailing in all the streets, and it shall be said in all the highways, ‘Woe! Woe!’ The farmer shall be called to mourning and lamentation, as will those skilled in wailing and complaining. Amos 5, verse 17. There shall be lamentation in all your streets because I shall pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord. Amos 5, verse 18. Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! What is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness and not light. Amos 5, verse 19. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! As though he rushed into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him! Amos 5, verse 20. Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light? Is it not a deep darkness, with no brightness in it? Amos 5, verse 21. “I hate, I reject your feast days. I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Amos 5, verse 22. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and meat offerings, I will not accept them. I will not regard your fattened peace offerings. Amos 5, verse 23. Take away from Me the sound of your songs, for I will not hear your musical instruments. Amos 5, verse 24. Instead, let justice run swiftly as does water from the mountain, and let righteousness be as a stream that cannot be crossed. Amos 5, verse 25. “O house of Israel, did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings those forty years in the wilderness? Amos 5, verse 26. You have carried the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Raiphan, which you made for yourselves. Amos 5, verse 27. Therefore I shall exile you beyond Damascus,” says the Lord—the Almighty God is His name.