This is what the Lord says to Israel:

“Seek(A) me and live;(B)
    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)
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)

There are those who turn justice into bitterness(K)
    and cast righteousness(L) to the ground.(M)

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)
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)

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes(Z)
    and deprive the poor(AA) of justice in the courts.(AB)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet(AC) in such times,
    for the times are evil.(AD)

14 Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.(AE)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil,(AF) love good;(AG)
    maintain justice in the courts.(AH)
Perhaps(AI) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy(AJ)
    on the remnant(AK) of Joseph.

16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing(AL) in all the streets(AM)
    and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(AN) will be summoned to weep
    and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(AO) in all the vineyards,
    for I will pass through(AP) your midst,”
says the Lord.(AQ)

The Day of the Lord

18 Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!(AR)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(AS)
    That day will be darkness,(AT) not light.(AU)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,(AV)
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.(AW)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(AX) not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(AY)

21 “I hate,(AZ) I despise your religious festivals;(BA)
    your assemblies(BB) are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings(BC) and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.(BD)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.(BE)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.(BF)
24 But let justice(BG) roll on like a river,
    righteousness(BH) like a never-failing stream!(BI)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.

Bible Gateway Recommends