Amos 5

Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

Listen carefully to these sorrowful words I speak against you, O people of Israel.

The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

Israel's pure maiden has stumbled, never to stand again. Abandoned in her own land, there's no one to lift her up.

For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

The Lord God declares: Of a city of a thousand, only a hundred will remain. From a hundred, only ten will be left for the people of Israel.

For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

In this way, the LORD speaks to the people of Israel, "Search for me, and you will find life."

But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

Avoid seeking solace in Bethel or Gilgal, and don't journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will inevitably fall into bondage, and Bethel will crumble to nothing.

Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

Pursue a relationship with God and you'll truly live. Otherwise, His wrath may ignite like a fire, consuming everything with no one in Bethel to extinguish it.

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

Those who twist justice into bitterness and abandon righteousness on earth,

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Pursue the one who crafts the constellation of seven stars and Orion, who turns the deepest darkness into morning, and who can turn daylight into darkness. He who summons the ocean's waters and showers them upon the earth, His name is the Lord.

That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

Empowering the downtrodden to stand against the mighty, so that even the weakest can challenge the unshakeable fortress.

They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

People despise those who correct them publicly, and they detest those who speak the truth.

Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

You're stepping on the poor, taking their hard-earned grain. You've built grand stone houses, but you won't live in them. You've planted lush vineyards, but you won't taste their wine.

For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

I'm fully aware of your many wrongs and grave sins. You harm the innocent, take bribes, and deny the poor their rightful justice.

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

In challenging times, the wise choose to remain silent, recognizing the darkness that surrounds them.

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Pursue what is right, not what is wrong, so you may thrive. Then, the Lord, your God, will stand by your side, as you've claimed.

Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Despise what is wicked, cherish what is good, and uphold fairness and justice. Perhaps, the Lord God Almighty will show mercy to the remaining descendants of Joseph.

Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

Thus says the Lord, the Almighty God: There will be sorrow in every street, cries of despair will echo on every highway. Even the farmers will mourn, and those skilled in grief will weep.

And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

Every vineyard will echo with cries of sorrow, for I, the Lord, will move among you.

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

Beware, those who long for the Lord's day! What good will it bring you? The Lord's day is not a beacon of light, but a shroud of darkness.

As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Imagine a man, terrified, running from a lion, only to encounter a bear. Or picture him seeking refuge in a house, resting his hand on a wall, only to be bitten by a hidden snake.

Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Won't God's day be shrouded in darkness, devoid of light? A day so dark, without a hint of brightness?

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

I deeply loathe your celebrations, and I will not partake in your solemn gatherings.

Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

Even if you present me with your sacrifices and feast offerings, I won't accept them. I won't even acknowledge the peace offerings from your well-fed animals.

Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

Please stop your loud songs; I can't bear to listen to your music anymore.

But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Let fairness flow like a river, and integrity surge like a powerful current.

Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

Did you really give me gifts and sacrifices during your forty years in the wilderness, my people of Israel?

But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

But you've carried the shrine of your false gods, Moloch and Chiun, the idols you've crafted, the star symbol of your self-made deity.

Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

Thus, I will lead you into exile, far beyond Damascus, declares the Lord, known as the God of all.