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Amos 5

Amos is sad

5 You people of Israel's family, listen to the sad song that I will sing about you:

² ‘You are like a young woman that died young, without children. Now you have fallen down and you will not rise up again. You lie there on the ground. There is nobody there to help you to get up.’

³ This is what the Lord God says to you: ‘1,000 soldiers will go out from a city to fight, but only 100 soldiers will come back. From another city, 100 soldiers will go out to fight, but only ten will come back.’

⁴ To the people of Israel's family, the Lord says, ‘Come back to me and you will live. ⁵ Do not go to Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba. Do not try to find me there, because I am not there. I will send enemies to destroy those places. They will take the people away as slaves.’

⁶ Return to the Lord and you will live. If you do not do that, he will come like fire to punish you. He will completely destroy Joseph's descendants. Bethel and all its people will burn. Nobody will be able to stop the fire. ⁷ You people change what is right and true to make lies. You are not fair or honest.

⁸ The Lord made the groups of stars called Pleiades and Orion. The Lord changes the night into dawn, and he changes the day back to night again. He takes the water in the sea, and he pours it out as rain on the earth. The Lord is his name!

⁹ He quickly destroys strong people. He knocks down their strong buildings and their walls.

¹⁰ ‘You Israelites hate honest judges. You laugh at anyone who speaks the truth. ¹¹ You cheat poor people so that they pay too much tax. You take away their food for yourselves. Because of that, you will not live in the beautiful houses that you have built for yourselves. You will not drink wine from the vines that you have planted.

¹² I, the Lord , know all the wrong things that you have done. They are very many and they are very bad. You are cruel to good people. You take bribes to tell lies. Sometimes a person gives money to you to make you tell lies. As a result, poor people do not receive justice. ¹³ This is such an evil time that clever people say nothing. That is how they keep themselves safe.’

¹⁴ You say that the Lord God Almighty is with you. Stop doing evil things. Do good things, so that you will live. Then the Lord God Almighty will really be with you, as you say. ¹⁵ Hate evil things and love good things. When you judge people, be fair and honest. Then maybe the Lord God Almighty will be kind to those of his people who still remain, Joseph's descendants.

¹⁶ The Lord, the Lord God Almighty says, ‘All the people will be sad. They will weep and cry loudly in all the streets. They will tell the farmers to weep with them. They will tell the singers to sing sad songs for them. ¹⁷ In every field and garden, people will be weeping, because I will come to punish them all.’ That is what the Lord says.

The special day of the Lord

¹⁸ You want the special day of the Lord to come. But it will be very bad for you! You think that God will punish your enemies on that day. But that day will not bring light to you, it will bring darkness. ¹⁹ Nobody will escape! It will be like a man who runs away from a lion, but then he meets a bear! When he goes into his house to be safe, he puts his hand on a wall and a snake bites him!

²⁰ Know this: The day of the Lord will be dark, not light. It will bring trouble, not joy.

²¹ The Lord says, ‘When you have your festivals, I hate them! When you meet to worship me, it does not make me happy! ²² When you bring burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, they do not please me. I will not accept your friendship offerings of fat animals. ²³ When you sing songs to worship me, I will not listen. They are just noise! I do not want to hear the music of your harps.

²⁴ What I do want to see is justice! I want to see that you always do what is right. Those good things should never stop, like a river that always runs with water.

²⁵ You people of Israel's family, listen to me! I led you through the wilderness for 40 years. During that time, did you worship me with sacrifices and offerings? No!

²⁶ Instead, you have idols that you have made for yourselves. You have the idol of Sakkuth, your king. You have the idol of Kaiwan, your star god. Now you will have to carry them with you. ²⁷ I will send you away as prisoners. Your enemies will take you beyond Damascus.’

That is what the Lord says, and he is God Almighty.

A Sad Song for Israel

5 People of Israel, listen to this song. This funeral song is about you.

² The virgin ^{[ a ]} of Israel has fallen.
She will not get up anymore.
She was left alone, lying in the dirt.
There is no one to lift her up.

³ This is what the Lord God says:

“Officers leaving the city with 1000 men
will return with only 100 men.
Officers leaving the city with 100 men
will return with only ten men.”

The Lord Encourages Israel to Come Back

⁴ The Lord says this to the nation ^{[ b ]} of Israel:
“Come looking for me and live.
⁵ But don’t look in Bethel.
Don’t go to Gilgal.
Don’t cross the border and go down to Beersheba. ^{[ c ]}
The people of Gilgal will be taken away as prisoners, ^{[ d ]}
and Bethel will be destroyed. ^{[ e ]}
⁶ Come to the Lord and live.
If you don’t go to him, a fire will start at Joseph’s house, ^{[ f ]}
and no one in Bethel ^{[ g ]} can stop it.
^7-9 You should go to the Lord for help.
He is the one who made the Pleiades and Orion. ^{[ h ]}
He changes darkness into the morning light.
He changes the day into the dark night.
He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth.
His name is Yahweh !
He keeps one strong city safe,
and he lets another strong city be destroyed.”

The Evil Things That the Israelites Did

You change justice to poison. ^{[ i ]}
You throw away fairness like trash.
¹⁰ You hate those prophets, who go to public places and speak against evil,
even though they teach good, simple truths.
¹¹ You take unfair taxes ^{[ j ]} from the poor.
You take loads of wheat from them.
You build fancy houses with cut stone,
but you will not live in them.
You plant beautiful vineyards,
but you will not drink the wine from them.
¹² This is because I know about your many sins.
You have done some very bad things:
You hurt people who do right,
you accept money to do wrong,
and you keep the poor from receiving justice in court.
¹³ At that time wise teachers will be quiet,
because it is a bad time.
¹⁴ You say that God is with you,
so you should do good things, not evil.
Then you will live,
and the Lord God All-Powerful will be with you.
¹⁵ Hate evil and love goodness.
Bring justice back into the courts.
Maybe then the Lord God All-Powerful
will be kind to the survivors from Joseph’s family.

A Time of Great Sadness Is Coming

¹⁶ The Lord, the Lord God All-Powerful says,
“People will be crying in the public places.
They will be crying in the streets.
They will hire the professional criers. ^{[ k ]}
¹⁷ People will be crying in the vineyards,
because I will pass through and punish you.”
This is what the Lord said.
¹⁸ Some of you want to see
the Lord ’s special day of judgment.
Why do you want to see that day of the Lord ?
His special day will bring darkness, not light.
¹⁹ You will be like someone who escapes from a lion
only to be attacked by a bear,
or like someone who goes into the safety of his house,
leans against the wall,
and is bitten by a snake.
²⁰ The Lord ’s special day will be
a day of darkness, not light—a day of gloom, without a ray of light.

The Lord Rejects Israel’s Worship

²¹ “I hate your festivals;
I will not accept them.
I don’t enjoy your religious meetings.
²² Even if you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
I will not even look at the fat animals
you give as fellowship offerings.
²³ Take your noisy songs away from here.
I will not listen to the music from your harps.
²⁴ But let justice flow like a river,
and let goodness flow like a stream that never becomes dry.
²⁵ Israel, you offered me sacrifices
and offerings in the desert for 40 years. ^{[ l ]}
²⁶ But you also carried statues of Sakkuth, your king, and Kaiwan. ^{[ m ]}
There was also that star god ^{[ n ]} that you made for yourselves.
²⁷ So I will send you as captives, far beyond Damascus.”
This is what the Lord says.
His name is God All-Powerful.

Footnotes

Amos 5:2 virgin The Hebrew word can mean “a woman who has not had sexual relations with anyone,” but here, it means the city of Samaria.
Amos 5:4 nation Literally, “house.” This might mean the royal family of that country.
Amos 5:5 Bethel, Gilgal, Beersheba Ancient places of worship. Abraham and Jacob built altars in these places, but God had told the Israelites that they should go to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship him.
Amos 5:5 taken away as prisoners In Hebrew this sounds like the name “Gilgal.”
Amos 5:5 destroyed The Hebrew word is like the name “Beth Aven.” This name means “House of Wickedness.” The prophets often used this name for Bethel.
Amos 5:6 Joseph’s house Here, this means the ten-tribe nation of Israel. Joseph was the ancestor of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in Israel.
Amos 5:6 Bethel This name means “El’s house” or “the house of God.” There was a temple here where the people from the northern tribes worshiped.
Amos 5:7 Pleiades and Orion Two well-known groups of stars (constellations).
Amos 5:7 poison Literally, “wormwood,” a type of plant with bitter leaves. It could be used as a medicine, or if strong enough, as a poison.
Amos 5:11 take unfair taxes The meaning of the Hebrew word here is uncertain.
Amos 5:16 professional criers People who went to funerals and cried loudly for the dead. Families and friends of the dead person often gave food or money to these people.
Amos 5:25 Or “Israel, did you offer me sacrifices and offerings in the desert for 40 years?”
Amos 5:26 Sakkuth, your king, and Kaiwan Or “Sakkuth, Moloch, and Kaiwan,” names of Assyrian gods.
Amos 5:26 star god This might be to honor a special god or all the stars in the sky. Many people thought the sun, moon, stars, and planets were gods or angels. This verse might also be translated, “You carried the shelter for your king and the footstool for your idols—the star of your gods that you made for yourselves.” The ancient Greek version adds the names of these gods: Moloch and Raphan.

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

² The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

³ 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.

⁴ For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

⁸ 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:

⁹ That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

¹⁰ They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

¹¹ 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.

¹² 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.

¹³ Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord .

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ 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.

²⁰ Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

²¹ I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

²² 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.

²³ Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

²⁴ But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

²⁵ Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

²⁶ But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

²⁷ Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord , whose name is The God of hosts.

“Seek Me So That You May Live”

5 Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a ^{( A )} song of mourning, house of Israel:
² She has fallen, she will ^{( B )} not rise again—
The ^{( C )} virgin Israel.
She lies unnoticed on her land;
There is ^{( D )} no one to raise her up.

³ For this is what the Lord ^{[ a ]} God says:

“The city which goes forth a thousand strong
Will have a ^{( E )} hundred left,
And the one which goes forth a hundred strong
Will have ^{( F )} ten left to the house of Israel.”

⁴ For this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel:

“ ^{( G )} Seek Me ^{( H )} so that you may live.
⁵ But do not ^{[ b ]} resort to ^{( I )} Bethel
And do not come to ^{( J )} Gilgal,
Nor cross over to ^{( K )} Beersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
And Bethel will ^{[ c ]} come to nothing.
⁶ ^{( L )} Seek the Lord so that you may live,
Or He will break through like a ^{( M )} fire, ^{[ d ]} house of Joseph,
And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,
⁷ For those who turn ^{( N )} justice into wormwood,
And ^{[ e ]} throw righteousness to the earth.”

⁸ He who made the ^{( O )} Pleiades and Orion,
And ^{( P )} changes deep darkness into morning,
^{[ f ]} Who also ^{( Q )} darkens day into night,
Who ^{( R )} calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the surface of the earth,
The ^{( S )} Lord is His name.
⁹ It is He who ^{( T )} makes destruction flash upon the strong,
So that ^{( U )} destruction comes upon the fortress.

¹⁰ They hate him who ^{( V )} rebukes in the ^{[ g ]} gate,
And they ^{( W )} despise him who speaks with integrity.
¹¹ Therefore because you impose heavy ^{[ h ]} rent on the poor
And take a tribute of grain from them,
Though you have built ^{( X )} houses of cut stone,
Yet you will not live in them;
You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will ^{( Y )} not drink their wine.
¹² For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great,
You who are ^{( Z )} hostile to the righteous and accept bribes,
And ^{[ i ]} turn away the poor from justice at the ^{[ j ]} gate.
¹³ Therefore at ^{[ k ]} such a time the prudent person ^{( AA )} keeps quiet, because it is an evil time.

¹⁴ Seek good and not evil, so that you may live;
And so may the Lord God of armies be with you,
^{( AB )} Just as you have said!
¹⁵ ^{( AC )} Hate evil, love good,
And establish justice in the ^{[ l ]} gate!
Perhaps the Lord God of armies
^{( AD )} Will be gracious to the ^{( AE )} remnant of Joseph.

¹⁶ Therefore this is what the Lord God of armies, the Lord says:

“There is ^{( AF )} mourning in all the public squares,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’
They also call the ^{( AG )} farmer to mourning
And ^{[ m ]} ^{( AH )} professional mourners to mourning rites.
¹⁷ And in all the ^{( AI )} vineyards there is mourning,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord .

¹⁸ Woe to you who are longing for the ^{( AJ )} day of the Lord ,
For what ^{[ n ]} purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be ^{( AK )} darkness and not light;
¹⁹ As when a man ^{( AL )} flees from a lion
And a bear confronts him,
^{[ o ]} Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,
And a snake bites him.
²⁰ Will the day of the Lord not be ^{( AM )} darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?

²¹ “I hate, I ^{( AN )} reject your festivals,
Nor do I ^{[ p ]} ^{( AO )} delight in your festive assemblies.
²² Even though you ^{( AP )} offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them ;
And I will not even look at the ^{( AQ )} peace offerings of your fattened oxen.
²³ Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
²⁴ But let ^{( AR )} justice roll out like waters,
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

²⁵ “ ^{[ q ]} ^{( AS )} Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel? ²⁶ ^{( AT )} You also carried along ^{[ r ]} Sikkuth your king and ^{[ s ]} Kiyyun, your images, ^{[ t ]} the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. ²⁷ Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord , whose name is the God of armies.

Footnotes

Amos 5:3 Heb YHWH , usually rendered Lord , and so throughout the ch
Amos 5:5 Lit seek
Amos 5:5 Lit be
Amos 5:6 Or in the house
Amos 5:7 Lit they have thrown
Amos 5:8 Lit And He darkened
Amos 5:10 I.e., the place where court was held
Amos 5:11 Or tax
Amos 5:12 Lit they turn
Amos 5:12 I.e., the place where court was held
Amos 5:13 Lit that time
Amos 5:15 I.e., the place where court was held
Amos 5:16 Lit those who know mourning
Amos 5:18 Lit will this be to you, the day
Amos 5:19 Or Then
Amos 5:21 Lit like to smell your
Amos 5:25 Or You presented Me with the sacrifices and a grain offering
Amos 5:26 Or Sakkuth (Saturn), or the tabernacle of your Moloch
Amos 5:26 Or Kaiwan (Saturn), or stands of
Amos 5:26 Or your star gods

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Table of Contents

Amos 5

Amos is sad

The special day of the Lord

A Sad Song for Israel

The Lord Encourages Israel to Come Back

The Evil Things That the Israelites Did

A Time of Great Sadness Is Coming

The Lord Rejects Israel’s Worship

Footnotes

“Seek Me So That You May Live”

Footnotes

Cross references

A Lament and Call to Repentance

The Day of the Lord

Footnotes

Cross references

BibleStudyIt Amos 5

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Amos 5

Amos is sad

The special day of the Lord

A Sad Song for Israel

The Lord Encourages Israel to Come Back

The Evil Things That the Israelites Did

A Time of Great Sadness Is Coming

The Lord Rejects Israel’s Worship

Footnotes

“Seek Me So That You May Live”

Footnotes

Cross references

A Lament and Call to Repentance

The Day of the Lord

Footnotes

Cross references

Amos 5's Chapter Tabs
Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.