Amo 5 | NASB1995 | STEP | Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge , O house of Israel :

Amos 5

“Seek Me that You May Live”

1 Hear this word which I take up for you as a ^adirge, O house of Israel:
2 She has fallen, she will ^bnot rise again—
The ^cvirgin Israel.
She lies neglected on her land;
There is ^dnone to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord , and so throughout the ch}God, “The city which goes forth a thousand strong
Will have a ^fhundred left,
And the one which goes forth a hundred strong
Will have ^gten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, ^h“Seek Me ⁱthat you may live.
5 “But do not ^{▼▼ Lit seek}resort to ^kBethel
And do not come to ^lGilgal,
Nor cross over to ^mBeersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
And Bethel will ^{▼▼ Or become iniquity}come to trouble.
6 ^o“Seek the Lord that you may live,
Or He will break forth like a ^pfire, ^{▼▼ Or in the house}O house of Joseph,
And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,
7 For those who turn ^rjustice into wormwood
And ^{▼▼ Lit they have put down}cast righteousness down to the earth.”

8 He who made the ^tPleiades and Orion
And ^uchanges deep darkness into morning,
^{▼▼ Lit And He darkened}Who also ^wdarkens day into night,
Who ^xcalls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the surface of the earth,
The ^yLord is His name.
9 It is He who ^zflashes forth with destruction upon the strong,
So that ^aadestruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who ^abreproves in the ^{▼▼ I.e. the place where court was held}gate,
And they ^adabhor him who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore because you ^{▼▼ Another reading is trample upon}impose heavy rent on the poor
And exact a tribute of grain from them,
Though you have built ^afhouses of well-hewn stone,
Yet you will not live in them;
You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will ^agnot drink their wine.
12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great,
You who ^ahdistress the righteous and accept bribes
And ^{▼▼ Lit they turn}turn aside the poor in the ^{▼▼ I.e. the place where court was held}gate.
13 Therefore at ^{▼▼ Lit that time}such a time the prudent person ^alkeeps silent, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live;
And thus may the Lord God of hosts be with you,
^amJust as you have said!
15 ^anHate evil, love good,
And establish justice in the ^{▼▼ I.e. the place where court was held}gate!
Perhaps the Lord God of hosts
^apMay be gracious to the ^aqremnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, “There is ^arwailing in all the plazas,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They also call the ^asfarmer to mourning
And ^{▼▼ Lit those who know lamentation
,} ^auprofessional mourners to lamentation.
17 “And in all the ^avvineyards there is wailing,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.

18 Alas, you who are longing for the ^awday of the Lord,
For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be ^axdarkness and not light;
19 As when a man ^ayflees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
^{▼▼ Or Then}Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be ^badarkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I ^bbreject your festivals,
Nor do I ^{▼▼ Lit like to smell
,} ^bddelight in your solemn assemblies.
22 “Even though you ^beoffer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the ^bfpeace offerings of your fatlings.
23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
24 “But let ^bgjustice roll down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 ^{▼▼ Or You presented Me with the sacrifices and a grain offering
,} ^bi“Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26 ^bj“You also carried along ^{▼▼ Or Sakkuth (Saturn) or shrine of your Moloch}Sikkuth your king and ^{▼▼ Or Kaiwan (Saturn) or stands of}Kiyyun, your images, ^{▼▼ Or your star gods}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 hosts.