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Amos 5
Modern English Version
Amos 5
Modern English Version
Third Pronouncement of Punishment
5 Hear this word which I take up as a dirge against you, O house of Israel:
2 Fallen, no more to rise
is maiden Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with no one to raise her up.
3 For thus says the Lord God:
The city that went out with a thousand
will be left with a hundred,
and the one that went out with a hundred
will be left with ten for the house of Israel.
4 Indeed, thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
Seek Me and live!
5 But do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over to Beersheba;
for Gilgal will surely go into captivity,
and Bethel shall be no more.
6 Seek the Lord and live,
or He will break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it will devour Bethel,
with no one to quench it.
7 You who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness down to the ground!
8 The One who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns the deep darkness into dawn
and darkens the day into night,
who summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the surface of the earth—
the Lord is His name,
9 the One who flashes destruction against the strong,
so that destruction comes against the fortress.
10 They hate the one who prosecutes at the gate,
and abhor the one who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore, because you trample on the poor
and take from him a levy of wheat,
though you have built houses of hewn stone,
you will not dwell in them;
though you have planted pleasant vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know your transgressions are many
and your sins are grievous,
you who oppress the just,
who take a bribe and subvert the needy at the gate.
13 Therefore the prudent are silent at such a time,
for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
so that you may live;
then the Lord, the God of Hosts, will truly be with you,
as you claim.
15 Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice at the gate.
It may then be that the Lord God of Hosts will be gracious
to the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Hosts, the Lord:
Wailing will be in all the squares,
and in all the streets they will say, “Alas! Alas!”
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
and to wailing those skilled in lamentation.
17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for I will pass through you,
says the Lord.
The Day of the Lord Is Darkness
18 Woe to you that desire
the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
19 as if someone fled away from a lion,
but a bear attacked him,
or got into the house
and rested his hand on the wall,
but a snake bit him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?
Will it not be deep darkness, with no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I am not pleased by your solemn assemblies.
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings or your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
nor will I regard the offerings
of your fattened animals.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like water,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings
those forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
26 But you will carry away Sukuth your king
and Kaiwan your star-images,
your gods that you made for yourselves,
27 as I drive you away into exile beyond Damascus,
says the Lord, whose name is the God of Hosts.
Amos 5
New International Version
Amos 5
New International Version
A Lament and Call to Repentance
5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament(A) I take up concerning you:
2 “Fallen is Virgin(B) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.(C)”
3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:
“Your city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left.(D)”
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek(E) me and live;(F)
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,(G)
do not journey to Beersheba.(H)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[a](I)”
6 Seek(J) the Lord and live,(K)
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;(L)
it will devour them,
and Bethel(M) will have no one to quench it.(N)
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(R)
who turns midnight into dawn(S)
and darkens day into night,(T)
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(U)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.(V)
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court(W)
and detest the one who tells the truth.(X)
11 You levy a straw tax on the poor(Y)
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,(Z)
you will not live in them;(AA)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.(AB)
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.(AC)
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes(AD)
and deprive the poor(AE) of justice in the courts.(AF)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet(AG) in such times,
for the times are evil.(AH)
14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.(AI)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil,(AJ) love good;(AK)
maintain justice in the courts.(AL)
Perhaps(AM) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy(AN)
on the remnant(AO) of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing(AP) in all the streets(AQ)
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(AR) will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(AS) in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through(AT) your midst,”
says the Lord.(AU)
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!(AV)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(AW)
That day will be darkness,(AX) not light.(AY)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,(AZ)
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.(BA)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(BB) not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(BC)
21 “I hate,(BD) I despise your religious festivals;(BE)
your assemblies(BF) are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings(BG) and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.(BH)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.(BI)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.(BJ)
24 But let justice(BK) roll on like a river,
righteousness(BL) like a never-failing stream!(BM)
25 “Did you bring me sacrifices(BN) and offerings
forty years(BO) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,(BP)
the star of your god[b]—
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile(BQ) beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.(BR)
Modern English Version (MEV)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.