Amos 5

Seek the Lord and Live

1 Hear this word that I k take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

2 "Fallen, no more to rise,
is l the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up."

3 For thus says the Lord God:
"The city that went out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
shall have ten left
to the house of Israel."

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
m "Seek me and live;
 5 but do not seek n Bethel,
and do not enter into n Gilgal
or cross over to o Beersheba;
for n Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and n Bethel shall come to nothing."

6 m Seek the Lord and live,
p lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for n Bethel,
 7 O q you who turn justice to wormwood 1
and cast down righteousness to the earth!

8 He who made the r Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and s darkens the day into night,
who t calls for the waters of the sea
t and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
u the Lord is his name;
 9 v who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 w They hate him who reproves x in the gate,
and they y abhor him who speaks the truth.
 11 Therefore because you z trample on 2 the poor
and you exact taxes of grain from him,
a you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them;
a you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
 12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins -
you who afflict the righteous, who b take a bribe,
and c turn aside the needy x in the gate.
 13 Therefore he who is prudent will d keep silent in such a time,
e for it is an evil time.

14 f Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, g the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
 15 h Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice x in the gate;
i it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord, g the God of hosts, the Lord:
"In all the squares j there shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, 'Alas! Alas!'
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and j to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
 17 and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for k I will pass through your midst,"
says the Lord.

Let Justice Roll Down

18 Woe to you who desire l the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
m It is darkness, and not light,
 19 n as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
 20 m Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?

21 o "I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
 22 p Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to q the melody of your harps I will not listen.
 24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 r "Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 s You t shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god - your images that you made for yourselves, 27 u and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus," says the Lord, whose name is g the God of hosts.

  1. Cross References
    Ezekiel 19:1
    And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel.
  2. Cross References
    Lamentations 2:1
    How the Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud! He has cast down from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.
    Isaiah 47:1
    Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
  3. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 15:2
    And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
    Isaiah 55:6
    Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
    Zephaniah 2:3
    Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
  4. Cross References
    Amos 4:4
    Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
  5. Cross References
    Amos 4:4
    Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
  6. Cross References
    Amos 4:4
    Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
  7. Cross References
    Amos 4:4
    Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
  8. Cross References
    Amos 8:14
    Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria, and say, 'As your god lives, O Dan,' and, 'As the Way of Beersheba lives,' they shall fall, and never rise again.
  9. Cross References
    Amos 5:4
    For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 9:18 - 19
    For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
  11. Cross References
    Amos 5:5
    But do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.
  12. Cross References
    Amos 6:12
    Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood -
  13. Cross References
    Job 9:9
    Who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south.
    Job 38:31
    Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion?
  14. Cross References
    Psalms 104:20
    You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
    Amos 4:13
    For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
    Amos 8:9
    And on that day," declares the Lord God, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
  15. Cross References
    Amos 9:6
    Who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth - the Lord is his name.
    Genesis 6:17
    For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
    Psalms 104:6 - 7
    You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
  16. Cross References
    Amos 9:6
    Who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth - the Lord is his name.
    Genesis 6:17
    For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
    Psalms 104:6 - 7
    You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
  17. Cross References
    Amos 4:13
    For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:32
    The proud one shall stumble and fall, with none to raise him up, and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all that is around him.
  19. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:21
    Who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.
    Proverbs 15:5
    A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
    Proverbs 15:10
    There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.
  20. Cross References
    Ruth 4:1
    Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, "Turn aside, friend; sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.
  21. Cross References
    1 Kings 22:8
    And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so.
  22. Cross References
    James 2:6
    But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?
  23. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:30
    You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit.
    Deuteronomy 28:39
    You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them.
    Micah 6:15
    You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
    Zephaniah 1:13
    Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.
  24. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:30
    You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit.
    Deuteronomy 28:39
    You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them.
    Micah 6:15
    You shall sow, but not reap; you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
    Zephaniah 1:13
    Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.
  25. Cross References
    1 Samuel 8:3
    Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
    1 Samuel 12:3
    Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.
    Psalms 26:10
    In whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
  26. Cross References
    Amos 2:7
    Those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned.
    Isaiah 29:21
    Who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.
  27. Cross References
    Amos 5:10
    They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
  28. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 3:7
    A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
  29. Cross References
    Micah 2:3
    Therefore thus says the Lord : behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.
  30. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 30:15
    See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.
    Deuteronomy 30:19
    I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.
    Zephaniah 2:3
    Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
  31. Cross References
    Amos 3:13
    Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord God, the God of hosts.
  32. Cross References
    Psalms 97:10
    O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
    Romans 12:9
    Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
  33. Cross References
    Amos 5:10
    They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
  34. Cross References
    Joel 2:14
    Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?
    Exodus 32:30
    The next day Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord ; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.
  35. Cross References
    Amos 5:14
    Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
  36. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:17 - 18
    Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come.
  37. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:17 - 18
    Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come.
  38. Cross References
    Exodus 12:12
    For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.
  39. Cross References
    Joel 1:15
    Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
  40. Cross References
    Joel 2:1 - 2
    Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near.
  41. Cross References
    Isaiah 24:18
    He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
    Jeremiah 48:44
    He who flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For I will bring these things upon Moab, the year of their punishment, declares the Lord.
  42. Cross References
    Amos 5:18
    Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord ? It is darkness, and not light.
  43. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:14
    Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
    Jeremiah 6:20
    What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
  44. Cross References
    Psalms 51:16 - 17
    For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
    Isaiah 1:11
    What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord ; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
  45. Cross References
    Amos 6:5
    Who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music.
    Amos 8:3
    The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," declares the Lord God. "So many dead bodies!" "They are thrown everywhere!" "Silence!
    Isaiah 5:12
    They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.
  46. Cross References
    Acts 7:42 - 43
    But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: "'Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
  47. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:17
    They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
    Ezekiel 20:16
    Because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
    Ezekiel 20:24
    Because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols.
  48. Cross References
    Isaiah 46:7
    They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.
  49. Cross References
    2 Kings 17:6
    In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
  50. Cross References
    Amos 5:14
    Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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