Amos 5

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Hear this word which I utter over you, a lament, O house of Israel:	1 Listen to this word, which I lift over you in lamentation. The house of Israel has fallen, and it will no longer rise again.
2 She is fallen, to rise no more, the virgin Israel; She lies abandoned upon her land, with no one to raise her up.	2 The virgin of Israel has been thrown onto her land, there is no one who can raise her up.
3 For thus says the Lord GOD: The city that marched out with a thousand shall be left without a hundred, Another that marched out with a hundred shall be left with ten, of the house of Israel.	3 For thus says the Lord God: In the city from which a thousand departed, a hundred will remain, and in that from which a hundred departed, ten will remain, in the house of Israel.
4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: Seek me, that you may live,	4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek me and you will live.
5 but do not seek Bethel; Do not come to Gilgal, and do not cross to Beer-sheba. For Gilgal shall be led into exile, and Bethel shall become nought.	5 But do not be willing to seek Bethel, and do not be willing to enter Gilgal, and you will not cross into Beer-sheba. For Gilgal will be led into captivity, and Bethel will be useless.
6 Seek the LORD, that you may live, lest he come upon the house of Joseph like a fire That shall consume, with none to quench it for the house of Israel:	6 Seek the Lord and live. Otherwise, the house of Joseph may be destroyed with fire, and it will devour, and there will be no one who can extinguish Bethel.
7 Woe to those who turn judgment to wormwood and cast justice to the ground!	7 You turn judgment into wormwood, and you abandon justice on earth.
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn, and darkens day into night; Who summons the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the surface of the earth;	8 The Maker of Arcturus and Orion, who turns darkness into daybreak and who changes day into night; who calls forth the waters of the sea and who pours them out over the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
9 Who flashes destruction upon the strong, and brings ruin upon the fortress; whose name is LORD.	9 It is he who smiles destruction on the healthy, and who brings pillaging upon the powerful.
10 They hate him who reproves at the gate and abhor him who speaks the truth.	10 They held hatred for the one who corrects at the gate, and they have abhorred the one who speaks perfectly.
11 Therefore, because you have trampled upon the weak and exacted of them levies of grain, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, you shall not live in them! Though you have planted choice vineyards, you shall not drink their wine!	11 Therefore, on his behalf, because you have torn apart the poor and stolen choice prey from him: you will build houses with square stones and you will not dwell in them; you will plant the most delightful vineyards, and you will not drink wine from them.
12 Yes, I know how many are your crimes, how grievous your sins: Oppressing the just, accepting bribes, repelling the needy at the gate!	12 For I know your many wicked deeds and the strength of your sins, you enemies of the just, accepting bribes, and depriving the poor at the gate.
13 Therefore the prudent man is silent at this time, for it is an evil time.	13 Therefore, the prudent will be silent at that time, for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts, be with you as you claim!	14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. And the Lord God of hosts will be with you, just as you have asked.
15 Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at the gate; Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.	15 Hate evil and love good, and establish judgment at the gate. Perhaps then the Lord God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: In every square there shall be lamentation, and in every street they shall cry, Alas! Alas! They shall summon the farmers to wail and professional mourners to lament,	16 Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Sovereign: In all the streets, there will be wailing. And in every place where they are outdoors, they will say, “Woe, woe!” And they will call the farmer to mourn, and those who know mourning to lamentation.
17 And in every vineyard there shall be lamentation when I pass through your midst, says the LORD.	17 And in all the vineyards there will be wailing. For I will cross through your midst, says the Lord.
18 Woe to those who yearn for the day of the LORD! What will this day of the LORD mean for you? Darkness and not light!	18 Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord. What is it to you? The day of the Lord is this: darkness and not light.
19 As if a man went to flee from a lion, and a bear should meet him; Or as if on entering his house he were to rest his hand against the wall, and a snake should bite him.	19 It is as if a man flees from the face of a lion, only to have a bear meet him; or, he enters a house and leans with his hand against the wall, only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness and not light, gloom without any brightness?	20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I spurn your feasts, I take no pleasure in your solemnities;	21 I hate and have rejected your feasts; and I will not accept the odor from your gatherings.
22 Your cereal offerings I will not accept, nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings.	22 For if you offer me holocausts and your gifts, I will not receive them; and I will not look upon the vows of your fatness.
23 Away with your noisy songs! I will not listen to the melodies of your harps. But if you would offer me holocausts,	23 Take away from me the tumult of your songs, and I will not listen to the canticles of your lyre.
24 then let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing stream.	24 And judgment will be revealed like water, and justice like a mighty torrent.
25 Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?	25 Was it you who offered victims and sacrifices to me in the desert for forty years, house of Israel?
26 You will carry away Sakkuth, your king, and Kaiwan, your star god, the images that you have made for yourselves;	26 And you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch and the image of your idols: the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
27 For I will exile you beyond Damascus, say I, the LORD, the God of hosts by name.	27 And I will cause you to go into captivity across Damascus, says the Lord. The God of hosts is his name.