Get the free app for more features and content.
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

A Lament for Israel’s Sin

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

2Fallen, no more to rise,

is maiden Israel;

forsaken on her land,

with no one to raise her up.

3For thus says the Lord God:

The city that marched out a thousand

shall have a hundred left,

and that which marched out a hundred

shall have ten left.

4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

Seek me and live;

5but do not seek Bethel,

and do not enter into Gilgal

or cross over to Beer-sheba;

for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,

and Bethel shall come to nothing.

6Seek the Lord and live,

or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire,

and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.

7Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood,

and bring righteousness to the ground!

8The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,

and turns deep darkness into the morning,

and darkens the day into night,

who calls for the waters of the sea,

and pours them out on the surface of the earth,

the Lord is his name,

9who makes destruction flash out against the strong,

so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10They hate the one who reproves in the gate,

and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.

11Therefore because you trample on the poor

and take from them levies of grain,

you have built houses of hewn stone,

but you shall not live in them;

you have planted pleasant vineyards,

but you shall not drink their wine.

12For I know how many are your transgressions,

and how great are your sins—

you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,

and push aside the needy in the gate.

13Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time;

for it is an evil time.

14Seek good and not evil,

that you may live;

and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,

just as you have said.

15Hate evil and love good,

and establish justice in the gate;

it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,

will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord:

In all the squares there shall be wailing;

and in all the streets they shall say, “Alas! alas!”

They shall call the farmers to mourning,

and those skilled in lamentation, to wailing;

17in all the vineyards there shall be wailing,

for I will pass through the midst of you,

says the Lord.

The Day of the Lord a Dark Day

18Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!

Why do you want the day of the Lord?

It is darkness, not light;

19as if someone fled from a lion,

and was met by a bear;

or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a snake.

20Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,

and gloom with no brightness in it?

21I hate, I despise your festivals,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

22Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals

I will not look upon.

23Take away from me the noise of your songs;

I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

24But let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves; 27therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Click here to learn more.

Featured Resources

Day of the Lord

Day of the Lord

Does God care about all of the evil humans perpetrate in our world, and if so...

BibleProject

Introduction to Amos and Obadiah

Introduction to Amos and Obadiah

Dr. Dwight Radcliff introduces Amos and Obadiah, deeply human books that spea...

Fuller Studio

What Is an Old Testament Prophet? (Sandra Richter)

What Is an Old Testament Prophet? (Sandra Richter)

https://seedbed.com Seedbed's mission is to gather, connect, and resource ...

Seedbed

[BBST 392] The Prophet Amos - David Talley

[BBST 392] The Prophet Amos - David Talley

BBST 392: Minor Prophets The Prophet Amos October 10, 2012

Biola University

How to Read the 15 Prophetic Books in the Bible

How to Read the 15 Prophetic Books in the Bible

The books of the Old Testament prophets are packed with dense poetry and wild...

BibleProject

Book of Amos Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

Book of Amos Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

Watch our overview video on the book of Amos, which breaks down the literary ...

BibleProject

Old Testament Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

Old Testament Summary: A Complete Animated Over...

Watch our overview video on the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible...

BibleProject

Explore Amos 5