Amos 5:1-17

Listen to this funeral song that I sing over you, people of Israel: “Virgin Israel has fallen, never to rise again. There she lies, abandoned on her own soil, with no one to lift her up.” Lord YAHWEH says this: “The city that deployed a thousand soldiers will only have a hundred come back, and the city that deployed a hundred soldiers will only have ten survivors.” For YAHWEH says this to the people of Israel: “Come, seek me, and you will live. But don’t go down to seek me at Beersheba. Don’t try to find me at Bethel’s shrines or at the altars at Gilgal. For Gilgal will be taken into exile, and Bethel will be brought to nothing.” Come back to YAHWEH and live, or he will sweep down like fire upon the people of Israel. The fire will burn at Bethel with no one there to put out the flames. They turn justice into a bitter pill to swallow and trample righteousness into the mud. Creator of Constellations—Maker of the Pleiades and Orion, you turn the deepest darkness into dawn and daylight into the darkest night. You draw up drops of water distilled from the sea to drench the earth with pouring rain. YAHWEH is your name. You destroy the mighty with a blinding flash and overwhelm their strongholds with certain destruction. They hate the one who challenges injustice and despise the one who declares the whole truth in court. For I know how outrageous are your many sins and how many crimes you have committed. You persecute the righteous, trample on the rights of the poor, and seize their grain through extortion. By taking bribes, you prevent them from getting justice in the courts. This is why you will not live in the fine stone houses you build or enjoy the fruits of your luxury. You will not drink wine from the lush vineyards you plant, for your judgment is imminent. Yes, the smartest thing for the prudent is to remain silent in such an evil time as this. Devote yourself to what is good, not evil, so that you may live. And YAHWEH, the God of Angel Armies, will really be with you, just as you claim he is. Hate what is evil, love what is right, and let justice prevail in the courts. It may be that YAHWEH, God of Angel Armies, will show mercy to the remnant of Israel. Because of Israel’s sins, Lord YAHWEH, God of Angel Armies, says this: “Wailing and sorrow everywhere! In every street they will mourn the dead. Those who work in the fields will be expected to mourn along with the professional mourners. There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst to punish you,” declares YAHWEH.