Amos 5:4-17

Amos 5:4-17

[4] For thus saith  the LORD  unto the house  of Israel,  Seek  ye me, and ye shall live:  [5] But seek  not Bethel,  nor enter  into Gilgal,  and pass  not to Beersheba:  for Gilgal  shall surely  and Bethel  shall come to nought.  [6] Seek  and ye shall live;  lest he break out  like fire  in the house  of Joseph,  and devour  it, and there be none to quench  it in Bethel.  [7] Ye who turn  judgment  to wormwood,  and leave off  righteousness  in the earth,  [8] Seek him that maketh  the seven stars  and Orion,  and turneth  the shadow of death  into the morning,  and maketh the day  dark  with night:  that calleth  for the waters  of the sea,  and poureth them out  upon the face  of the earth:  The LORD  is his name:  [9] That strengtheneth  the spoiled  against the strong,  so that the spoiled  shall come  against the fortress.  [10] They hate  him that rebuketh  in the gate,  and they abhor  him that speaketh  uprightly.  [11] Forasmuch  therefore as your treading  is upon the poor,  and ye take  from him burdens  of wheat:  ye have built  houses  of hewn stone,  but ye shall not dwell  in them; ye have planted  pleasant  vineyards,  but ye shall not drink  wine  of them. [12] For I know  your manifold  transgressions  and your mighty  sins:  they afflict  the just,  they take  a bribe,  and they turn aside  the poor  in the gate  [13] Therefore the prudent  shall keep silence  in that time;  for it is an evil  time.  [14] Seek  good,  and not evil,  that ye may live:  and so the LORD,  the God  of hosts,  shall be with you, as ye have spoken.  [15] Hate  the evil,  and love  the good,  and establish  judgment  in the gate:  it may be that the LORD  God  of hosts  will be gracious  unto the remnant  of Joseph.  [16] Therefore the LORD,  the God  of hosts,  the Lord,  saith  thus; Wailing  shall be in all streets;  and they shall say  in all the highways,  Alas!  and they shall call  the husbandman  to mourning,  and such as are skilful  of lamentation  to wailing.  [17] And in all vineyards  shall be wailing:  for I will pass  through  thee, saith  the LORD.