Amos 5:18-6:14 NIV

Amos 5:18-6:14

The Day of the Lord

Woe to you who long

for the day of the Lord!

Why do you long for the day of the Lord?

That day will be darkness, not light.

It will be as though a man fled from a lion

only to meet a bear,

as though he entered his house

and rested his hand on the wall

only to have a snake bite him.

Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—

pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?

“I hate, I despise your religious festivals;

your assemblies are a stench to me.

Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them.

Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,

I will have no regard for them.

Away with the noise of your songs!

I will not listen to the music of your harps.

But let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-failing stream!

“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings

forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?

You have lifted up the shrine of your king,

the pedestal of your idols,

the star of your god5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols—

which you made for yourselves.

Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,”

says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.

Woe to the Complacent

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,

and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,

you notable men of the foremost nation,

to whom the people of Israel come!

Go to Kalneh and look at it;

go from there to great Hamath,

and then go down to Gath in Philistia.

Are they better off than your two kingdoms?

Is their land larger than yours?

You put off the day of disaster

and bring near a reign of terror.

You lie on beds adorned with ivory

and lounge on your couches.

You dine on choice lambs

and fattened calves.

You strum away on your harps like David

and improvise on musical instruments.

You drink wine by the bowlful

and use the finest lotions,

but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;

your feasting and lounging will end.

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor the pride of Jacob

and detest his fortresses;

I will deliver up the city

and everything in it.”

If ten people are left in one house, they too will die. And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

For the Lord has given the command,

and he will smash the great house into pieces

and the small house into bits.

Do horses run on the rocky crags?

Does one plow the sea6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there with oxen?

But you have turned justice into poison

and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—

you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.

and say, “Did we not take Karnaim6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength. by our own strength?”

For the Lord God Almighty declares,

“I will stir up a nation against you, Israel,

that will oppress you all the way

from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.”

Read More of Amos 5