Amos 5

¹Give ear to this word, my song of sorrow over you, O children of Israel.

²The virgin of Israel has been made low, never again to be lifted up: she is stretched out by herself on her land; there is no one to put her on her feet again.

³For these are the words of the Lord God: The town which was able to send out a thousand, will have only a hundred; and that which sent out a hundred, will have only ten, in Israel.

⁴For these are the words of the Lord to the children of Israel: Let your hearts be turned to me, so that you may have life:

⁵Do not be looking for help to Beth-el, and do not go to Gilgal, or make your way to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal will certainly be taken prisoner, and Beth-el will come to nothing.

⁶Go to the Lord for help so that you may have life; for fear that he may come like fire bursting out in the family of Joseph, causing destruction, and there will be no one to put it out in Beth-el.

⁷You who make the work of judging a bitter thing, crushing down righteousness to the earth;

⁸Go for help to him who makes Orion and the Pleiades, by whom the deep dark is turned into morning, who makes the day black with night; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, sending them out over the face of the earth: the Lord is his name;

⁹Who sends sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the walled town.

¹⁰They have hate for him who makes protest against evil in the public place, and he whose words are upright is disgusting to them.

¹¹So because the poor man is crushed under your feet, and you take taxes from him of grain: you have made for yourselves houses of cut stone, but you will not take your rest in them; the fair vine-gardens planted by your hands will not give you wine.