Amos 5:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Amos 5:1

A Lament for Israel

1 Hear this word which I ^atake up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

2 The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”

A Call to Repentance

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
^a“Seek Me ^band live;

5 But do not seek ^aBethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to ^bBeersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And ^cBethel shall come to nothing.

6 ^aSeek the Lord and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—

7 You who ^aturn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

8 He made the ^aPleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
^bAnd makes the day dark as night;
He ^ccalls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
^dThe Lord is His name.

9 He¹ rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.

10 ^aThey hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they ^babhor the one who speaks uprightly.

11 ^aTherefore, because you¹ tread down the poor
And take grain¹ taxes from him,
Though ^byou have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted¹ pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.

12 For I ^aknow your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
^bAfflicting the just and taking bribes;
^cDiverting the poor from justice at the gate.

13 Therefore ^athe prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,
^aAs you have spoken.

15 ^aHate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
^bIt may be that the Lord God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

The Day of the Lord

16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“There shall be wailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
^aAnd skillful lamenters to wailing.

17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
For ^aI will pass through you,”
Says the Lord.

Verse Comparison: Amos 5:1

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Amos 5:2 >>

American Standard Version
Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

Amplified® Bible
HEAR THIS word which I take up concerning you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

Contemporary English Version
Listen, nation of Israel, to my mournful message:

Darby English Version
Hear this word, a lamentation, which I take up against you, O house of Israel.

Good News Bible
Listen, people of Israel, to this funeral song which I sing over you:

King James Version
Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

New American Standard Bible
Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:

New International Version
Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:

New King James Version
Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:

Revised Standard Version
Hear this word which I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

Young's Literal Translation
Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:

New English Translation
Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you,¹ family² of Israel:

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