The Lord Demands Justice

18 Woe to those who wish for the day of the Lord

Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?

It will bring darkness, not light.

19 Disaster will be inescapable,

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light –

gloomy blackness, not bright light?

21 “I absolutely despise your festivals!

I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!

22 Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, I will not be satisfied;

I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves.

23 Take away from me your noisy songs;

I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.

24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,

righteous actions like a stream that never dries up.

25 You did not bring me sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family of Israel.

26 You will pick up your images of Sikkuth, your king,

and Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves,

27 and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord.

He is called the God who commands armies!

6 Woe to those who live in ease in Zion,

to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.

They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation.

The family of Israel looks to them for leadership.

2 They say to the people:

“Journey over to Calneh and look at it!

Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah!

Then go down to Gath of the Philistines!

Are they superior to our two kingdoms?

Is their territory larger than yours?”

3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come,

but you establish a reign of violence.

4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory,

and sprawl out on their couches.

They eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the middle of the pen.

5 They sing to the tune of stringed instruments;

like David they invent musical instruments.

6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls,

and pour the very best oils on themselves.

Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.

7 Therefore they will now be the first to go into exile,

and the religious banquets where they sprawl on couches will end.

8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life.

The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking:

“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;

I hate their fortresses.

I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it.”

9 If ten men are left in one house, they too will die. 10 When their close relatives, the ones who will burn the corpses, pick up their bodies to remove the bones from the house, they will say to anyone who is in the inner rooms of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” He will respond, “Be quiet! Don’t invoke the Lord’s name!”

11 Indeed, look! The Lord is giving the command.

He will smash the large house to bits,

and the small house into little pieces.

12 Can horses run on rocky cliffs?

Can one plow the sea with oxen?

Yet you have turned justice into a poisonous plant,

and the fruit of righteous actions into a bitter plant.

13 You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar.

You say, “Did we not conquer Karnaim by our own power?”

14 “Look! I am about to bring a nation against you, family of Israel.”

The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.

“They will oppress you all the way from Lebo-Hamath to the Stream of the Arabah.”

7 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw him making locusts just as the crops planted late were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest. ) 2 When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,

“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel!

How can Jacob survive?

He is too weak!”

3 The Lord decided not to do this. “It will not happen,” the Lord said.

4 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw the sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields.

5 I said, “Sovereign Lord, stop!

How can Jacob survive?

He is too weak!”

6 The Lord decided not to do this. The sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”

7 He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand. 8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The sovereign One then said,

“Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel.

I will no longer overlook their sin.

9 Isaac’s centers of worship will become desolate;

Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.

I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.”