Amos 5

Great^{(i) 1} Heare thys worde, O ye house of Israel, & why? I must make thys mone for you. ² The vyrgyn Israel shall fall, & neuer ryse vp agayne: she shalbe cast downe vpon her awne grounde, and no man shall helpe her vp. ³ For thus sayeth the Lorde God: where as there dwelt a .M. in one cytie, there shalbe left scarce an hundred therin: & where there dwelt an .C. there, shall scarce ten be left in the house of Israel. ⁴ Neuertheles, thus sayth the Lorde vnto the house of Israell: Seke after me, and ye shall lyue, ⁵ but seke not after Bethel. Come not at Gilgal, and go not to Bersaba: for Gilgal shalbe caryed awaye captyue, and Bethel shall come to naught. ⁶ Seke the Lorde, that ye maye lyue: lest the house of Ioseph be brent with fyre and consumed & lest there be none to quenche Bethell. ⁷ Ye turne the lawe to wormwod, & cast downe ryghteousnes vnto the grounde. ⁸ Ye forsake the Lord that maketh the .vij. starres & the Orions, that turneth the nyght into daye, and of the daye he maketh darcknesse. He calleth the waters of the see, and poureth them out vpon the playne grounde: the Lorde is hys name. ⁹ He rayseth destruccyon vpon the myghtye people, & bringeth downe the stronge holde. ¹⁰ But they owe him euell will, that reproueth them openly: and who so telleth them the playne trueth, they abhorre hym. ¹¹ For so moche then as ye oppresse the poore, and robbe him of his best sustenaunce: therfore, where as ye haue buylded houses of square stone, ye shall not dwell in them. Maruelous pleasaunt vyneyardes shall ye plante, but the wyne of them shall ye not drincke: & why? ¹² as for the multitude of youre wyckednesses and youre stoute synnes, I knowe them ryght well. Enemyes are ye of the ryghteous, ye take rewardes, ye oppresse the poore in iudgement. ¹³ Therfore, the wyse must nowe be fayne to holde his tunge, so wycked a tyme is it. ¹⁴ Seke after the thinge that is good, & not euell, so shall ye lyue: yee, the Lorde God of hoostes shalbe with you, accordinge to your awne desyre. ¹⁵ Hate the euell, and loue the good: set vp ryght agayne in the porte: and (no doute) the Lorde God of Hoostes shalbe mercyfull vnto the remnaunt of Ioseph. ¹⁶ If no (sayeth the Lorde God, the God of hostes) there shall be mournynge in all stretes, yee, they shall saye in euery strete: alas, alas. They shall call the housbandman to lamentacyon, and soch as can mourne to mournynge. ¹⁷ In all vyneyardes there shall be heuynesse, for I will come amonge you, sayeth the Lorde. ¹⁸ Wo be vnto them that desyre the daye of the Lorde. Wherfore wolde ye haue it? As for the daye of the Lorde, it shalbe darcke and not cleare. ¹⁹ Yee, lyke as when a man runneth from a lyon, and a Beer meteth with him: or when he commeth into the house, & leaneth his hande vpon the wall, a serpent byteth him. ²⁰ Shall not the daye of the Lorde be darcke, & not cleare? shall it not be cloudy, & no shyne in it? ²¹ I hate and abhorre your holy dayes, & where as ye cense me when ye come together, I wyll not accepte it. ²² And though ye offre me brent offrynges and meat offrynges, yet haue I no pleasure therin. As for your fat thanckofferynges. I wyll not loke vpon them: ²³ Awaye with that noyse of thy songes, I will not heare thy playes of musyck: ²⁴ but se that equytie flowe as the water, and ryghteousnesse as a myghtye streame. ²⁵ O ye house of Israel, gaue ye me offrynges and sacrifyces those fourty yeares longe in the wyldernes? ²⁶ yet haue ye set vp tabernacles to your Moloch, and ymages of your Idols, yee, and the starre of your God Rempha, fygures which ye made to worshyppe them. ²⁷ Therfore wyll I cause you to be caryed awaye beyonde Damascus, sayeth the Lord, whose name is the God of Hostes.