5:1 Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.
5:2 "The virgin of Israel has fallen; She shall rise no more. She is cast down on her land; There is no one to raise her up."
5:3 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, And that which went forth one hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel."
5:4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel: "Seek me, and you will live;
5:5 But don't seek Bethel, Nor enter into Gilgal, And don't pass to Beersheba: For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.
5:6 Seek Yahweh, and you will live; Lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.
5:7 You who turn justice to wormwood, And cast down righteousness to the earth:
5:8 Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, And turns the shadow of death into the morning, And makes the day dark with night; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,
5:9 Who brings sudden destruction on the strong, So that destruction comes on the fortress.
5:10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks blamelessly.
5:11 Forasmuch therefore as you trample on the poor, And take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of hewn stone, But you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink their wine.
5:12 For I know how many your offenses, And how great are your sins-- You who afflict the just, Who take a bribe, And who turn aside the needy in the courts.
5:13 Therefore he who is prudent shall keep silence in such a time; For it is an evil time.
5:14 Seek good, and not evil, That you may live; And so Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be with you, As you say.
5:15 Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the courts. It may be that Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."
5:16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the Lord: "Wailing will be in all the broad ways; And they will say in all the streets, 'Alas! Alas!' And they will call the farmer to mourning, And those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing.
5:17 In all vineyards there will be wailing; For I will pass through the midst of you," says Yahweh.
5:18 "Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, And not light.
5:19 As if a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, And a snake bit him.
5:20 Will the day of Yahweh not be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
5:21 I hate, I despise your feasts, And I can't stand your solemn assemblies.
5:22 Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals.
5:23 Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
5:24 But let justice roll on like rivers, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
5:25 "Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel?
5:26 Yes, you have borne the tent of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.
5:27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus," says Yahweh, whose name is the God of hosts.