Amos 5:6-17

Amos 5:6-17 New International Version (NIV) 6 Seek the Lord and live,     or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them,     and Bethel will have no one to quench it. 7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness     and cast righteousness to the ground. 8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,     who turns midnight into dawn     and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea     and pours them out over the face of the land—     the Lord is his name. 9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold     and brings the fortified city to ruin. 10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court     and detest the one who tells the truth. 11 You levy a straw tax on the poor     and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,     you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards,     you will not drink their wine. 12 For I know how many are your offenses     and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes     and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. 13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,     for the times are evil. 14 Seek good, not evil,     that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,     just as you say he is. 15 Hate evil, love good;     maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy     on the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says: “There will be wailing in all the streets     and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep     and the mourners to wail. 17 There will be wailing in all the vineyards,     for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord.