Against Social Injustice
Amos 4–5 (selections)
Biblical Period
Chapter 4
1Hear this word, you cows of Bashan
On the hill of Samaria—
Who defraud the poor,
Who rob the needy;
Who say to your husbands,
“Bring, and let’s carouse!”
2My Lord God swears by His holiness:
Behold, days are coming upon you
When you will be carried off in baskets,
And, to the last one, in fish baskets,
3And taken out [of the city]—
Each one through a breach straight ahead—
And flung on the refuse heap
—declares the Lord. [ . . . ]
Chapter 5
10They hate the arbiter in the gate,
And detest him whose plea is just.
11Assuredly,
Because you impose a tax on the poor
And exact from him a levy of grain,
You have built houses of hewn stone,
But you shall not live in them;
You have planted delightful vineyards,
But shall not drink their wine.
12For I have noted how many are your crimes,
And how countless your sins—
You enemies of the righteous,
You takers of bribes,
You who subvert in the gate
The cause of the needy!
13Assuredly,
At such a time the prudent man keeps silent,
For it is an evil time.
14Seek good and not evil,
That you may live,
And that the Lord, the God of Hosts,
May truly be with you,
As you think.
15Hate evil and love good,
And establish justice in the gate;
Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts,
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. [ . . . ]
21I loathe, I spurn your festivals,
I am not appeased by your solemn assemblies.
22If you offer Me burnt offerings—or your meal offerings—
I will not accept them;
I will pay no heed
To your gifts of fatlings.
23Spare Me the sound of your hymns,
And let Me not hear the music of your lutes.
24But let justice well up like water,
Righteousness like an unfailing stream.
Credits
Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.
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