5:18 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.
5:19 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.
5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring darkness, not light –
gloomy blackness, not bright light?
5:21 “I absolutely despise your festivals!
I get no pleasure from your religious assemblies!
5:22 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.
5:23 Take away from me your noisy songs;
I don’t want to hear the music of your stringed instruments.
5:24 Justice must flow like torrents of water,
righteous actions like a stream that never dries up.
5:25 You did not bring me sacrifices and grain offerings during the forty years you spent in the wilderness, family of Israel.
5:26 You will pick up your images of Sikkuth, your king,
and Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves,
5:27 and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord.
He is called the God who commands armies!