Amos 5:15

"Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph."

The slender thread of hope which marks this verse is recurrent throughout the prophecy; but the uncertainty which is indicated as to whether or not mercy would be extended did not derive from any unwillingness on God's part. "The prophet regarded it as dubious whether they would really repent."[35]

Love the good ..." or "seek good," as in Amos 5:14 was not considered by Amos as one and the same thing as seeking God.

"When he said in one place, `Seek the Lord,' and in another `Seek good,' he was not making them synonymous. Amos was not preaching just an ethical religion. The seeker of Yahweh was more than `a do-gooder.' He was emphasizing the two dimensions of true religion: the vertical, Seek Yahweh, and the horizontal, Seek good."[36]