Old/New Testament
Introduction
1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied.[a] He[b] was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him[c] during the time of[d] King Uzziah of Judah and[e] King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.[f]
God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations
2 Amos[g] said:
“The Lord comes roaring[h] out of Zion;
from Jerusalem he comes bellowing![i]
The shepherds’ pastures wilt;[j]
the summit of Carmel[k] withers.”[l]
3 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Damascus has committed three crimes[m]—
make that four![n]—I will not revoke my
decree of judgment.[o]
They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.[p]
4 So I will set Hazael’s house[q] on fire;
fire[r] will consume Ben Hadad’s[s] fortresses.
5 I will break the bar on the gate[t] of Damascus.
I will remove[u] the ruler[v] from Wicked Valley,[w]
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden.[x]
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.”[y]
The Lord has spoken!
6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Gaza[z] has committed three crimes[aa]—
make that four![ab]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[ac]
They deported a whole community[ad] and sold them[ae] to Edom.
7 So I will set Gaza’s city wall[af] on fire;
fire[ag] will consume her fortresses.
8 I will remove[ah] the ruler[ai] from Ashdod,[aj]
the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon.[ak]
I will strike Ekron[al] with my hand;[am]
the rest of the Philistines will also die.”[an]
The Sovereign Lord has spoken!
9 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Tyre has committed three crimes[ao]—
make that four[ap]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[aq]
They sold[ar] a whole community[as] to Edom;
they failed to observe[at] a treaty of brotherhood.[au]
10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall;[av]
fire[aw] will consume her fortresses.”
11 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Edom has committed three crimes[ax]—
make that four[ay]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[az]
He chased his brother[ba] with a sword;
he wiped out his allies.[bb]
In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest;[bc]
in his fury he relentlessly attacked them.[bd]
12 So I will set Teman[be] on fire;
fire[bf] will consume Bozrah’s[bg] fortresses.”
13 This is what the Lord says:
“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes[bh]—
make that four[bi]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[bj]
They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women[bk]
so they could expand their territory.
14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s[bl] city wall;[bm]
fire[bn] will consume her fortresses.
War cries will be heard on the day of battle;[bo]
a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm.[bp]
15 Ammon’s[bq] king will be deported;[br]
he and his officials[bs] will be carried off[bt] together.”
The Lord has spoken
2 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Moab has committed three crimes[bu]—
make that four[bv]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[bw]
They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime.[bx]
2 So I will set Moab on fire,[by]
and it will consume Kerioth’s[bz] fortresses.
Moab will perish[ca] in the heat of battle[cb]
amid war cries and the blaring[cc] of the ram’s horn.[cd]
3 I will remove[ce] Moab’s leader;[cf]
I will kill all Moab’s[cg] officials[ch] with him.”
The Lord has spoken!
4 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions[ci]—
make that four[cj]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[ck]
They rejected the Lord’s law;[cl]
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods,[cm]
to which their fathers were loyal,[cn]
led them astray.
5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”
God Will Judge Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions[co]—
make that four[cp]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[cq]
They sold the innocent[cr] for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals.[cs]
7 They trample[ct] on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;[cu]
they push the destitute away.[cv]
A man and his father go to the same girl;[cw]
in this way they show disrespect for[cx] my moral purity.[cy]
8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do so right[cz] beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do so right in the temple[da] of their God![db]
9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites.[dc]
They were as tall as cedars[dd]
and as strong as oaks,
but I destroyed the fruit on their branches[de]
and their roots in the ground.[df]
10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt;
I led you through the wilderness for forty years
so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.
11 I made some of your sons prophets
and some of your young men Nazirites.[dg]
Is this not true, you Israelites?”
The Lord is speaking.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine;[dh]
you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
13 Look! I will press you down,
like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.[di]
14 Fast runners will find no place to hide;[dj]
strong men will have no strength left;[dk]
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
15 Archers[dl] will not hold their ground;[dm]
fast runners will not save their lives,
nor will those who ride horses.[dn]
16 Bravehearted[do] warriors will run away naked in that day.”
The Lord is speaking.
Every Effect has its Cause
3 Listen, you Israelites, to this message that the Lord is proclaiming against[dp] you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up[dq] from the land of Egypt:
2 “I have chosen[dr] you alone from all the clans of the earth.
Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
3 Do two walk together without having met?[ds]
4 Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey?[dt]
Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?
5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?
Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?
6 If an alarm sounds[du] in a city, do people not fear?[dv]
If disaster overtakes a[dw] city, is the Lord not responsible?[dx]
7 Certainly the Sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared![dy] Who is not afraid?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken. Who can refuse to prophesy?[dz]
Samaria Will Fall
9 Make this announcement in[ea] the fortresses of Ashdod
and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.
Say this:
“Gather on the hills around Samaria![eb]
Observe the many acts of violence[ec] taking place within the city,[ed]
the oppressive deeds[ee] occurring in it.”[ef]
10 “They do not know how to do what is right,” the Lord says.
“They store up[eg] the spoils of destructive violence[eh] in their fortresses.
11 Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land.[ei]
He will take away your power;[ej]
your fortresses will be looted.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged.[ek]
They will be left with just a corner of a bed,[el]
and a part[em] of a couch.
13 Listen and warn[en] the family[eo] of Jacob!”[ep]
The Sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies,[eq] is speaking!
14 “Certainly when[er] I punish Israel for their[es] covenant transgressions,[et]
The Seven Seals
6 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice,[a] “Come!”[b] 2 So[c] I looked,[d] and here came[e] a white horse! The[f] one who rode it[g] had a bow, and he was given a crown,[h] and as a conqueror[i] he rode out to conquer.
3 Then[j] when the Lamb[k] opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4 And another horse, fiery red,[l] came out, and the one who rode it[m] was granted permission[n] to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher[o] one another, and he was given a huge sword.
5 Then[p] when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So[q] I looked,[r] and here came[s] a black horse! The[t] one who rode it[u] had a balance scale[v] in his hand. 6 Then[w] I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart[x] of wheat will cost a day’s pay[y] and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But[z] do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”
7 Then[aa] when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 So[ab] I looked[ac] and here came[ad] a pale green[ae] horse! The[af] name of the one who rode it[ag] was Death, and Hades followed right behind.[ah] They[ai] were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword,[aj] famine, and disease,[ak] and by the wild animals of the earth.
9 Now[al] when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed[am] because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 10 They[an] cried out with a loud voice,[ao] “How long,[ap] Sovereign Master,[aq] holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Each[ar] of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached[as] of both their fellow servants[at] and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.
12 Then[au] I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge[av] earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair,[aw] and the full moon became blood red;[ax] 13 and the stars in the sky[ay] fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping[az] its unripe figs[ba] when shaken by a fierce[bb] wind. 14 The sky[bc] was split apart[bd] like a scroll being rolled up,[be] and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then[bf] the kings of the earth, the[bg] very important people, the generals,[bh] the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave[bi] and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They[bj] said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,[bk] 17 because the great day of their[bl] wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”[bm]
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