AMOS 1

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  1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors2 And he said:

“The Lord roars from Zion

and utters his voice from Jerusalem;

the pastures of the shepherds mourn,

and the top of Carmel withers.” 3 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Damascus,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have threshed Gilead

with threshing sledges of iron. 4

So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad. 5

I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,

and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,

and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;

and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,”says the Lord. 6 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Gaza,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they carried into exile a whole people

to deliver them up to Edom. 7

So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,

and it shall devour her strongholds. 8

I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,

and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;

I will turn my hand against Ekron,

and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”says the Lord God. 9 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Tyre,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,

and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. 10

So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,

and it shall devour her strongholds.” 11 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Edom,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because he pursued his brother with the sword

and cast off all pity,

and his anger tore perpetually,

and he kept his wrath forever. 12

So I will send a fire upon Teman,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.” 13 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of the Ammonites,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,

that they might enlarge their border. 14

So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,

and it shall devour her strongholds,

with shouting on the day of battle,

with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; 15

and their king shall go into exile,

he and his princes together,”says the Lord.

AMOS 2

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  2:1 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Moab,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because he burned to lime

the bones of the king of Edom. 2

So I will send a fire upon Moab,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,

and Moab shall die amid uproar,

amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet; 3

I will cut off the ruler from its midst,

and will kill all its princes with him,”says the Lord. Judgment on Judah4 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Judah,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have rejected the law of the Lord,

and have not kept his statutes,

but their lies have led them astray,

those after which their fathers walked. 5

So I will send a fire upon Judah,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.” Judgment on Israel6 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Israel,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals— 7

those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth

and turn aside the way of the afflicted;

a man and his father go in to the same girl,

so that my holy name is profaned; 8

they lay themselves down beside every altar

on garments taken in pledge,

and in the house of their God they drink

the wine of those who have been fined.
9

“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,

whose height was like the height of the cedars

and who was as strong as the oaks;

I destroyed his fruit above

and his roots beneath. 10

Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt

and led you forty years in the wilderness,

to possess the land of the Amorite. 11

And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,

and some of your young men for Nazirites.

Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”declares the Lord.
12

“But you made the Nazirites drink wine,

and commanded the prophets,

saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
13

“Behold, I will press you down in your place,

as a cart full of sheaves presses down. 14

Flight shall perish from the swift,

and the strong shall not retain his strength,

nor shall the mighty save his life; 15

he who handles the bow shall not stand,

and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,

nor shall he who rides the horse save his life; 16

and he who is stout of heart among the mighty

shall flee away naked in that day,”declares the Lord.

AMOS 3

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Israel’s Guilt and Punishment  3:1 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
2

“You only have I known

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities.
3

“Do two walk together,

unless they have agreed to meet? 4

Does a lion roar in the forest,

when he has no prey?

Does a young lion cry out from his den,

if he has taken nothing? 5

Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,

when there is no trap for it?

Does a snare spring up from the ground,

when it has taken nothing? 6

Is a trumpet blown in a city,

and the people are not afraid?

Does disaster come to a city,

unless the Lord has done it?
7

“For the Lord God does nothing

without revealing his secret

to his servants the prophets. 8

The lion has roared;

who will not fear?

The Lord God has spoken;

who can but prophesy?”
9

Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod

and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,

and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,

and see the great tumults within her,

and the oppressed in her midst.” 10

“They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,

“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“An adversary shall surround the land

and bring down your defenses from you,

and your strongholds shall be plundered.”
    12 Thus says the Lord: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.
13

“Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,”

declares the Lord God, the God of hosts, 14

“that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,

I will punish the altars of Bethel,

and the horns of the altar shall be cut off

and fall to the ground. 15

I will strike the winter house along with the summer house,

and the houses of ivory shall perish,

and the great houses shall come to an end,”declares the Lord.

PROVERBS 6

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Practical Warnings6:1

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

have given your pledge for a stranger, 2

if you are snared in the words of your mouth,

caught in the words of your mouth, 3

then do this, my son, and save yourself,

for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:

go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 4

Give your eyes no sleep

and your eyelids no slumber; 5

save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6

Go to the ant, O sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise. 7

Without having any chief,

officer, or ruler, 8

she prepares her bread in summer

and gathers her food in harvest. 9

How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep? 10

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest, 11

and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.
12

A worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with crooked speech, 13

winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,

points with his finger, 14

with perverted heart devises evil,

continually sowing discord; 15

therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
16

There are six things that the Lord hates,

seven that are an abomination to him: 17

haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood, 18

a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil, 19

a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers. Warnings Against Adultery20

My son, keep your father’s commandment,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21

Bind them on your heart always;

tie them around your neck. 22

When you walk, they will lead you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you. 23

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, 24

to preserve you from the evil woman,

from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. 25

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26

for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,

but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27

Can a man carry fire next to his chest

and his clothes not be burned? 28

Or can one walk on hot coals

and his feet not be scorched? 29

So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

none who touches her will go unpunished. 30

People do not despise a thief if he steals

to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31

but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;

he will give all the goods of his house. 32

He who commits adultery lacks sense;

he who does it destroys himself. 33

He will get wounds and dishonor,

and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34

For jealousy makes a man furious,

and he will not spare when he takes revenge. 35

He will accept no compensation;

he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

PSALM 144

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My Rock and My FortressOf David.
144:1

Blessed be the Lord, my rock,

who trains my hands for war,

and my fingers for battle; 2

he is my steadfast love and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield and he in whom I take refuge,

who subdues peoples under me.
3

O Lord, what is man that you regard him,

or the son of man that you think of him? 4

Man is like a breath;

his days are like a passing shadow.
5

Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!

Touch the mountains so that they smoke! 6

Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;

send out your arrows and rout them! 7

Stretch out your hand from on high;

rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,

from the hand of foreigners, 8

whose mouths speak lies

and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9

I will sing a new song to you, O God;

upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, 10

who gives victory to kings,

who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword. 11

Rescue me and deliver me

from the hand of foreigners,

whose mouths speak lies

and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12

May our sons in their youth

be like plants full grown,

our daughters like corner pillars

cut for the structure of a palace; 13

may our granaries be full,

providing all kinds of produce;

may our sheep bring forth thousands

and ten thousands in our fields; 14

may our cattle be heavy with young,

suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;

may there be no cry of distress in our streets! 15

Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!