Psalm 70[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

Hasten, O God, to save me;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.(B)

May those who want to take my life(C)
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.(D)
May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”(E)
    turn back because of their shame.
But may all who seek you(F)
    rejoice and be glad(G) in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”(H)

But as for me, I am poor and needy;(I)
    come quickly to me,(J) O God.
You are my help(K) and my deliverer;(L)
    Lord, do not delay.(M)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 70:1 In Hebrew texts 70:1-5 is numbered 70:2-6.

70 Make haste, o God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.

Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.

Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa(A)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,(B) when Uzziah(C) was king of Judah and Jeroboam(D) son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.(E)

He said:

“The Lord roars(F) from Zion
    and thunders(G) from Jerusalem;(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
    and the top of Carmel(I) withers.”(J)

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Damascus,(K)
    even for four, I will not relent.(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
    with sledges having iron teeth,
I will send fire(M) on the house of Hazael(N)
    that will consume the fortresses(O) of Ben-Hadad.(P)
I will break down the gate(Q) of Damascus;
    I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.(R)
    The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,(S)
says the Lord.(T)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,(U)
    even for four, I will not relent.(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,(W)
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod(X)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(Y) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines(Z) are dead,”(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.(AB)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Tyre,(AC)
    even for four, I will not relent.(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
    disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,(AE)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will consume her fortresses.(AF)

11 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,(AG)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(AH)
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,(AI)
12 I will send fire on Teman(AJ)
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(AK)

13 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,(AL)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(AM) of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah(AN)
    that will consume(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries(AP) on the day of battle,
    amid violent winds(AQ) on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
    he and his officials together,(AR)
says the Lord.(AS)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,(AT)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(AU)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[f](AV)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries(AW) and the blast of the trumpet.(AX)
I will destroy her ruler(AY)
    and kill all her officials with him,”(AZ)
says the Lord.(BA)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,(BB)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(BC) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,(BD)
because they have been led astray(BE) by false gods,[g](BF)
    the gods[h] their ancestors followed,(BG)
I will send fire(BH) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses(BI) of Jerusalem.(BJ)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
  2. Amos 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
  3. Amos 1:5 Aven means wickedness.
  4. Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
  5. Amos 1:15 Or / Molek
  6. Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
  7. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
  8. Amos 2:4 Or lies

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen 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.

And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

11 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

13 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

The Trumpets

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets(A) prepared to sound them.

The first angel(B) sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire(C) mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third(D) of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.(E)

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain,(F) all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third(G) of the sea turned into blood,(H) a third(I) of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky(J) on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water(K) 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third(L) of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.(M)

12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third(N) of them turned dark.(O) A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.(P)

13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair(Q) call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe(R) to the inhabitants of the earth,(S) because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.(T) The star was given the key(U) to the shaft of the Abyss.(V) When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.(W) The sun and sky were darkened(X) by the smoke from the Abyss.(Y) And out of the smoke locusts(Z) came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions(AA) of the earth. They were told not to harm(AB) the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,(AC) but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.(AD) They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months.(AE) And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion(AF) when it strikes. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.(AG)

The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle.(AH) On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.(AI) Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.(AJ) They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.(AK) 10 They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.(AL) 11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss,(AM) whose name in Hebrew(AN) is Abaddon(AO) and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

12 The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.(AP)

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is a bitter substance.

And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.