Amos 1

English Standard Version

1 The words of Amos, who was among the ^(A)shepherds^[a] of ^(B)Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel ^(C)in the days of ^(D)Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of ^(E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years^[b] before ^(F)the earthquake.

Judgment on Israel's Neighbors

²And he said:

^(G)“The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
^(H)the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the ^(I)top of ^(J)Carmel withers.”

³Thus says the Lord:

^(K)“For three transgressions of ^(L)Damascus,
    and for four, ^(M)I will not revoke the punishment,^[c]
because they have threshed ^(N)Gilead
    with threshing sledges of iron.
⁴^(O)So I will send a fire upon the house of ^(P)Hazael,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of ^(Q)Ben-hadad.
⁵I will ^(R)break the gate-bar of ^(S)Damascus,
    and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of ^(T)Aven,^[d]
and him who holds the scepter from ^(U)Beth-eden;
    and the people of ^(V)Syria shall go into exile to ^(W)Kir,”
says the Lord.

⁶Thus says the Lord:

^(X)“For three transgressions of ^(Y)Gaza,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^(Z)they carried into exile a whole people
    to deliver them up to Edom.
⁷So I will send a fire upon the wall of ^(AA)Gaza,
    and it shall devour her strongholds.
⁸I will cut off the inhabitants from ^(AB)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.

⁹Thus says the Lord:

^(AC)“For three transgressions of ^(AD)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.
¹⁰So I will send a fire upon the wall of ^(AE)Tyre,
    and it shall devour her strongholds.”

¹¹Thus says the Lord:

^(AF)“For three transgressions of ^(AG)Edom,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
^(AH)because he pursued his brother with the sword
    ^(AI)and cast off all pity,
^(AJ)and his anger tore perpetually,
    ^(AK)and he kept his wrath forever.
¹²So I will send a fire upon ^(AL)Teman,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of ^(AM)Bozrah.”

¹³Thus says the Lord:

^(AN)“For three transgressions of the ^(AO)Ammonites,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^(AP)they have ripped open pregnant women in ^(AQ)Gilead,
    that they might enlarge their border.
¹⁴So I will kindle a fire in the wall of ^(AR)Rabbah,
    ^(AS)and it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
    ^(AT)with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
¹⁵and ^(AU)their king shall go into exile,
    he and his princes^[e] together,”
says the Lord.

Footnotes

Amos 1:1 Or sheep breeders
Amos 1:1 Or during two years
Amos 1:3 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 6, 9, 11, 13
Amos 1:5 Or On
Amos 1:15 Or officials

Matthew 5:17-48

English Standard Version

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

¹⁷^(A)“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^(B)the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^(C)to fulfill them. ¹⁸For truly, I say to you, ^(D)until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹^(E)Therefore whoever relaxes ^(F)one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^(G)in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^(H)in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^(I)that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^(J)will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

²¹^(K)“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(L)‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^(M)to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that ^(N)everyone who is angry with his brother^[a] will be liable ^(O)to judgment; whoever insults^[b] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^(P)the hell^[c] of fire. ²³^(Q)So if ^(R)you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵^(S)Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶Truly, I say to you, ^(T)you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[d]

Lust

²⁷^(U)“You have heard that it was said, ^(V)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that ^(W)everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹^(X)If your right eye ^(Y)causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^(Z)hell. ³⁰^(AA)And if your right hand ^(AB)causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^(AC)hell.

Divorce

³¹^(AD)“It was also said, ^(AE)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²^(AF)But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^(AG)whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³“Again ^(AH)you have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(AI)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(AJ)shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ ³⁴But I say to you, ^(AK)Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^(AL)it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^(AM)the city of the great King. ³⁶And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^(AN)anything more than this comes from evil.^[e]

Retaliation

³⁸^(AO)“You have heard that it was said, ^(AP)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, ^(AQ)Do not resist the one who is evil. But ^(AR)if anyone ^(AS)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And ^(AT)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[f] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹And if anyone ^(AU)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²^(AV)Give to the one who begs from you, and ^(AW)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

⁴³^(AX)“You have heard that it was said, ^(AY)‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, ^(AZ)Love your enemies and ^(BA)pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵^(BB)so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^(BC)sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶^(BD)For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers,^[g] what more are you doing than others? Do not even ^(BE)the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸^(BF)You therefore must be ^(BG)perfect, ^(BH)as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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Footnotes

Matthew 5:22 Some manuscripts insert without cause
Matthew 5:22 Greek says Raca to (a term of abuse)
Matthew 5:22 Greek Gehenna; also verses 29, 30
Matthew 5:26 Greek kodrantes, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)
Matthew 5:37 Or the evil one
Matthew 5:40 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin
Matthew 5:47 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

Amos 2

English Standard Version

2 Thus says the Lord:

^(A)“For three transgressions of ^(B)Moab,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,^[a]
because ^(C)he burned to lime
    the bones of the king of Edom.
²So I will send a fire upon Moab,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of ^(D)Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
    amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
³^(E)I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
    and will kill ^(F)all its princes^[b] with him,”
says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah

⁴Thus says the Lord:

^(G)“For three transgressions of Judah,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^(H)they have rejected the law of the Lord,
    and have not kept his statutes,
but ^(I)their lies have led them astray,
    those after which their fathers walked.
⁵So ^(J)I will send a fire upon Judah,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

⁶Thus says the Lord:

^(K)“For three transgressions of Israel,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^(L)they sell the righteous for ^(M)silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals—
⁷those who trample the head of the poor ^(N)into the dust of the earth
    and ^(O)turn aside the way of the afflicted;
^(P)a man and his father go in to the same girl,
    so that my holy name is profaned;
⁸they lay themselves down beside every altar
    on garments ^(Q)taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
    the wine of those who have been fined.

⁹“Yet ^(R)it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
    ^(S)whose height was like the height of the cedars
    and who was as strong as the oaks;
^(T)I destroyed his fruit above
    and his roots beneath.
¹⁰^(U)Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
    ^(V)and led you forty years in the wilderness,
    ^(W)to possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
    and some of your young men for ^(X)Nazirites.
    Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.

¹²“But you made the Nazirites ^(Y)drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, ^(Z)‘You shall not prophesy.’

¹³“Behold, I will press you down in your place,
    as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
¹⁴^(AA)Flight shall perish from the swift,
    ^(AB)and the strong shall not retain his strength,
    ^(AC)nor shall the mighty save his life;
¹⁵he who handles the bow shall not stand,
    and he who is ^(AD)swift of foot shall not save himself,
    ^(AE)nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
¹⁶and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
    shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Amos 2:1 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 4, 6
Amos 2:3 Or officials

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

English Standard Version

A Life Pleasing to God

4 Finally, then, brothers,^[a] we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you ^(A)received from us ^(B)how you ought to walk and ^(C)to please God, just as you are doing, that you ^(D)do so more and more. ²For ^(E)you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³For this is the will of God, ^(F)your sanctification:^[b] ^(G)that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴that each one of you know how to control his own ^(H)body^[c] in holiness and ^(I)honor, ⁵not in ^(J)the passion of lust ^(K)like the Gentiles ^(L)who do not know God; ⁶that no one transgress and ^(M)wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is ^(N)an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷For ^(O)God has not called us for ^(P)impurity, but in holiness. ⁸Therefore ^(Q)whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, ^(R)who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

⁹Now concerning ^(S)brotherly love ^(T)you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been ^(U)taught by God ^(V)to love one another, ¹⁰for that indeed is what ^(W)you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ^(X)do this more and more, ¹¹and to aspire ^(Y)to live quietly, and ^(Z)to mind your own affairs, and ^(AA)to work with your hands, as we instructed you, ¹²so that you may ^(AB)walk properly before ^(AC)outsiders and be dependent on no one.

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Footnotes

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 10, 13
1 Thessalonians 4:3 Or your holiness
1 Thessalonians 4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel