Amos 1

New American Standard Bible

Judgment on Neighbor Nations

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

²And he said,
“The ^(F)Lord roars from Zion,
And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;
And the shepherds’ ^(G)pasture grounds mourn,
And the ^[a]^(H)summit of Carmel dries up.”

³This is what the Lord says:
“For ^(I)three offenses of ^(J)Damascus, and for four,
I will not ^[b]revoke its punishment,
Because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
⁴So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael,
And it will consume the citadels of ^(K)Ben-hadad.
⁵I will also ^(L)break the gate bar of Damascus,
And eliminate every inhabitant from the ^[c]Valley of Aven,
As well as him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;
So the people of Aram will be exiled to ^(M)Kir,”
Says the Lord.

⁶This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of ^(N)Gaza, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they led into exile an entire population
To ^(O)turn them over to Edom.
⁷So I will send fire on the wall of Gaza
And it will consume her citadels.
⁸I will also eliminate every inhabitant from ^(P)Ashdod,
As well as him who holds the scepter, from ^(Q)Ashkelon;
And I will direct My ^[d]power against Ekron,
And the remnant of the ^(R)Philistines will perish,”
Says the Lord ^[e]God.

⁹This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of ^(S)Tyre, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they turned an entire population over to Edom
And did not remember the covenant of ^[f]^(T)brotherhood.
¹⁰So I will ^(U)send fire on the wall of Tyre,
And it will consume her citadels.”

¹¹This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of ^(V)Edom, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because he ^(W)pursued his brother with the sword
And stifled his compassion;
His anger also ^(X)tore continually,
And he maintained his fury forever.
¹²So I will send fire upon ^(Y)Teman
And it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.”

¹³This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of the sons of ^(Z)Ammon, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they ^(AA)ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
In order to ^(AB)enlarge their borders.
¹⁴So I will kindle a fire on the wall of ^(AC)Rabbah,
And it will consume her citadels
Amid ^[g]^(AD)war cries on the day of battle,
And amid a ^(AE)storm on the day of tempest.
¹⁵Their ^(AF)king will go into exile,
He and his princes together,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

Amos 1:2 Lit head
Amos 1:3 Lit cause it to turn back, and so throughout the ch
Amos 1:5 Possibly Baalbek
Amos 1:8 Lit hand
Amos 1:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Amos 1:9 Lit brothers
Amos 1:14 Or shouts

Matthew 5:17-48

New American Standard Bible

¹⁷“Do not presume that I came to abolish the ^(A)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸For truly I say to you, ^(B)until heaven and earth pass away, not ^[a]the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! ¹⁹Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ^[b]others to do the same, shall be called least ^(C)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever ^[c]keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰“For I say to you that unless your ^(D)righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Personal Relationships

²¹“^(E)You have heard that ^[d]the ancients were told, ‘^(F)You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to ^(G)the court.’ ²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to ^(H)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[e]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to ^[f]^(I)the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^[g]^(J)fiery hell. ²³Therefore, if you are ^(K)presenting your ^[h]offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your ^[i]offering there before the altar and go; first be ^(L)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ^[j]offering. ²⁵^(M)^[k]Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I say to you, ^(N)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ^[l]quadrans.

²⁷“^(O)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(P)You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^(Q)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹Now ^(R)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[m]than for your whole body to be thrown into ^[n]^(S)hell. ³⁰And ^(T)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you ^[o]to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[p]than for your whole body to go into ^[q]^(U)hell.

³¹“Now it was said, ‘^(V)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; ³²^(W)but I say to you that everyone who ^[r]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ^[s]divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, ^(X)you have heard that ^[t]the ancients were told, ‘^[u]^(Y)You shall not ^[v]make false vows, but shall fulfill your ^[w]vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I say to you, ^(Z)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is ^(AA)the throne of God, ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is the ^(AB)footstool of His feet, nor ^[x]by Jerusalem, for it is ^(AC)the city of the great King. ³⁶Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷But make sure your statement is, ‘^[y]Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ^[z]of ^(AD)evil origin.

³⁸“^(AE)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(AF)Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but ^(AG)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. ⁴⁰And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ^[aa]tunic, let him have your ^[ab]cloak also. ⁴¹Whoever ^[ac]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²^(AH)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“^(AI)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(AJ)You shall love your neighbor ^(AK)and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, ^(AL)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may prove yourselves to be ^(AM)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For ^(AN)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? ⁴⁸Therefore ^(AO)you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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Footnotes

Matthew 5:18 Lit one iota (Heb yodh) or one projection (serif)
Matthew 5:19 Lit people
Matthew 5:19 Lit does
Matthew 5:21 Lit it was said to the ancients
Matthew 5:22 Or You empty-head; Gr Raka (Raca) from Aramaic reqa
Matthew 5:22 Lit the Sanhedrin; i.e., Jewish High Court
Matthew 5:22 Lit Gehenna of fire
Matthew 5:23 Or gift
Matthew 5:24 Or gift
Matthew 5:24 Or gift
Matthew 5:25 I.e., settle the case
Matthew 5:26 A small Roman copper coin, worth about 1/64 of a laborer’s daily wage
Matthew 5:29 Lit and that your whole body not be
Matthew 5:29 Gr Gehenna
Matthew 5:30 Lit that one...be lost
Matthew 5:30 Lit and not your whole body
Matthew 5:30 Gr Gehenna
Matthew 5:32 Lit sends away, the Heb term for divorce
Matthew 5:32 Lit woman sent away
Matthew 5:33 Lit it was said to the ancients
Matthew 5:33 you and your are singular here
Matthew 5:33 Or break your vows
Matthew 5:33 Lit oaths
Matthew 5:35 Or toward
Matthew 5:37 I.e., a clear “yes” or “no”
Matthew 5:37 Or from the evil one
Matthew 5:40 A long shirt worn next to the skin
Matthew 5:40 Or outer garment
Matthew 5:41 Lit will force

Amos 2

New American Standard Bible

Judgment on Moab

2 This is what the Lord says:

“For three offenses of ^(A)Moab, and for four,
I will not ^[a]revoke its punishment,
Because he ^(B)burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
²So I will send fire upon Moab
And it will consume the citadels of ^(C)Kerioth;
And Moab will die amid the ^(D)panic of battle,
Amid war cries and the sound of a trumpet.
³I will also eliminate the ^[b]^(E)judge from her midst
And slay all her ^(F)leaders with him,” says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah

⁴This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of ^(G)Judah, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they ^(H)rejected the Law of the Lord
And have not kept His statutes;
Their ^[c]^(I)lies also have led them astray,
Those which their ^(J)fathers followed.
⁵So I will ^(K)send fire upon Judah,
And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

⁶This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of ^(L)Israel, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they ^(M)sell the righteous for ^[d]money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals.
⁷These who ^[e]trample the head of the ^(N)helpless to the dust of the earth
Also ^(O)divert the way of the humble;
And a ^(P)man and his father ^[f]resort to the same ^[g]girl
So as to profane My holy name.
⁸And on garments ^(Q)seized as pledges they stretch out beside ^(R)every altar,
And in the house of their God they ^(S)drink the wine of those who have been fined.

⁹“Yet it was I who destroyed the ^(T)Amorite before them,
^[h]Though his ^(U)height was like the height of cedars
And he was as strong as the oaks;
I also destroyed his ^(V)fruit above and his roots below.
¹⁰And it was I who ^(W)brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And led you in the wilderness for ^(X)forty years
So that you might take possession of the land of the ^(Y)Amorite.
¹¹Then I ^(Z)raised up some of your sons to be prophets,
And some of your young men to be ^(AA)Nazirites.
Is this not so, you sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
¹²“But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
And you commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You ^(AB)shall not prophesy!’
¹³Behold, I am ^(AC)making a rut in the ground beneath you,
Just as a wagon makes a rut when filled with sheaves.
¹⁴^(AD)Refuge will be lost from the swift,
And the strong will not strengthen his power,
Nor the ^(AE)warrior save his ^[i]life.
¹⁵The one who ^(AF)grasps the bow will not stand his ground,
The swift of foot will not escape,
Nor will the one who rides the ^(AG)horse save his ^[j]life.
¹⁶Even the ^[k]bravest among the warriors will ^(AH)flee naked on that day,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Amos 2:1 Lit cause it to turn back, and so throughout the ch
Amos 2:3 Or executive officer
Amos 2:4 Or false gods
Amos 2:6 Lit silver
Amos 2:7 Or pant for the dust...on the head of the helpless
Amos 2:7 Lit go
Amos 2:7 Possibly a prostitute, or a temple prostitute
Amos 2:9 Lit Whose height
Amos 2:14 Lit soul
Amos 2:15 Lit soul
Amos 2:16 Lit strong of his heart

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

New American Standard Bible

Sanctification and Love

4 ^(A)Finally then, ^(B)brothers and sisters, we request and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us as to how you ought to ^[a]^(C)walk and ^(D)please God (just as you actually do ^[b]walk), that you ^(E)excel even more. ²For you know what instructions we gave you ^[c]by the authority of the Lord Jesus. ³For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you ^(F)abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴that ^(G)each of you know how to ^[d]possess his own ^[e]^(H)vessel in sanctification and ^(I)honor, ⁵not in ^[f]^(J)lustful passion, like the Gentiles who ^(K)do not know God; ⁶and that no one violate the rights and ^(L)take advantage of his brother or sister ^(M)in the matter, because ^(N)the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also ^(O)told you previously and solemnly warned you. ⁷For ^(P)God has not called us for ^[g]^(Q)impurity, but in sanctification. ⁸Therefore, the one who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who ^(R)gives His Holy Spirit to you.

⁹Now as to the ^(S)love of the brothers and sisters, you ^(T)have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are ^(U)taught by God to love one another; ¹⁰for indeed ^(V)you practice it toward all the brothers and sisters who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to ^(W)excel even more, ¹¹and to make it your ambition ^(X)to lead a quiet life and ^(Y)attend to your own business and ^(Z)work with your hands, just as we instructed you, ¹²so that you will ^[h]^(AA)behave properly toward ^(AB)outsiders and ^[i]^(AC)not be in any need.