Amos 1

New King James Version

Judgments on Israel’s Neighbors

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

²And he said:

“The Lord ^(F)roars from Zion,
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the top of ^(G)Carmel withers.”

Judgment on the Nations

³Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(H)Damascus, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have ^(I)threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
⁴^(J)But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,
Which shall devour the palaces of ^(K)Ben-Hadad.
⁵I will also break the gate ^(L)bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
And the one who ^[a]holds the scepter from ^[b]Beth Eden.
The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,”
Says the Lord.

⁶Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(M)Gaza, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they took captive the whole captivity
To deliver them up to Edom.
⁷^(N)But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
Which shall devour its palaces.
⁸I will cut off the inhabitant ^(O)from Ashdod,
And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will ^(P)turn My hand against Ekron,
And ^(Q)the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
Says the Lord God.

⁹Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(R)Tyre, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom,
And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
¹⁰But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,
Which shall devour its palaces.”

¹¹Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(S)Edom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his ^(T)brother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
¹²But ^(U)I will send a fire upon Teman,
Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”

¹³Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(V)the people of Ammon, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead,
That they might enlarge their territory.
¹⁴But I will kindle a fire in the wall of ^(W)Rabbah,
And it shall devour its palaces,
^(X)Amid shouting in the day of battle,
And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
¹⁵^(Y)Their king shall go into captivity,
He and his princes together,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

Amos 1:5 Rules
Amos 1:5 Lit. House of Eden

Matthew 5:17-48

New King James Version

Christ Fulfills the Law

¹⁷^(A)“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸For assuredly, I say to you, ^(B)till heaven and earth pass away, one ^[a]jot or one ^[b]tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹^(C)Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds ^(D)the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart^(E)

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those ^[c]of old, ^(F)‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that ^(G)whoever is angry with his brother ^[d]without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ^(H)‘Raca!’^[e] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ^[f]‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of ^[g]hell fire. ²³Therefore ^(I)if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴^(J)leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵^(K)Agree with your adversary quickly, ^(L)while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷“You have heard that it was said ^[h]to those of old, ^(M)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that whoever ^(N)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹^(O)If your right eye causes you to ^[i]sin, ^(P)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to ^[j]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding^(Q)

³¹“Furthermore it has been said, ^(R)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that ^(S)whoever divorces his wife for any reason except ^[k]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³“Again you have heard that ^(T)it was said to those of ^[l]old, ^(U)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(V)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I say to you, ^(W)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(X)God’s throne; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(Y)the great King. ³⁶Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷^(Z)But let ^[m]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Go the Second Mile^(AA)

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ^(AB)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹^(AC)But I tell you not to resist an evil person. ^(AD)But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹And whoever ^(AE)compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²Give to him who asks you, and ^(AF)from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies^(AG)

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ^(AH)‘You shall love your neighbor ^(AI)and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴^[n]But I say to you, ^(AJ)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(AK)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(AL)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for ^(AM)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶^(AN)For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet your ^[o]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the ^[p]tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸^(AO)Therefore you shall be perfect, just ^(AP)as your Father in heaven is perfect.

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Footnotes

Matthew 5:18 Gr. iota, Heb. yod, the smallest letter
Matthew 5:18 The smallest stroke in a Heb. letter
Matthew 5:21 in ancient times
Matthew 5:22 NU omits without a cause
Matthew 5:22 Lit., in Aram., Empty head
Matthew 5:22 Gr. More
Matthew 5:22 Gr. Gehenna
Matthew 5:27 NU, M omit to those of old
Matthew 5:29 Lit. stumble or offend
Matthew 5:30 Lit. stumble or offend
Matthew 5:32 Or fornication
Matthew 5:33 ancient times
Matthew 5:37 Lit. your word be yes yes
Matthew 5:44 NU But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matthew 5:47 M friends
Matthew 5:47 NU Gentiles

Amos 2

New King James Version

Judgment on Israel

2 Thus says the Lord:

^(A)“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he ^(B)burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
²But I will send a fire upon Moab,
And it shall devour the palaces of ^(C)Kerioth;
Moab shall die with tumult,
With shouting and trumpet sound.
³And I will cut off ^(D)the judge from its midst,
And slay all its princes with him,”
Says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah

⁴Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(E)Judah, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
^(F)Because they have despised the law of the Lord,
And have not kept His commandments.
^(G)Their lies lead them astray,
Lies ^(H)which their fathers followed.
⁵^(I)But I will send a fire upon Judah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

⁶Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(J)Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because ^(K)they sell the righteous for silver,
And the ^(L)poor for a pair of sandals.
⁷They ^[a]pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And ^(M)pervert the way of the humble.
^(N)A man and his father go in to the same girl,
^(O)To defile My holy name.
⁸They lie down ^(P)by every altar on clothes ^(Q)taken in pledge,
And drink the wine of ^[b]the condemned in the house of their god.

⁹“Yet it was I who destroyed the ^(R)Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the ^(S)height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I ^(T)destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
¹⁰Also it was ^(U)I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And ^(V)led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹I raised up some of your sons as ^(W)prophets,
And some of your young men as ^(X)Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the Lord.
¹²“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets ^(Y)saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’

¹³“Behold,^(Z) I am ^[c]weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves ^[d]is weighed down.
¹⁴^(AA)Therefore ^[e]flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
^(AB)Nor shall the mighty ^[f]deliver himself;
¹⁵He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not ^[g]escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
¹⁶The most ^[h]courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

Amos 2:7 Or trample on
Amos 2:8 Or those punished by fines
Amos 2:13 Or tottering under
Amos 2:13 Or totters
Amos 2:14 Or the place of refuge
Amos 2:14 Lit. save his soul or life
Amos 2:15 Or save
Amos 2:16 Lit. strong of his heart among the mighty

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

New King James Version

Plea for Purity

4 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus ^(A)that you should abound more and more, ^(B)just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; ²for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

³For this is ^(C)the will of God, ^(D)your sanctification: ^(E)that you should abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴^(F)that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, ⁵^(G)not in passion of lust, ^(H)like the Gentiles ^(I)who do not know God; ⁶that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord ^(J)is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. ⁷For God did not call us to uncleanness, ^(K)but in holiness. ⁸^(L)Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, ^(M)who^[a] has also given us His Holy Spirit.

A Brotherly and Orderly Life

⁹But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for ^(N)you yourselves are taught by God ^(O)to love one another; ¹⁰and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, ^(P)that you increase more and more; ¹¹that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, ^(Q)to mind your own business, and ^(R)to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, ¹²^(S)that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.