Warning through Visions

7 This is what the Lord ^[a]God showed me, and behold, He was forming a ^(A)swarm of locusts ^[b]when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. ² And it came about, ^[c]when it had ^(B)finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,

⁴ So the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by ^(F)fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the ^[d]farmland. ⁵ Then I said,

⁷ So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing ^[e]by a ^[f]vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the Lord said to me, “^(J)What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

Amos Accused; Gives an Answer

¹⁰ Then Amaziah, the ^(P)priest of Bethel, sent word to ^(Q)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has ^(R)conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. ¹¹ For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” ¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos, “^(S)Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! ¹³ But ^(T)do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a ^(U)sanctuary of the king and a royal ^[h]residence.”

¹⁴ Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the ^(V)son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a ^[i]grower of sycamore figs. ¹⁵ But the Lord took me from ^[j]following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go ^(W)prophesy to My people Israel.’ ¹⁶ So now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You ^(X)shall not prophesy against Israel ^(Y)nor shall you ^[k]prophesy against the house of Isaac.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your ^(Z)wife will become a prostitute in the city, your ^(AA)sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die ^[l]upon ^(AB)unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”

Judging Others

7 “^(A)Do not ^[a]judge, so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and ^[b](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you ^(C)look at the ^[c]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ^4 (D)Or how ^[d]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the ^[e]speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the ^[f]speck out of your brother’s eye!

⁶ “^(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Prayer and the Golden Rule

⁷ “^[g](F)Ask, and ^(G)it will be given to you; ^[h]seek, and you will find; ^[i]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what person is there among you ^[j]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, ^[k]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[l]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ So if you, despite being ^[m]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, ^(I)therefore, ^[n]treat people the same way you want ^[o]them to treat you, for ^(J)this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(K)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of the ^(L)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ^(M)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will ^[p](N)know them by their fruits. ^[q]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So ^(O)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ^19 (P)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will ^[r]know them ^(Q)by their fruits.

²¹ “^(R)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ^22 (S)Many will say to Me on ^(T)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[s]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^(U)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore, ^(V)everyone who hears these words of Mine, and ^[t]acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell and the ^[u]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not ^[v]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell and the ^[w]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

^28 [x](W)When Jesus had finished these words, ^(X)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹ for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity

8 This is what the Lord ^[a]God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. ² And He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And ^(A)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The ^(B)end has come for My people Israel. I will not ^[b](C)spare them any longer. ^3 [c]The ^(D)songs of the palace will turn to ^(E)wailing on that day,” declares the Lord God. “The ^(F)corpses will be many; in every place ^[d]they will throw them out. ^[e]Hush!”

⁴ Hear this, you who ^[f](G)trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, ⁵ saying,

Giving Thanks for Faith and Perseverance

1 ^(A)Paul, ^(B)Silvanus, and ^(C)Timothy,

To the ^(D)church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ^2 (E)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ We ought always ^(F)to give thanks to God for you, ^(G)brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the ^(H)love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater. ⁴ As a result, we ourselves ^(I)speak proudly of you among ^(J)the churches of God for your ^[a]perseverance and faith ^[b](K)in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. ⁵ This is ^[c]a ^(L)plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be ^(M)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you indeed are suffering. ^6 [d]For after all ^(N)it is only right ^[e]for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, ^[f](O)when the Lord Jesus will be revealed ^(P)from heaven ^(Q)with ^[g]His mighty angels ^8 (R)in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who ^(S)do not know God, and to those who ^(T)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ These people will pay the penalty of ^(U)eternal destruction, ^(V)away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ¹⁰ when He comes to be ^(W)glorified among His ^[h]saints on that ^(X)day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—because our ^(Y)testimony to you was believed. ¹¹ To this end also we ^(Z)pray for you always, that our God will ^(AA)consider you worthy of your ^(AB)calling, and fulfill every desire for ^(AC)goodness and the ^(AD)work of faith with power, ¹² so that the ^(AE)name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, in accordance with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.