God’s Judgment Unavoidable

I saw the Lord standing beside the (A)altar, and He said,

“Strike the pillar capitals so that the (B)thresholds will shake,
And (C)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (D)put to death the rest of them with the sword;
They will (E)not have a fugitive who will flee,
Nor a survivor who will escape.
Though they dig into (F)Sheol,
From there My hand will take them;
And though they (G)ascend to heaven,
From there I will bring them down.
And though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
I will (H)track them down and take them from there;
And though they (I)hide themselves from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
I will command the (J)serpent from there, and it will bite them.
And though they go into (K)captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword and it will kill them,
And I will (L)set My eyes against them for harm and not for good.”

The Lord [a]God of armies,
The One who (M)touches the land so that it quakes,
And (N)all those who live in it mourn,
And all of it rises up like the Nile
And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
The One who builds His (O)upper chambers in the heavens
And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,
He who (P)calls for the waters of the sea
And (Q)pours them out on the face of the earth,
(R)The Lord is His name.

“Are you not as the sons of (S)Ethiopia to Me,
You sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the (T)Philistines from Caphtor and the (U)Arameans from (V)Kir?
Behold, the (W)eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I will (X)eliminate it from the face of the earth;
Nevertheless, I will (Y)not totally eliminate the house of Jacob,”
Declares the Lord.
“For behold, I am commanding,
And I will (Z)shake the house of Israel among all nations
As grain is shaken in a sieve,
But not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the (AA)sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘(AB)The catastrophe will not overtake or confront us.’

The Restoration of Israel

11 “On that day I will (AC)raise up the fallen [b](AD)shelter of David,
And wall up its (AE)gaps;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the (AF)days of old;
12 (AG)So that they may [c]possess the remnant of (AH)Edom
And all the [d]nations who are (AI)called by My name,”
Declares the Lord who does this.

13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When the (AJ)plowman will overtake the reaper,
And the one who treads grapes will overtake him who sows the seed;
When the (AK)mountains will drip grape juice,
And all the hills will come apart.
14 I will also (AL)restore the fortunes of My people Israel,
And they will (AM)rebuild the desolated cities and live in them;
They will also (AN)plant vineyards and drink their wine,
And make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will also plant them on their land,
And (AO)they will not be uprooted again from their land
Which I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Amos 9:11 Heb sukkah; i.e., hut or dwelling
  3. Amos 9:12 Or take possession of
  4. Amos 9:12 Or Gentiles

12 The wicked (A)plots against the righteous,
And (B)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (C)laughs at him,
For He sees that (D)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (E)bent their bow
To take down the (F)afflicted and the needy,
To (G)kill off those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (H)bows will be broken.

16 (I)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (J)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (K)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (L)knows the days of the [a]blameless,
And their (M)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (N)in the days of famine they will have plenty.
20 But the (O)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [b]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(P)like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (Q)is gracious and gives.
22 For (R)those blessed by Him will (S)inherit the land,
But those (T)cursed by Him will be eliminated.

23 (U)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He (V)delights in his way.
24 When (W)he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because (X)the Lord is the One [c]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet (Y)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (Z)his [d]descendants begging for bread.
26 All day long (AA)he is gracious and lends,
And (AB)his [e]descendants are a blessing.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 37:18 Lit complete; or perfect
  2. Psalm 37:20 I.e., flowers
  3. Psalm 37:24 Or who sustains him with His hand
  4. Psalm 37:25 Lit seed
  5. Psalm 37:26 Lit seed

Rank in the Kingdom

18 (A)At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [b]change and (C)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me; but (D)whoever (E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to [c]sin, it is better for him that a [d]heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

“Woe to the world because of its [e]stumbling blocks! For (F)it is inevitable that [f]stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the [g]stumbling block comes!

“And (G)if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And (H)if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the [h](I)fiery hell.

10 “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that (J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.[i]

Ninety-nine Plus One

12 “What do you think? (K)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will [j]of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:1 Lit hour
  2. Matthew 18:3 Lit turn
  3. Matthew 18:6 Or stumble, and so throughout the ch
  4. Matthew 18:6 Lit millstone turned by a donkey
  5. Matthew 18:7 I.e., enticements to sin
  6. Matthew 18:7 I.e., enticements to sin
  7. Matthew 18:7 I.e., enticements to sin
  8. Matthew 18:9 Lit Gehenna of fire
  9. Matthew 18:10 Late mss add (traditionally v 11): For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost
  10. Matthew 18:14 Lit before

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