Amos 1

New International Version

1 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa^(A)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,^(B) when Uzziah^(C) was king of Judah and Jeroboam^(D) son of Jehoash^[a] was king of Israel.^(E)

²He said:

“The Lord roars^(F) from Zion
and thunders^(G) from Jerusalem;^(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel^(I) withers.”^(J)

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

³This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Damascus,^(K)
    even for four, I will not relent.^(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
    with sledges having iron teeth,
⁴I will send fire^(M) on the house of Hazael^(N)
    that will consume the fortresses^(O) of Ben-Hadad.^(P)
⁵I will break down the gate^(Q) of Damascus;
    I will destroy the king who is in^[b] the Valley of Aven^[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.^(R)
    The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,^(S)”
says the Lord.^(T)

⁶This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,^(U)
    even for four, I will not relent.^(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,^(W)
⁷I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
⁸I will destroy the king^[d] of Ashdod^(X)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand^(Y) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines^(Z) are dead,”^(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.^(AB)

⁹This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Tyre,^(AC)
    even for four, I will not relent.^(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
    disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,^(AE)
¹⁰I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will consume her fortresses.^(AF)”

¹¹This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,^(AG)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword^(AH)
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,^(AI)
¹²I will send fire on Teman^(AJ)
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.^(AK)”

¹³This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,^(AL)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women^(AM) of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,
¹⁴I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah^(AN)
    that will consume^(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries^(AP) on the day of battle,
    amid violent winds^(AQ) on a stormy day.
¹⁵Her king^[e] will go into exile,
    he and his officials together,^(AR)”
says the Lord.^(AS)

Footnotes

Amos 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
Amos 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
Amos 1:5 Aven means wickedness.
Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
Amos 1:15 Or / Molek

Amos 2

New International Version

2 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,^(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes^(B)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
²I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.^[a]^(C)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries^(D) and the blast of the trumpet.^(E)
³I will destroy her ruler^(F)
    and kill all her officials with him,”^(G)
says the Lord.^(H)

⁴This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,^(I)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law^(J) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,^(K)
because they have been led astray^(L) by false gods,^[b]^(M)
    the gods^[c] their ancestors followed,^(N)
⁵I will send fire^(O) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses^(P) of Jerusalem.^(Q)”

Judgment on Israel

⁶This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.^(R)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.^(S)
⁷They trample on the heads of the poor
    as on the dust of the ground
    and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
    and so profane my holy name.^(T)
⁸They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.^(U)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine^(V) taken as fines.^(W)

⁹“Yet I destroyed the Amorites^(X) before them,
    though they were tall^(Y) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.^(Z)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots^(AA) below.
¹⁰I brought you up out of Egypt^(AB)
    and led^(AC) you forty years in the wilderness^(AD)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.^(AE)

¹¹“I also raised up prophets^(AF) from among your children
and Nazirites^(AG) from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
¹²“But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.^(AH)

¹³“Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.^(AI)
¹⁴The swift will not escape,^(AJ)
    the strong^(AK) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.^(AL)
¹⁵The archer^(AM) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman^(AN) will not save his life.^(AO)
¹⁶Even the bravest warriors^(AP)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
Amos 2:4 Or by lies
Amos 2:4 Or lies

Hebrews 7

New International Version

Melchizedek the Priest

7 This Melchizedek was king of Salem^(A) and priest of God Most High.^(B) He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,^(C) ²and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ³Without father or mother, without genealogy,^(D) without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God,^(E) he remains a priest forever.

⁴Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch^(F) Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!^(G) ⁵Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people^(H)—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. ⁶This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed^(I) him who had the promises.^(J) ⁷And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.^(K) ⁹One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Jesus Like Melchizedek

¹¹If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people^(L) established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come,^(M) one in the order of Melchizedek,^(N) not in the order of Aaron? ¹²For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. ¹³He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe,^(O) and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.^(P) ¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah,^(Q) and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”^[a]^(R)

¹⁸The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless^(S) ¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect),^(T) and a better hope^(U) is introduced, by which we draw near to God.^(V)

²⁰And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, ²¹but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:^(W)
‘You are a priest forever.’”^[b]^(X)

²²Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.^(Y)

²³Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.^(Z) ²⁵Therefore he is able to save^(AA) completely^[c] those who come to God^(AB) through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.^(AC)

²⁶Such a high priest^(AD) truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners,^(AE) exalted above the heavens.^(AF) ²⁷Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices^(AG) day after day, first for his own sins,^(AH) and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all^(AI) when he offered himself.^(AJ) ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness;^(AK) but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son,^(AL) who has been made perfect^(AM) forever.