Amos 1-2

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)

2 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,^(AT)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes^(AU)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
²I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.^[f]^(AV)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries^(AW) and the blast of the trumpet.^(AX)
³I will destroy her ruler^(AY)
    and kill all her officials with him,”^(AZ)
says the Lord.^(BA)

⁴This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,^(BB)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law^(BC) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,^(BD)
because they have been led astray^(BE) by false gods,^[g]^(BF)
    the gods^[h] their ancestors followed,^(BG)
⁵I will send fire^(BH) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses^(BI) of Jerusalem.^(BJ)”

Judgment on Israel

⁶This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.^(BK)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.^(BL)
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.^(BM)
⁸They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.^(BN)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine^(BO) taken as fines.^(BP)

⁹“Yet I destroyed the Amorites^(BQ) before them,
    though they were tall^(BR) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.^(BS)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots^(BT) below.
¹⁰I brought you up out of Egypt^(BU)
    and led^(BV) you forty years in the wilderness^(BW)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.^(BX)

¹¹“I also raised up prophets^(BY) from among your children
and Nazirites^(BZ) 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.^(CA)

¹³“Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.^(CB)
¹⁴The swift will not escape,^(CC)
    the strong^(CD) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.^(CE)
¹⁵The archer^(CF) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman^(CG) will not save his life.^(CH)
¹⁶Even the bravest warriors^(CI)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

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

Psalm 102

New International Version

Psalm 102^[a]

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

¹Hear my prayer,^(A) Lord;
    let my cry for help^(B) come to you.
²Do not hide your face^(C) from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear^(D) to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

³For my days vanish like smoke;^(E)
    my bones^(F) burn like glowing embers.
⁴My heart is blighted and withered like grass;^(G)
    I forget to eat my food.^(H)
⁵In my distress I groan aloud^(I)
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶I am like a desert owl,^(J)
    like an owl among the ruins.
⁷I lie awake;^(K) I have become
    like a bird alone^(L) on a roof.
⁸All day long my enemies^(M) taunt me;^(N)
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.^(O)
⁹For I eat ashes^(P) as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears^(Q)
¹⁰because of your great wrath,^(R)
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹My days are like the evening shadow;^(S)
    I wither^(T) away like grass.

¹²But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;^(U)
    your renown endures^(V) through all generations.^(W)
¹³You will arise^(X) and have compassion^(Y) on Zion,
    for it is time^(Z) to show favor^(AA) to her;
    the appointed time^(AB) has come.
¹⁴For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.
¹⁵The nations will fear^(AC) the name of the Lord,
    all the kings^(AD) of the earth will revere your glory.
¹⁶For the Lord will rebuild Zion^(AE)
    and appear in his glory.^(AF)
¹⁷He will respond to the prayer^(AG) of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

¹⁸Let this be written^(AH) for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created^(AI) may praise the Lord:
¹⁹“The Lord looked down^(AJ) from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
²⁰to hear the groans of the prisoners^(AK)
    and release those condemned to death.”
²¹So the name of the Lord will be declared^(AL) in Zion
    and his praise^(AM) in Jerusalem
²²when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship^(AN) the Lord.

²³In the course of my life^[b] he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.^(AO)
²⁴So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on^(AP) through all generations.
²⁵In the beginning^(AQ) you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens^(AR) are the work of your hands.^(AS)
²⁶They will perish,^(AT) but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
²⁷But you remain the same,^(AU)
    and your years will never end.^(AV)
²⁸The children of your servants^(AW) will live in your presence;
    their descendants^(AX) will be established before you.”