Amos 5

New International Version

A Lament and Call to Repentance

5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament^(A) I take up concerning you:

²“Fallen is Virgin^(B) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.^(C)”

³This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:

“Your city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left.^(D)”

⁴This is what the Lord says to Israel:

“Seek^(E) me and live;^(F)
⁵    do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,^(G)
    do not journey to Beersheba.^(H)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
    and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.^[a]^(I)”
⁶Seek^(J) the Lord and live,^(K)
    or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;^(L)
it will devour them,
    and Bethel^(M) will have no one to quench it.^(N)

⁷There are those who turn justice into bitterness^(O)
and cast righteousness^(P) to the ground.^(Q)

⁸He who made the Pleiades and Orion,^(R)
    who turns midnight into dawn^(S)
    and darkens day into night,^(T)
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.^(U)
⁹With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
    and brings the fortified city to ruin.^(V)

¹⁰There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court^(W)
and detest the one who tells the truth.^(X)

¹¹You levy a straw tax on the poor^(Y)
    and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,^(Z)
    you will not live in them;^(AA)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
    you will not drink their wine.^(AB)
¹²For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.^(AC)

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes^(AD)
and deprive the poor^(AE) of justice in the courts.^(AF)
¹³Therefore the prudent keep quiet^(AG) in such times,
for the times are evil.^(AH)

¹⁴Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.^(AI)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
¹⁵Hate evil,^(AJ) love good;^(AK)
    maintain justice in the courts.^(AL)
Perhaps^(AM) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy^(AN)
    on the remnant^(AO) of Joseph.

¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing^(AP) in all the streets^(AQ)
    and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers^(AR) will be summoned to weep
    and the mourners to wail.
¹⁷There will be wailing^(AS) in all the vineyards,
    for I will pass through^(AT) your midst,”
says the Lord.^(AU)

The Day of the Lord

¹⁸Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!^(AV)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?^(AW)
    That day will be darkness,^(AX) not light.^(AY)
¹⁹It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,^(AZ)
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.^(BA)
²⁰Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,^(BB) not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?^(BC)

²¹“I hate,^(BD) I despise your religious festivals;^(BE)
    your assemblies^(BF) are a stench to me.
²²Even though you bring me burnt offerings^(BG) and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.^(BH)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.^(BI)
²³Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.^(BJ)
²⁴But let justice^(BK) roll on like a river,
    righteousness^(BL) like a never-failing stream!^(BM)

²⁵“Did you bring me sacrifices^(BN) and offerings
    forty years^(BO) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
²⁶You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
    the pedestal of your idols,^(BP)
    the star of your god^[b]—
    which you made for yourselves.
²⁷Therefore I will send you into exile^(BQ) beyond Damascus,”
    says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.^(BR)

Footnotes

Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
Amos 5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols

Romans 4:1-15

New International Version

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say^(A) that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,^(B) discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.^(C) ³What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[a]^(D)

⁴Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift^(E) but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.^(F) ⁶David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed are those
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
⁸Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”^[b]^(G)

⁹Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?^(H) We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.^(I) ¹⁰Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.^(J) So then, he is the father^(K) of all who believe^(L) but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹³It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise^(M) that he would be heir of the world,^(N) but through the righteousness that comes by faith.^(O) ¹⁴For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,^(P) ¹⁵because the law brings wrath.^(Q) And where there is no law there is no transgression.^(R)

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Footnotes

Romans 4:3 Gen. 15:6; also in verse 22
Romans 4:8 Psalm 32:1,2

Psalm 86:1-10

New International Version

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

¹Hear me, Lord, and answer^(A) me,
    for I am poor and needy.
²Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.^(B)
You are my God; ³have mercy^(C) on me, Lord,
    for I call^(D) to you all day long.
⁴Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust^(E) in you.

⁵You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
    abounding in love^(F) to all who call to you.
⁶Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry^(G) for mercy.
⁷When I am in distress,^(H) I call^(I) to you,
    because you answer^(J) me.

⁸Among the gods^(K) there is none like you,^(L) Lord;
    no deeds can compare with yours.
⁹All the nations you have made
    will come^(M) and worship^(N) before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory^(O) to your name.
¹⁰For you are great^(P) and do marvelous deeds;^(Q)
    you alone^(R) are God.