Amos 5:1-17
English Standard Version
Seek the Lord and Live
5 Hear this word that I (A)take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 “Fallen, no more to rise,
is (B)the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up.”
3 For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that went out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
shall have ten left
to the house of Israel.”
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
(C)“Seek me and live;
5 but do not seek (D)Bethel,
and do not enter into (E)Gilgal
or cross over to (F)Beersheba;
for (G)Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and (H)Bethel shall come to nothing.”
6 (I)Seek the Lord and live,
(J)lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for (K)Bethel,
7 O (L)you who turn justice to wormwood[a]
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8 He who made the (M)Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and (N)darkens the day into night,
who (O)calls for the waters of the sea
(P)and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
(Q)the Lord is his name;
9 (R)who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 (S)They hate him who reproves (T)in the gate,
and they (U)abhor him who speaks the truth.
11 Therefore because you (V)trample on[b] the poor
and you exact taxes of grain from him,
(W)you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them;
(X)you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who (Y)take a bribe,
and (Z)turn aside the needy (AA)in the gate.
13 Therefore he who is prudent will (AB)keep silent in such a time,
(AC)for it is an evil time.
14 (AD)Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, (AE)the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15 (AF)Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice (AG)in the gate;
(AH)it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord, (AI)the God of hosts, the Lord:
“In all the squares (AJ)there shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and (AK)to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17 and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for (AL)I will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.
Amos 5:1-17
The Message
All Show, No Substance
5 Listen to this, family of Israel,
this Message I’m sending in bold print, this tragic warning:
2 “Virgin Israel has fallen flat on her face.
She’ll never stand up again.
She’s been left where she’s fallen.
No one offers to help her up.”
3 This is the Message, God’s Word:
“The city that marches out with a thousand
will end up with a hundred.
The city that marches out with a hundred
will end up with ten. Oh, family of Israel!”
4-5 God’s Message to the family of Israel:
“Seek me and live.
Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel,
Don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal,
and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.
Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow
and Bethel is all show, no substance.”
6 So seek God and live! You don’t want to end up
with nothing to show for your life
But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground.
For God will send just such a fire,
and the firefighters will show up too late.
Raw Truth Is Never Popular
7-9 Woe to you who turn justice to vinegar
and stomp righteousness into the mud.
Do you realize where you are? You’re in a cosmos
star-flung with constellations by God,
A world God wakes up each morning
and puts to bed each night.
God dips water from the ocean
and gives the land a drink.
God, God-revealed, does all this.
And he can destroy it as easily as make it.
He can turn this vast wonder into total waste.
10-12 People hate this kind of talk.
Raw truth is never popular.
But here it is, bluntly spoken:
Because you run roughshod over the poor
and take the bread right out of their mouths,
You’re never going to move into
the luxury homes you have built.
You’re never going to drink wine
from the expensive vineyards you’ve planted.
I know precisely the extent of your violations,
the enormity of your sins. Appalling!
You bully right-living people,
taking bribes right and left and kicking the poor when they’re down.
13 Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic.
Decent people throw up their hands.
Protest and rebuke are useless,
a waste of breath.
14 Seek good and not evil—
and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
and maybe it will happen.
15 Hate evil and love good,
then work it out in the public square.
Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will notice your remnant and be gracious.
16-17 Now again, my Master’s Message, God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Go out into the streets and lament loudly!
Fill the malls and shops with cries of doom!
Weep loudly, ‘Not me! Not us, Not now!’
Empty offices, stores, factories, workplaces.
Enlist everyone in the general lament.
I want to hear it loud and clear when I make my visit.”
God’s Decree.
Psalm 85:1-3
The Message
85 1-3 God, you smiled on your good earth!
You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.
Psalm 85:8-13
English Standard Version
8 (A)Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will (B)speak peace to his people, to his (C)saints;
but let them not (D)turn back to (E)folly.
9 Surely his (F)salvation is near to those who fear him,
that (G)glory may dwell in our land.
10 (H)Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
(I)righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, (J)the Lord will give what is good,
and our land (K)will yield its increase.
13 (L)Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
Psalm 85:8-13
The Message
8-9 I can’t wait to hear what he’ll say.
God’s about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they’ll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!
10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.
Jude
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Jude, a servant[a] of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
(A)To those who are called, (B)beloved in God the Father and (C)kept for[b] Jesus Christ:
2 May (D)mercy, (E)peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Judgment on False Teachers
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our (F)common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you (G)to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For (H)certain people (I)have crept in unnoticed (J)who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert (K)the grace of our God into sensuality and (L)deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want (M)to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that (N)Jesus, who saved[c] a people out of the land of Egypt, (O)afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And (P)the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as (Q)Sodom and Gomorrah and (R)the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and (S)pursued unnatural desire,[d] serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and (T)blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when (U)the archangel (V)Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing (W)about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, (X)“The Lord rebuke you.” 10 (Y)But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in (Z)the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain (AA)to Balaam's error and (AB)perished in Korah's rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs[e] (AC)at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, (AD)shepherds feeding themselves; (AE)waterless clouds, (AF)swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, (AG)uprooted; 13 (AH)wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of (AI)their own shame; (AJ)wandering stars, (AK)for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these that Enoch, (AL)the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, (AM)“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 (AN)to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have (AO)committed in such an ungodly way, and of all (AP)the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, (AQ)following their own sinful desires; (AR)they are loud-mouthed boasters, (AS)showing favoritism to gain advantage.
A Call to Persevere
17 But you must (AT)remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They[f] said to you, (AU)“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, (AV)devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, (AW)building yourselves up in your most holy faith and (AX)praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 (AY)keep yourselves in the love of God, (AZ)waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by (BA)snatching them out of (BB)the fire; to others show mercy (BC)with fear, hating even (BD)the garment[g] stained by the flesh.
Doxology
24 (BE)Now to him who is able (BF)to keep you from stumbling and (BG)to present you (BH)blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to (BI)the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, (BJ)be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time[h] and now and forever. Amen.
Footnotes
- Jude 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
- Jude 1:1 Or by
- Jude 1:5 Some manuscripts although you fully knew it, that the Lord who once saved
- Jude 1:7 Greek different flesh
- Jude 1:12 Or are blemishes
- Jude 1:18 Or Christ, because they
- Jude 1:23 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin
- Jude 1:25 Or before any age
Jude
The Message
1-2 I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!
Fight with All You Have in You
3-4 Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license—which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master.
Lost Stars in Outer Space
5-7 I’m laying this out as clearly as I can, even though you once knew all this well enough and shouldn’t need reminding. Here it is in brief: The Master saved a people out of the land of Egypt. Later he destroyed those who defected. And you know the story of the angels who didn’t stick to their post, abandoning it for other, darker missions. But they are now chained and jailed in a black hole until the great Judgment Day. Sodom and Gomorrah, which went to sexual rack and ruin along with the surrounding cities that acted just like them, are another example. Burning and burning and never burning up, they serve still as a stock warning.
8 This is exactly the same program of these latest infiltrators: dirty sex, rule and rulers thrown out, glory dragged in the mud.
9-11 The Archangel Michael, who went to the mat with the Devil as they fought over the body of Moses, wouldn’t have dared level him with a blasphemous curse, but said simply, “No you don’t. God will take care of you!” But these people sneer at anything they can’t understand, and by doing whatever they feel like doing—living by animal instinct only—they participate in their own destruction. I’m fed up with them! They’ve gone down Cain’s road; they’ve been sucked into Balaam’s error by greed; they’re canceled out in Korah’s rebellion.
12-13 These people are eyesores at your love feasts as you worship and eat together. They’re giving you a black eye—carousing shamelessly, grabbing anything that isn’t nailed down. They’re—
Puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind;
late autumn trees stripped clean of leaf and fruit,
Doubly dead, pulled up by the roots;
wild ocean waves leaving nothing on the beach
but the foam of their shame;
Lost stars in outer space
on their way to the black hole.
14-16 Enoch, the seventh after Adam, prophesied of them: “Look! The Master comes with thousands of holy angels to bring judgment against them all, convicting each person of every defiling act of shameless sacrilege, of every dirty word they have spewed of their pious filth.” These are the complainers, the bellyachers, grabbing for the biggest piece of the pie, talking big, saying anything they think will get them ahead.
17-19 But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: “In the last days there will be people who don’t take these things seriously anymore. They’ll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts.” These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!
* * *
20-21 But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
22-23 Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.
24-25 And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating—to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, and to the end of all time. Yes.
Matthew 22:1-14
English Standard Version
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
22 And again Jesus (A)spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 (B)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave (C)a wedding feast for his son, 3 and (D)sent his servants[a] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 (E)Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my (F)dinner, (G)my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But (H)they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, (I)treated them shamefully, and (J)killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and (K)destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not (L)worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and (M)gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there (N)a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, (O)‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and (P)cast him into the outer darkness. In that place (Q)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are (R)called, but few are (S)chosen.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 22:3 Or bondservants; also verses 4, 6, 8, 10
Matthew 22:1-14
The Message
The Story of the Wedding Banquet
22 1-3 Jesus responded by telling still more stories. “God’s kingdom,” he said, “is like a king who threw a wedding banquet for his son. He sent out servants to call in all the invited guests. And they wouldn’t come!
4 “He sent out another round of servants, instructing them to tell the guests, ‘Look, everything is on the table, the prime rib is ready for carving. Come to the feast!’
5-7 “They only shrugged their shoulders and went off, one to weed his garden, another to work in his shop. The rest, with nothing better to do, beat up on the messengers and then killed them. The king was outraged and sent his soldiers to destroy those thugs and level their city.
8-10 “Then he told his servants, ‘We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren’t up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on—every place filled.
11-13 “When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn’t properly dressed. He said to him, ‘Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!’ The man was speechless. Then the king told his servants, ‘Get him out of here—fast. Tie him up and ship him to hell. And make sure he doesn’t get back in.’
14 “That’s what I mean when I say, ‘Many get invited; only a few make it.’”
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson