Amos 7

New American Standard Bible

Warning through Visions

7 This is what the Lord ^[a]God showed me, and behold, He was forming a ^(A)swarm of locusts ^[b]when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. ²And it came about, ^[c]when it had ^(B)finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,

“^(C)Lord God, please pardon!
How can Jacob stand?
For he is ^(D)small.”
³The Lord ^(E)relented of this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.

⁴So the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by ^(F)fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the ^[d]farmland. ⁵Then I said,

“^(G)Lord God, please stop!
^(H)How can Jacob stand?
For he is small.”
⁶The Lord ^(I)relented of this.
“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.

⁷So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing ^[e]by a ^[f]vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸And the Lord said to me, “^(J)What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold I am about to put a ^(K)plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will not ^[g]^(L)spare them any longer.
⁹The ^(M)high places of Isaac will become deserted,
And the ^(N)sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.
Then I will ^(O)rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused; Gives an Answer

¹⁰Then Amaziah, the ^(P)priest of Bethel, sent word to ^(Q)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has ^(R)conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. ¹¹For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” ¹²Then Amaziah said to Amos, “^(S)Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! ¹³But ^(T)do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a ^(U)sanctuary of the king and a royal ^[h]residence.”

¹⁴Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the ^(V)son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a ^[i]grower of sycamore figs. ¹⁵But the Lord took me from ^[j]following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go ^(W)prophesy to My people Israel.’ ¹⁶So now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You ^(X)shall not prophesy against Israel ^(Y)nor shall you ^[k]prophesy against the house of Isaac.’ ¹⁷Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your ^(Z)wife will become a prostitute in the city, your ^(AA)sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die ^[l]upon ^(AB)unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”

Footnotes

Amos 7:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
Amos 7:1 Lit at the beginning of the coming up of
Amos 7:2 Lit if
Amos 7:4 Lit plot of land
Amos 7:7 Or on
Amos 7:7 Lit wall of a plumb line
Amos 7:8 Lit pass him by
Amos 7:13 Lit house
Amos 7:14 Or picker
Amos 7:15 Lit behind
Amos 7:16 Lit drivel
Amos 7:17 Or in an unclean land

Amos 8

New American Standard Bible

Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity

8 This is what the Lord ^[a]God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. ²And He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And ^(A)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The ^(B)end has come for My people Israel. I will not ^[b]^(C)spare them any longer. ³^[c]The ^(D)songs of the palace will turn to ^(E)wailing on that day,” declares the Lord God. “The ^(F)corpses will be many; in every place ^[d]they will throw them out. ^[e]Hush!”

⁴Hear this, you who ^[f]^(G)trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, ⁵saying,

“When will the ^(H)new moon ^[g]be over,
So that we may sell grain;
And the ^(I)Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the ^[h]ephah smaller and the ^[i]shekel bigger,
And to ^(J)cheat with dishonest scales,
⁶So as to ^(K)buy the helpless for ^[j]money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

⁷The Lord has ^(L)sworn by the ^(M)pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will ^(N)never forget any of their deeds.
⁸Because of this will the land not ^(O)quake,
And everyone who lives in it ^(P)mourn?
Indeed, all of it will ^(Q)rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
⁹And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the ^(R)sun go down at noon,
And ^(S)make the earth dark in ^[k]broad daylight.
¹⁰Then I will ^(T)turn your festivals into mourning,
And all your songs into songs of mourning;
And I will put ^(U)sackcloth around everyone’s waist,
And ^[l]baldness on every head.
And I will make it ^(V)like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.

¹¹“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
But rather ^(W)for hearing the words of the Lord.
¹²People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will roam about to ^(X)seek the word of the Lord,
But they will not find it.
¹³On that day the beautiful ^(Y)virgins
And the young men will ^(Z)faint from thirst.
¹⁴As for those who swear by the ^[m]^(AA)guilt of Samaria,
And say, ‘As your god lives, ^(AB)Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of ^(AC)Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and ^(AD)not rise again.”

Footnotes

Amos 8:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
Amos 8:2 Lit pass him by
Amos 8:3 Lit They will howl the palace songs
Amos 8:3 Lit he has thrown
Amos 8:3 An order for sacred silence
Amos 8:4 Or snap at
Amos 8:5 Lit pass by
Amos 8:5 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
Amos 8:5 About 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
Amos 8:6 Lit silver
Amos 8:9 Lit a day of light
Amos 8:10 I.e., shaved as a sign of mourning
Amos 8:14 Or Ashimah

Amos 9

New American Standard Bible

God’s Judgment Unavoidable

9 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.
²Though 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.
³And 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.
⁴And 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.”

⁵The 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;
⁶The 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.

⁷“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?
⁸Behold, 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.
⁹“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.
¹⁰All 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.
¹⁴I 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.
¹⁵I 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

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

Matthew 15

New American Standard Bible

Tradition and Commandment

15 ^(A)Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus ^(B)from Jerusalem and said, ²“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ^(C)do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” ³And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God said, ‘^(D)Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘^(E)The one who speaks evil of father or mother is to ^[a]be put to death.’ ⁵But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been ^[b]given to God,” ⁶he is not to ^[c]honor his father or mother.’ And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

⁸‘^(F)This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
⁹And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as ^(G)doctrines the commandments of men.’”

¹⁰After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! ¹¹^(H)It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”

¹²Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were ^[d]offended when they heard this statement?” ¹³But He answered and said, “^(I)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴Leave them alone; ^(J)they are blind guides ^[e]of blind people. And ^(K)if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁵Peter ^[f]said to Him, “^(L)Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶^[g]Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? ¹⁷Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is ^[h]eliminated? ¹⁸But ^(M)the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. ¹⁹^(N)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and ^[i]slanderous statements. ²⁰These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

²¹^(O)Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of ^(P)Tyre and ^(Q)Sidon. ²²And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, ^(R)Son of David; my daughter is severely ^(S)demon-possessed.” ²³But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[j]at us!” ²⁴But He answered and said, “I was sent only to ^(T)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and ^(U)began ^[k]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶Yet He answered and said, “It is not ^[l]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ^(V)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed ^[m]at once.

Healing Crowds

²⁹^(W)Departing from there, Jesus went along ^(X)the Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there. ³⁰And ^[n]large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and ^(Y)He healed them. ³¹So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs ^[o]restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they ^(Z)glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Men Fed

³²^(AA)Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “^(AB)I feel compassion for the ^[p]people, because they ^[q]have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” ³³The disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” ³⁴And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵And He directed the ^[r]people to ^[s]sit down on the ground; ³⁶and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after ^(AC)giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large ^(AD)baskets full. ³⁸And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.