Isaiah 47:1-9

New International Version

The Fall of Babylon

47 “Go down, sit in the dust,^(A)
    Virgin Daughter^(B) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
    queen city of the Babylonians.^[a]^(C)
No more will you be called
    tender or delicate.^(D)
²Take millstones^(E) and grind^(F) flour;
    take off your veil.^(G)
Lift up your skirts,^(H) bare your legs,
    and wade through the streams.
³Your nakedness^(I) will be exposed
    and your shame^(J) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;^(K)
    I will spare no one.^(L)”

⁴Our Redeemer^(M)—the Lord Almighty^(N) is his name^(O)—
is the Holy One^(P) of Israel.

⁵“Sit in silence,^(Q) go into darkness,^(R)
    queen city of the Babylonians;^(S)
no more will you be called
    queen^(T) of kingdoms.^(U)
⁶I was angry^(V) with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;^(W)
I gave them into your hand,^(X)
    and you showed them no mercy.^(Y)
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
⁷You said, ‘I am forever^(Z)—
    the eternal queen!’^(AA)
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect^(AB) on what might happen.^(AC)

⁸“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security^(AD)
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.^(AE)
I will never be a widow^(AF)
    or suffer the loss of children.’
⁹Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,^(AG) on a single day:
    loss of children^(AH) and widowhood.^(AI)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries^(AJ)
    and all your potent spells.^(AK)

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Footnotes

Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5

Amos 2:1-5

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)”

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Footnotes

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

1 Corinthians 8

New International Version

Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols

8 Now about food sacrificed to idols:^(A) We know that “We all possess knowledge.”^(B) But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. ²Those who think they know something^(C) do not yet know as they ought to know.^(D) ³But whoever loves God is known by God.^[a]^(E)

⁴So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols:^(F) We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world”^(G) and that “There is no God but one.”^(H) ⁵For even if there are so-called gods,^(I) whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), ⁶yet for us there is but one God,^(J) the Father,^(K) from whom all things came^(L) and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord,^(M) Jesus Christ, through whom all things came^(N) and through whom we live.

⁷But not everyone possesses this knowledge.^(O) Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak,^(P) it is defiled. ⁸But food does not bring us near to God;^(Q) we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

⁹Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block^(R) to the weak.^(S) ¹⁰For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?^(T) ¹¹So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed^(U) by your knowledge. ¹²When you sin against them^(V) in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.^(W) ¹³Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.^(X)

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Footnotes

1 Corinthians 8:3 An early manuscript and another ancient witness think they have knowledge do not yet know as they ought to know. ³But whoever loves truly knows.