Joel 2:1-14

New American Standard Bible

The Terrible Visitation

2 ^(A)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the ^(B)day of the Lord is coming;
Indeed, it is near,
²A day of ^(C)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a ^(D)great and mighty people;
There has ^(E)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
³A ^(F)fire consumes before them,
And behind them a flame devours.
The land is ^(G)like the Garden of Eden before them,
But a ^(H)desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
⁴Their ^(I)appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
⁵^[a]With a ^(J)noise as of chariots
They leap about on the tops of the mountains,
Like the ^[b]crackling of a ^(K)flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people drawn up for battle.
⁶Before them the people are in ^(L)anguish;
All ^(M)faces ^[c]turn pale.
⁷They run like warriors,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And each of them ^(N)marches ^[d]in line,
Nor do they lose their way.
⁸They do not crowd each other,
Every warrior of them marches in his path;
When they ^[e]burst through the ^[f]defenses,
They do not break ranks.
⁹They storm the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the ^(O)houses,
They ^(P)enter through the windows like a thief.
¹⁰Before them the earth ^(Q)quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The ^(R)sun and the moon become dark,
And the stars lose their brightness.
¹¹The Lord ^(S)utters His voice before ^(T)His army;
His camp is indeed very great,
For ^(U)mighty is one who carries out His word.
The ^(V)day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And ^(W)who can endure it?
¹²“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“^(X)Return to Me with all your heart,
And with ^(Y)fasting, weeping, and mourning;
¹³And ^(Z)tear your heart and not merely ^(AA)your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is ^(AB)gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in mercy
And ^(AC)relenting of catastrophe.
¹⁴Who knows, ^(AD)He might turn and relent,
And leave a ^(AE)blessing behind Him,
Resulting in ^(AF)a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God.

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Footnotes

Joel 2:5 Lit Like the noise of chariots
Joel 2:5 Lit sound
Joel 2:6 Or become flushed
Joel 2:7 Lit in his ways
Joel 2:8 Lit fall
Joel 2:8 Lit weapon, prob. javelin

Jeremiah 31:27-34

New American Standard Bible

A New Covenant

²⁷“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will ^(A)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals. ²⁸And just as I have ^(B)watched over them to ^(C)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to ^(D)build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.

²⁹“In those days they will no longer say,
‘^(E)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
^[a]But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt.’

³⁰But ^(F)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

³¹“^(G)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a ^(H)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the ^(I)covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I ^(J)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ^(K)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. ³³“For ^(L)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “^(M)I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and ^(N)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴They will ^(O)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all ^(P)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will ^(Q)forgive their wrongdoing, and their ^(R)sin I will no longer remember.”

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 31:29 I.e., the children suffer for the fathers’ sins

Romans 14:1-15:3

New American Standard Bible

Principles of Conscience

14 Now ^(A)accept the one who is ^(B)weak ^[a]in faith, but not ^[b]to have quarrels over opinions. ²^(C)One person has faith that he may eat all things, but the one who is ^(D)weak eats only vegetables. ³The one who eats is not to ^(E)regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to ^(F)judge the one who eats, for God has ^(G)accepted him. ⁴^(H)Who are you to judge the ^[c]servant of another? To his own ^[d]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵^(I)One person ^[e]values one day over another, another ^[f]values every day the same. Each person must be ^(J)fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶The one who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and the one who eats, ^[g]does so with regard to the Lord, for he ^(K)gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God. ⁷For not one of us ^(L)lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore ^(M)whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end ^(N)Christ died and lived again, that He might be ^(O)Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you ^(P)regard your brother or sister with contempt? For ^(Q)we will all appear before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹For it is written:

“^(R)As I live, says the Lord, ^(S)to Me every knee will bow,
And every tongue will ^[h]give praise to God.”

¹²So then ^(T)each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³Therefore let’s not ^(U)judge one another anymore, but rather ^[i]determine this: ^(V)not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way. ¹⁴I know and am convinced ^[j]in the Lord Jesus that ^(W)nothing is ^[k]unclean in itself; but to the one who ^(X)thinks something is ^[l]unclean, to that person it is ^[m]unclean. ¹⁵For if because of food your brother or sister is hurt, you are no longer ^(Y)walking in accordance with love. ^(Z)Do not destroy with your choice of food that person for whom Christ died. ¹⁶Therefore ^(AA)do not let what is for you a good thing be ^[n]spoken of as evil; ¹⁷for the kingdom of God ^(AB)is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and ^(AC)peace and ^(AD)joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸For the one who ^(AE)serves Christ in this way is ^(AF)acceptable to God and approved by other people. ¹⁹So then we ^(AG)pursue the things ^[o]which make for peace and the ^(AH)building up of one another. ²⁰^(AI)Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. ^(AJ)All things indeed are clean, but ^(AK)they are evil for the person who eats ^[p]and causes offense. ²¹^(AL)It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother or sister stumbles. ²²The faith which you have, have ^[q]as your own conviction before God. Happy is the one who ^(AM)does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³But ^(AN)the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Self-denial in behalf of Others

15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of ^(AO)those without strength, and not just please ourselves. ²Each of us is to ^(AP)please his neighbor ^[r]for his good, to his ^(AQ)edification. ³For even ^(AR)Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “^(AS)The taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on Me.”

Footnotes

Romans 14:1 Or in the faith
Romans 14:1 Lit for quarrels
Romans 14:4 Or house servant
Romans 14:4 Lit lord
Romans 14:5 Lit judges
Romans 14:5 Lit judges
Romans 14:6 Lit eats
Romans 14:11 Or confess
Romans 14:13 Lit judge
Romans 14:14 Lit through
Romans 14:14 I.e., ceremonially unclean; lit common
Romans 14:14 I.e., ceremonially unclean; lit common
Romans 14:14 I.e., ceremonially unclean; lit common
Romans 14:16 Lit blasphemed
Romans 14:19 Lit of peace and the things of the building up
Romans 14:20 Lit by offense
Romans 14:22 Lit according to yourself
Romans 15:2 Lit for what is good to edification

Luke 6:39-49

New American Standard Bible

³⁹Now He also spoke a parable to them: “^(A)A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰^(B)A ^[a]student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. ⁴¹Why do you look at the ^[b]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the ^[c]speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the ^[d]speck that is in your brother’s eye. ⁴³^(C)For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor, ^[e]on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit. ⁴⁴^(D)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. ⁴⁵^(E)The good person out of the good ^[f]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; ^(F)for his mouth speaks from ^[g]that which fills his heart.

The Parable of the Builders

⁴⁶“Now ^(G)why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷^(H)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and ^[h]acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸he is like a man building a house, who ^[i]dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”