Amos 1-3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years[a] before the earthquake.(A)
Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
2 And he said:
The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds wither,
and the top of Carmel dries up.(B)
3 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Damascus,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[b]
because they have threshed Gilead
with threshing sledges of iron.(C)
4 So I will send a fire on the house of Hazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.(D)
5 I will break the gate bars of Damascus
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven
and the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden,
and the people of Aram shall go into exile to Kir,
says the Lord.(E)
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[c]
because they carried into exile entire communities,
to hand them over to Edom.(F)
7 So I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza,
and it shall devour its strongholds.
8 I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod
and the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,
says the Lord God.(G)
9 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Tyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[d]
because they delivered entire communities over to Edom
and did not remember the covenant of kinship.(H)
10 So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre,
and it shall devour its strongholds.(I)
11 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Edom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[e]
because he pursued his brother with the sword
and cast off all pity;
he maintained his anger perpetually[f]
and kept his wrath[g] forever.(J)
12 So I will send a fire on Teman,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.(K)
13 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of the Ammonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[h]
because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead
in order to enlarge their territory.(L)
14 So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah,
and it shall devour its strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
with a storm on the day of the whirlwind;(M)
15 then their king shall go into exile,
he and his officials together,
says the Lord.(N)
2 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[i]
because he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.(O)
2 So I will send a fire on Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;(P)
3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst
and will kill all its officials with him,
says the Lord.(Q)
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[j]
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord
and have not kept his statutes,
but they have been led astray by the same lies
after which their ancestors walked.(R)
5 So I will send a fire on Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.(S)
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[k]
because they sell the righteous for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals—(T)
7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same young woman,
so that my holy name is profaned;(U)
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed.(V)
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of cedars
and who was as strong as oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.(W)
10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.(X)
11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets
and some of your youths to be nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?
says the Lord.(Y)
12 But you made the nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
saying, “You shall not prophesy.”(Z)
13 So, I will press you down in your place,
just as a cart presses down
when it is full of sheaves.[l](AA)
14 Flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong shall not retain their strength,
nor shall the mighty save their lives;(AB)
15 those who handle the bow shall not stand,
and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves,
nor shall those who ride horses save their lives;(AC)
16 and those who are stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked on that day,
says the Lord.(AD)
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:(AE)
2 You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.(AF)
3 Do two walk together
unless they have made an appointment?(AG)
4 Does a lion roar in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den
if it has caught nothing?(AH)
5 Does a bird fall into a snare on the earth
when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground
when it has taken nothing?
6 Is a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
Does disaster befall a city
unless the Lord has done it?(AI)
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.(AJ)
8 The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?(AK)
9 Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod
and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on Mount[m] Samaria,
and see what great tumults are within it
and what oppressions are in its midst.”(AL)
10 They do not know how to do right, says the Lord,
those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.(AM)
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
An adversary shall surround the land
and strip you of your defense,
and your strongholds shall be plundered.(AN)
12 Thus says the Lord: As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who live in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part[n] of a bed.(AO)
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,
says the Lord God, the God of hosts:(AP)
14 On the day I punish Israel for its transgressions,
I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house as well as the summer house,
and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses[o] shall come to an end,
says the Lord.(AQ)
Footnotes
- 1.1 Or during two years
- 1.3 Heb cause it to return
- 1.6 Heb cause it to return
- 1.9 Heb cause it to return
- 1.11 Heb cause it to return
- 1.11 Syr Vg: Heb and his anger tore perpetually
- 1.11 Gk Syr Vg: Heb and his wrath kept
- 1.13 Heb cause it to return
- 2.1 Heb cause it to return
- 2.4 Heb cause it to return
- 2.6 Heb cause it to return
- 2.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 3.9 Gk Syr: Heb the mountains of
- 3.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 3.15 Or many houses
Revelation 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Seven Seals
6 Then I saw the Lamb break one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!”[a](A) 2 I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.(B)
3 When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come!”[b] 4 And out came[c] another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another, and he was given a great sword.(C)
5 When he broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come!”[d] I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand,(D) 6 and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay[e] and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay,[f] but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”
7 When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, “Come!”[g] 8 I looked, and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence and by the wild animals of the earth.(E)
9 When he broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given;(F) 10 they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?”(G) 11 They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.(H)
12 When he broke the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,(I) 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.(J) 14 The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.(K) 15 Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,(L) 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,(M) 17 for the great day of their[h] wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”(N)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.