The Daily Audio Bible
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Introduction
1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied.[a] He[b] was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him[c] during the time of[d] King Uzziah of Judah and[e] King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.[f]
God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations
2 Amos[g] said:
“The Lord comes roaring[h] out of Zion;
from Jerusalem he comes bellowing![i]
The shepherds’ pastures wilt;[j]
the summit of Carmel[k] withers.”[l]
3 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Damascus has committed three crimes[m]—
make that four![n]—I will not revoke my
decree of judgment.[o]
They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.[p]
4 So I will set Hazael’s house[q] on fire;
fire[r] will consume Ben Hadad’s[s] fortresses.
5 I will break the bar on the gate[t] of Damascus.
I will remove[u] the ruler[v] from Wicked Valley,[w]
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden.[x]
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.”[y]
The Lord has spoken!
6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Gaza[z] has committed three crimes[aa]—
make that four![ab]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[ac]
They deported a whole community[ad] and sold them[ae] to Edom.
7 So I will set Gaza’s city wall[af] on fire;
fire[ag] will consume her fortresses.
8 I will remove[ah] the ruler[ai] from Ashdod,[aj]
the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon.[ak]
I will strike Ekron[al] with my hand;[am]
the rest of the Philistines will also die.”[an]
The Sovereign Lord has spoken!
9 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Tyre has committed three crimes[ao]—
make that four[ap]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[aq]
They sold[ar] a whole community[as] to Edom;
they failed to observe[at] a treaty of brotherhood.[au]
10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall;[av]
fire[aw] will consume her fortresses.”
11 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Edom has committed three crimes[ax]—
make that four[ay]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[az]
He chased his brother[ba] with a sword;
he wiped out his allies.[bb]
In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest;[bc]
in his fury he relentlessly attacked them.[bd]
12 So I will set Teman[be] on fire;
fire[bf] will consume Bozrah’s[bg] fortresses.”
13 This is what the Lord says:
“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes[bh]—
make that four[bi]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[bj]
They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women[bk]
so they could expand their territory.
14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s[bl] city wall;[bm]
fire[bn] will consume her fortresses.
War cries will be heard on the day of battle;[bo]
a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm.[bp]
15 Ammon’s[bq] king will be deported;[br]
he and his officials[bs] will be carried off[bt] together.”
The Lord has spoken
2 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Moab has committed three crimes[bu]—
make that four[bv]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[bw]
They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime.[bx]
2 So I will set Moab on fire,[by]
and it will consume Kerioth’s[bz] fortresses.
Moab will perish[ca] in the heat of battle[cb]
amid war cries and the blaring[cc] of the ram’s horn.[cd]
3 I will remove[ce] Moab’s leader;[cf]
I will kill all Moab’s[cg] officials[ch] with him.”
The Lord has spoken!
4 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions[ci]—
make that four[cj]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[ck]
They rejected the Lord’s law;[cl]
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods,[cm]
to which their fathers were loyal,[cn]
led them astray.
5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”
God Will Judge Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions[co]—
make that four[cp]—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.[cq]
They sold the innocent[cr] for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals.[cs]
7 They trample[ct] on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;[cu]
they push the destitute away.[cv]
A man and his father go to the same girl;[cw]
in this way they show disrespect for[cx] my moral purity.[cy]
8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do so right[cz] beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do so right in the temple[da] of their God![db]
9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites.[dc]
They were as tall as cedars[dd]
and as strong as oaks,
but I destroyed the fruit on their branches[de]
and their roots in the ground.[df]
10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt;
I led you through the wilderness for forty years
so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.
11 I made some of your sons prophets
and some of your young men Nazirites.[dg]
Is this not true, you Israelites?”
The Lord is speaking.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine;[dh]
you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
13 Look! I will press you down,
like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.[di]
14 Fast runners will find no place to hide;[dj]
strong men will have no strength left;[dk]
warriors will not be able to save their lives.
15 Archers[dl] will not hold their ground;[dm]
fast runners will not save their lives,
nor will those who ride horses.[dn]
16 Bravehearted[do] warriors will run away naked in that day.”
The Lord is speaking.
Every Effect has its Cause
3 Listen, you Israelites, to this message that the Lord is proclaiming against[dp] you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up[dq] from the land of Egypt:
2 “I have chosen[dr] you alone from all the clans of the earth.
Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
3 Do two walk together without having met?[ds]
4 Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey?[dt]
Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?
5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?
Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?
6 If an alarm sounds[du] in a city, do people not fear?[dv]
If disaster overtakes a[dw] city, is the Lord not responsible?[dx]
7 Certainly the Sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared![dy] Who is not afraid?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken. Who can refuse to prophesy?[dz]
Samaria Will Fall
9 Make this announcement in[ea] the fortresses of Ashdod
and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.
Say this:
“Gather on the hills around Samaria![eb]
Observe the many acts of violence[ec] taking place within the city,[ed]
the oppressive deeds[ee] occurring in it.”[ef]
10 “They do not know how to do what is right,” the Lord says.
“They store up[eg] the spoils of destructive violence[eh] in their fortresses.
11 Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land.[ei]
He will take away your power;[ej]
your fortresses will be looted.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged.[ek]
They will be left with just a corner of a bed,[el]
and a part[em] of a couch.
13 Listen and warn[en] the family[eo] of Jacob!”[ep]
The Sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies,[eq] is speaking!
14 “Certainly when[er] I punish Israel for their[es] covenant transgressions,[et]
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the following:[a]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[b] the one who has a firm grasp on[c] the seven stars in his right hand[d]—the one who walks among the seven golden[e] lampstands: 2 ‘I know your works as well as your[f] labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate[g] evil. You have even put to the test[h] those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false. 3 I am also aware[i] that you have persisted steadfastly,[j] endured much for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have departed[k] from your first love! 5 Therefore, remember from what high state[l] you have fallen and repent! Do[m] the deeds you did at the first;[n] if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—that is, if you do not repent.[o] 6 But you do have this going for you:[p] You hate what the Nicolaitans[q] practice[r]—practices I also hate. 7 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers,[s] I will permit[t] him to eat from the tree of life that is[u] in the paradise of God.’[v]
To the Church in Smyrna
8 “To[w] the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following:[x]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[y] the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but[z] came to life: 9 ‘I know the distress you are suffering[aa] and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know[ab] the slander against you[ac] by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue[ad] of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown[ae] into prison so you may be tested,[af] and you will experience suffering[ag] for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.[ah] 11 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers[ai] will in no way be harmed by the second death.’
To the Church in Pergamum
12 “To[aj] the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following:[ak]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[al] the one who has the sharp double-edged sword:[am] 13 ‘I know[an] where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet[ao] you continue to cling[ap] to my name and you have not denied your[aq] faith in me,[ar] even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness,[as] who was killed in your city[at] where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam,[au] who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block[av] before the people[aw] of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.[ax] 15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[ay] 16 Therefore,[az] repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people[ba] with the sword of my mouth. 17 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers,[bb] I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white[bc] stone,[bd] and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand[be] except the one who receives it.’
Psalm 129[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
129 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not defeated me.
3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is just;
he cut the ropes of the wicked.”[c]
5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back.
6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops,
which withers before one can even pull it up,[d]
7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain.
8 Those who pass by will not say,[e]
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
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