Old/New Testament
Judgment Against Israel’s Neighbors
1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel two years before the earthquake.
2 He said:
The Lord roars from Zion
and utters His voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds languish,
the top of Carmel withers.
3 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Damascus,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have threshed Gilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
4 So I will send fire against the house of Hazael,
and it will devour the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break the gate bar of Damascus;
from the Valley of Aven I will cut off the one enthroned,
and from Beth Eden the one who holds the scepter.
The people of Aram will go into captivity to Kir,
says the Lord.
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they carried away into exile an entire deportation,
to deliver them up to Edom.
7 So I will send fire against the wall of Gaza,
and it will devour its fortresses.
8 From Ashdod I will cut off the one enthroned
and from Ashkelon the one who holds the scepter.
I will turn My hand against Ekron,
and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,
says the Lord God.
9 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Tyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they delivered up an entire deportation to Edom,
and did not remember the covenant of kinship.
10 So I will send fire against the wall of Tyre,
and it will devour its fortresses.
11 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Edom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because he pursued his brother with the sword,
and repressed all pity;
his anger tore with no ceasing,
and his wrath persisted with no end.
12 So I will send fire against Teman,
and it will devour the fortresses of Bozrah.
13 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of the Ammonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,
in order to enlarge their border.
14 So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah,
and it will devour its fortresses,
with a war cry on the day of battle,
with a tempest on the day of the whirlwind.
15 Their king shall go into captivity,
he and his princes together,
says the Lord.
2 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send fire against Moab,
and it will devour the fortresses of Kerioth;
Moab will die in uproar,
with a war cry and the alarm of the trumpet.
3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will slay all its princes with him,
says the Lord.
Judgment Against Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept His commandments.
The lies which their fathers followed
have led them astray.
5 So I will send fire against Judah,
and it will devour the fortresses of Jerusalem.
Judgment Against Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample the head of the poor
into the dust of the earth,
and push the oppressed out of the way.
A man and his father go in to the same woman,
profaning My holy name.
8 They recline by every altar
on garments taken in pledge,
and in the house of their gods
they drink the wine from those who have been fined.
9 Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of the cedars.
He was strong as the oaks,
yet I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots below.
10 It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and led you forty years through the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets,
and some of your young men as Nazirites.
Is it not so, O children of Israel?
says the Lord.
12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
and commanded the prophets, saying, “Do not prophesy.”
13 Indeed I will slow you down,
as a wagon is slowed that is full of sheaves.
14 Flight will perish from the swift,
the strong will not retain his strength,
nor will the warrior save his life.
15 The bowman will not stand firm,
the swift-footed will not escape,
nor will the horseman save his life.
16 He that is courageous among the warriors
will flee away naked on that day,
says the Lord.
First Pronouncement of Punishment
3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 You alone have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
3 Do two people walk together,
if they have not agreed?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest,
if it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den,
if it has not caught something?
5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground,
if there was no snare for it?
Does a trap spring up from the ground,
if it has not caught something?
6 If the trumpet blasts in the city,
are not the people frightened?
If there is disaster against a city,
is it not the Lord who has done it?
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing
without revealing His purpose
to His servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the fortresses in Ashdod,
and the fortresses in the land of Egypt, and say:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,
and see the great disorders within her,
and the oppression in her midst.”
10 They do not know how to do right, says the Lord,
storing up violence and destruction in their fortresses.
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
An enemy will surround your land;
he will tear down your defenses,
and your fortresses will be plundered.
12 Thus says the Lord:
As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion
a pair of legs or a piece of an ear,
so will the children of Israel be rescued,
those who live in Samaria,
with the corner of a bed
or a piece of a couch.
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of Hosts:
14 Surely on the day I punish the transgressions of Israel,
I will also punish the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will destroy the winter house
as well as the summer house,
and the houses of ivory will perish;
the great houses will come to an end,
says the Lord.
The Seals
6 I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures saying, with voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and there before me was a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering that he might overcome.
3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come and see.” 4 Then another horse that was red went forth. Power was given to him who sat on it to take peace from the earth, causing people to kill one another. Then a great sword was given to him.
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart[a] of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages,[b] and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 So I looked, and there was a pale horse, and the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed him. Power over a fourth of the earth was given to them, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had held. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers should be completed, who would be killed as they were.
12 I watched as He opened the sixth seal. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. The sun became black, like sackcloth made from goat hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when it is shaken by a strong wind. 14 Then the heavens receded like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the commanding officers and the strong and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. 16 They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of His wrath has come. Who is able to withstand it?”[c]
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.