Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁷ Thus hath He shewed me, and lo, the Lord is standing by a wall [made according to] a plumb-line, and in His hand a plumb-line;

⁸ and Jehovah saith unto me, `What art thou seeing, Amos?' And I say, `A plumb-line;' and the Lord saith: `Lo, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of My people Israel, I do not add any more to pass over to it.

⁹ And desolated have been high places of Isaac, And sanctuaries of Israel are wasted, And I have risen against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.'

¹⁰ And Amaziah priest of Beth-El sendeth unto Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, `Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words,

¹¹ for thus said Amos: By sword die doth Jeroboam, And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'

¹² And Amaziah saith unto Amos, `Seer, go flee for thee unto the land of Judah, and eat there bread, and there thou dost prophesy;

¹³ and [at] Beth-El do not add to prophesy any more, for it [is] the king's sanctuary, and it [is] the royal house.'

¹⁴ And Amos answereth and saith unto Amaziah, `I [am] no prophet, nor a prophet's son [am] I, but a herdsman I [am], and a cultivator of sycamores,

¹⁵ and Jehovah taketh me from after the flock, and Jehovah saith unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.

⁸ I hear what God Jehovah speaketh, For He speaketh peace unto His people, And unto His saints, and they turn not back to folly.

⁹ Only, near to those fearing Him [is] His salvation, That honour may dwell in our land.

¹⁰ Kindness and truth have met, Righteousness and peace have kissed,

¹¹ Truth from the earth springeth up, And righteousness from heaven looketh out,

¹² Jehovah also giveth that which is good, And our land doth give its increase.

¹³ Righteousness before Him goeth, And maketh His footsteps for a way!

³ Blessed [is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who did bless us in every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

⁴ according as He did choose us in him before the foundation of the world, for our being holy and unblemished before Him, in love,

⁵ having foreordained us to the adoption of sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, in which He did make us accepted in the beloved,

⁷ in whom we have the redemption through his blood, the remission of the trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,

⁸ in which He did abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

⁹ having made known to us the secret of His will, according to His good pleasure, that He purposed in Himself,

¹⁰ in regard to the dispensation of the fulness of the times, to bring into one the whole in the Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth -- in him;

¹¹ in whom also we did obtain an inheritance, being foreordained according to the purpose of Him who the all things is working according to the counsel of His will,

¹² for our being to the praise of His glory, [even] those who did first hope in the Christ,

¹³ in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth -- the good news of your salvation -- in whom also having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,

¹⁴ which is an earnest of our inheritance, to the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.

¹⁴ And the king Herod heard, (for his name became public,) and he said -- `John the Baptist out of the dead was raised, and because of this the mighty powers are working in him.'

¹⁵ Others said -- `It is Elijah,' and others said -- `It is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.'

¹⁶ And Herod having heard, said -- `He whom I did behead -- John -- this is he; he was raised out of the dead.'

¹⁷ For Herod himself, having sent forth, did lay hold on John, and bound him in the prison, because of Herodias the wife of Philip his brother, because he married her,

¹⁸ for John said to Herod -- `It is not lawful to thee to have the wife of thy brother;'

¹⁹ and Herodias was having a quarrel with him, and was willing to kill him, and was not able,

²⁰ for Herod was fearing John, knowing him a man righteous and holy, and was keeping watch over him, and having heard him, was doing many things, and hearing him gladly.

²¹ And a seasonable day having come, when Herod on his birthday was making a supper to his great men, and to the chiefs of thousands, and to the first men of Galilee,

²² and the daughter of that Herodias having come in, and having danced, and having pleased Herod and those reclining (at meat) with him, the king said to the damsel, `Ask of me whatever thou wilt, and I will give to thee,'

²³ and he sware to her -- `Whatever thou mayest ask me, I will give to thee -- unto the half of my kingdom.'

²⁴ And she, having gone forth, said to her mother, `What shall I ask for myself?' and she said, `The head of John the Baptist;'

²⁵ and having come in immediately with haste unto the king, she asked, saying, `I will that thou mayest give me presently, upon a plate, the head of John the Baptist.'

²⁶ And the king -- made very sorrowful -- because of the oaths and of those reclining (at meat) with him, would not put her away,

²⁷ and immediately the king having sent a guardsman, did command his head to be brought,

²⁸ and he having gone, beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head upon a plate, and did give it to the damsel, and the damsel did give it to her mother;

²⁹ and having heard, his disciples came and took up his corpse, and laid it in the tomb.