Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

For the music director. Of David. To bring to remembrance.^[a]

Introduction

1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds from Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash, two years before^[a] the earthquake.

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

² And he said, “Yahweh roars from Zion and he utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither and the top of Carmel dries up.” ³ Thus says Yahweh, “For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke the punishment,^[b] because they threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron! ⁴ So I will send fire against Hazael’s house and it will consume the citadel fortresses of Ben-Hadad. ⁵ I will break the gate bars of Damascus and I will cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Beth Eden, and the people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,” says Yahweh.

⁶ Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke the punishment,^[c] because they exiled a whole community, handing them over to Edom! ⁷ So I will send a fire against the wall of Gaza and it will devour its citadel fortresses. ⁸ And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Ashkelon. I will also turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord Yahweh.

⁹ Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Tyre and for four I will not revoke the punishment,^[d] because they delivered up a whole community to Edom and they did not remember the covenant of brotherhood! ¹⁰ So I will send a fire against the wall of Tyre and it will devour its citadel fortresses.”

¹¹ Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Edom and for four I will not revoke the punishment,^[e] because he pursued his brother with the sword! He stifled his compassion and his anger tore them apart continually,^[f] and he kept his rage forever. ¹² So I will send a fire against Teman and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Bozrah.”

¹³ Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Ammon and for four I will not revoke the punishment,^[g] because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory! ¹⁴ So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah and it will devour its citadel fortresses with a war cry on the day of battle, with a storm on the day of the violent tempest. ¹⁵ And their king will go into exile, he and his commanders together,” says Yahweh.

2 Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke the punishment,^[h] because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. ² So I will send a fire against Moab and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Kerioth, and Moab will die amid uproar, amid war cries and amid the sound of a horn. ³ And I will cut off the ruler from its midst and I will kill all of its officials with him,” says Yahweh.

Judgment on Judah

⁴ Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke the punishment,^[i] because they have rejected the law of Yahweh and have not kept his rules, and their lies have led them astray, after which their ancestors walked!^{[j] 5} So I will send a fire against Judah and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Jerusalem.

The Blowing of the Trumpets

⁶ And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves in order to blow them.

⁷ And the first blew the trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸ And the second angel blew the trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, ⁹ and a third of the creatures in the sea—the ones which had life—died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ And the third angel blew the trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ And the name of the star was called Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter.

¹² And the fourth angel blew the trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened, and the day did not shine with respect to a third of it, and the night likewise.

¹³ And I looked, and I heard one eagle flying directly overhead^[a], saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, from the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow the trumpet!”

Tormenting Locusts from the Abyss

9 And the fifth angel blew the trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key of the shaft of the abyss was given to him. ² And he opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke went up from the shaft like smoke from a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. ³ And out of the smoke locusts came to the earth, and power was given to them like the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ And it was told to them that they should not damage the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, except those people who do not have the seal of God on their^[b] foreheads. ⁵ And it was granted to them that they should not kill them, but that they would be tormented five months, and their torment is like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person. ⁶ And in those days people will seek death and will never find it, and they will long to die, and death will flee from them.

⁷ And the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle, and on their heads were something like crowns similar in appearance to gold, and their faces were like men’s faces, ⁸ and they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions, ⁹ and they had breastplates like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many horse-drawn chariots^[c] running into battle. ¹⁰ And they have tails similar in appearance to scorpions, and stings, and their power to injure people for five months is in their tails. ¹¹ They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name^[d] in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

¹² The first woe has passed. Behold, two woes are still coming after these things.