Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
O Lord, Do Not Delay
To the choirmaster. Of David, (A)for the memorial offering.
70 (B)Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonour
who delight in my hurt!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame
who say, “Aha, Aha!”
4 May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
(C)hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
1 The words of Amos, who was among the (A)shepherds[a] of (B)Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel (C)in the days of (D)Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of (E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years[b] before (F)the earthquake.
Judgement on Israel's Neighbours
2 And he said:
(G)“The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
(H)the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the (I)top of (J)Carmel withers.”
3 Thus says the Lord:
(K)“For three transgressions of (L)Damascus,
and for four, (M)I will not revoke the punishment,[c]
because they have threshed (N)Gilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
4 (O)So I will send a fire upon the house of (P)Hazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (Q)Ben-hadad.
5 I will (R)break the gate-bar of (S)Damascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of (T)Aven,[d]
and him who holds the sceptre from (U)Beth-eden;
and the people of (V)Syria shall go into exile to (W)Kir,”
says the Lord.
6 Thus says the Lord:
(X)“For three transgressions of (Y)Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (Z)they carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.
7 So I will send a fire upon the wall of (AA)Gaza,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
8 I will cut off the inhabitants from (AB)Ashdod,
and him who holds the sceptre from Ashkelon;
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
says the Lord God.
9 Thus says the Lord:
(AC)“For three transgressions of (AD)Tyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,
and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
10 So I will send a fire upon the wall of (AE)Tyre,
and it shall devour her strongholds.”
11 Thus says the Lord:
(AF)“For three transgressions of (AG)Edom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
(AH)because he pursued his brother with the sword
(AI)and cast off all pity,
(AJ)and his anger tore perpetually,
(AK)and he kept his wrath for ever.
12 So I will send a fire upon (AL)Teman,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (AM)Bozrah.”
13 Thus says the Lord:
(AN)“For three transgressions of the (AO)Ammonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (AP)they have ripped open pregnant women in (AQ)Gilead,
that they might enlarge their border.
14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of (AR)Rabbah,
(AS)and it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
(AT)with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
15 and (AU)their king shall go into exile,
he and his princes[e] together,”
says the Lord.
2 Thus says the Lord:
(AV)“For three transgressions of (AW)Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[f]
because (AX)he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (AY)Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 (AZ)I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill (BA)all its princes[g] with him,”
says the Lord.
Judgement on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
(BB)“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (BC)they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but (BD)their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 So (BE)I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”
The Seven Trumpets
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed (A)hail and (B)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a (C)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of (D)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like (E)a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea (F)became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of (G)the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and (H)a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on (I)the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third of the waters (J)became wormwood, and many people died from the water, (K)because it had been made bitter.
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of (L)the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, (M)“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and (N)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given (O)the key to the shaft of (P)the bottomless pit.[b] 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft (Q)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and (R)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came (S)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told (T)not to harm (U)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have (V)the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them (W)for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days (X)people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 (Y)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: (Z)on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were (AA)like human faces, 8 their hair like women's hair, and (AB)their teeth like lions' teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was (AC)like the noise of many chariots with (AD)horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people (AE)for five months is in their tails. 11 They have (AF)as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is (AG)Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.[c]
12 (AH)The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.