Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 70[a]
For the music director, by David; written to get God’s attention.[b]
70 O God, please be willing to rescue me.[c]
O Lord, hurry and help me.[d]
2 May those who are trying to take my life
be embarrassed and ashamed.[e]
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.[f]
3 May those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
be driven back[g] and disgraced.[h]
4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you.
May those who love to experience[i] your deliverance say continually,[j]
“May God[k] be praised!”[l]
5 I am oppressed and needy.[m]
O God, hurry to me.[n]
You are my helper and my deliverer.
O Lord,[o] do not delay.
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.”
6 Now[a] the seven angels holding[b] the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
7 The[c] first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that[d] a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8 Then[e] the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A[f] third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures[g] living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed.[h]
10 Then[i] the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky;[j] it landed[k] on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 (Now[l] the name of the star is[m] Wormwood.)[n] So[o] a third of the waters became wormwood,[p] and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned.[q]
12 Then[r] the fourth angel blew his 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 there was no light for a third of the day[s] and for a third of the night likewise. 13 Then[t] I looked, and I heard an[u] eagle[v] flying directly overhead,[w] proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!”[x]
9 Then[y] the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky[z] to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss.[aa] 2 He[ab] opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it[ac] like smoke from a giant furnace. The[ad] sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft. 3 Then[ae] out of the smoke came locusts onto the earth, and they were given power[af] like that of the scorpions of the earth. 4 They[ag] were told[ah] not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people[ai] who did not have the seal of God on their[aj] forehead. 5 The locusts[ak] were not given permission[al] to kill[am] them, but only to torture[an] them[ao] for five months, and their torture was like that[ap] of a scorpion when it stings a person.[aq] 6 In[ar] those days people[as] will seek death, but[at] will not be able to[au] find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 Now[av] the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On[aw] their heads were something like crowns similar to gold,[ax] and their faces looked like men’s[ay] faces. 8 They[az] had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 They had breastplates[ba] like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. 10 They have[bb] tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability[bc] to injure people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.[bd]
12 The first woe has passed, but[be] two woes are still coming after these things!
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