1 The words of Amos, who was among the ashepherds1 of bTekoa, which he saw concerning Israel cin the days of dUzziah king of Judah and in the days of eJeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years2 before fthe earthquake.
Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
2 And he said:
g“The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
hthe pastures of the shepherds mourn,
3 Thus says the Lord:
k“For three transgressions of lDamascus,
and for four, lI will not revoke the punishment,3
because they have threshed mGilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
4 nSo I will send a fire upon the house of oHazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of oBen-hadad.
5 I will pbreak the gate-bar of lDamascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of qAven,4
and him who holds the scepter from rBeth-eden;
and the people of sSyria shall go into exile to tKir,”
says the Lord.
6 Thus says the Lord:
k“For three transgressions of uGaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because vthey carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.
7 So I will send a fire upon the wall of uGaza,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
8 I will cut off the inhabitants from wAshdod,
and him who holds the scepter 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:
k“For three transgressions of xTyre,
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 xTyre,
and it shall devour her strongholds.”
11 Thus says the Lord:
k“For three transgressions of yEdom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
ybecause he pursued his brother with the sword
zand cast off all pity,
aand his anger tore perpetually,
aand he kept his wrath forever.
12 So I will send a fire upon bTeman,
and it shall devour the strongholds of cBozrah.”
13 Thus says the Lord:
k“For three transgressions of the dAmmonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ethey have ripped open pregnant women in fGilead,
that they might enlarge their border.
14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of gRabbah,
hand it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
hwith a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
15 and itheir king shall go into exile,
he and his princes5 together,”
says the Lord.
1 Thus says the Lord:
k“For three transgressions of jMoab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,6
because khe 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 lKerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 mI will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill mall its princes7 with him,”
says the Lord.
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
n“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because othey have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but ptheir lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 So qI will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
n“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because rthey sell the righteous for ssilver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7 those who trample the head of the poor tinto the dust of the earth
and uturn aside the way of the afflicted;
va man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments wtaken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet xit was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
ywhose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
zI destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 aAlso it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
band led you forty years in the wilderness,
xto possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for cNazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites ddrink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, e‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 fFlight shall perish from the swift,
fand the strong shall not retain his strength,
gnor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is hswift of foot shall not save himself,
inor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
1 jHear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
2 k“You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
ltherefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
3 “Do two walk together,
unless they have agreed to meet?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest,
when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
if he has taken nothing?
5 Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
when it has taken nothing?
6 mIs a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
nDoes disaster come to a city,
unless the Lord has done it?
7 “For the Lord God does nothing
owithout revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
pThe Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?”
9 Proclaim to the strongholds in qAshdod
and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on rthe mountains of Samaria,
and see the great tumults within her,
and sthe oppressed in her midst.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
t“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
u“An adversary shall surround the land
and bring down8 your defenses from you,
and vyour strongholds shall be plundered.”
12 Thus says the Lord: w“As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, xso shall the people of Israel ywho dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part9 of a bed.
13 “Hear, zand testify against the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord God, athe God of hosts,
14 “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
bI will punish the altars of Bethel,
and cthe horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 dI will strike ethe winter house along with fthe summer house,
and gthe houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses10 shall come to an end,”
declares the Lord.
Jesus at the Feast of Booths
1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because pthe Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now qthe Jews’ Feast of rBooths was at hand. 3 sSo his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, tshow yourself to the world.” 5 uFor not even vhis brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, w“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but xit hates me because I testify about it that yits works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for zmy time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after ahis brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 bThe Jews cwere looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much dmuttering about him among the people. eWhile some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, fhe is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet gfor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up hinto the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore imarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, j“My teaching is not mine, but his kwho sent me. 17 lIf anyone’s will is to do God’s5 will, mhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I nam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority oseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 pHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. qWhy do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, r“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did sone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 tMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ufrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, vare you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 wDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Can This Be the Christ?
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom xthey seek to kill? 26 And here he is, yspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that zthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But awe know bwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, cno one will know where he comes from.”
