AMOS 1-3

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Judgment on Neighbor Nations  1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 He said,

“The LORD roars from Zion

And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;

And the shepherds’ pasture grounds mourn,

And the summit of Carmel dries up.”

3 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Damascus and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.

4 “So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael

And it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.

5 “I will also break the gate bar of Damascus,

And cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,

And him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;

So the people of Aram will go exiled to Kir,”

Says the LORD.

6 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Gaza and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they deported an entire population

To deliver it up to Edom.

7 “So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza

And it will consume her citadels.

8 “I will also cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,

And him who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon;

I will even unleash My power upon Ekron,

And the remnant of the Philistines will perish,”

Says the Lord GOD.

9 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they delivered up an entire population to Edom

And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.

10 “So I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre

And it will consume her citadels.”

11 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Edom and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because he pursued his brother with the sword,

While he stifled his compassion;

His anger also tore continually,

And he maintained his fury forever.

12 “So I will send fire upon Teman

And it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.”

13 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead

In order to enlarge their borders.

14 “So I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah

And it will consume her citadels

Amid war cries on the day of battle,

And a storm on the day of tempest.

15 “Their king will go into exile,

He and his princes together,” says the LORD.

Judgment on Judah and Israel  2:1 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Moab and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

2 “So I will send fire upon Moab

And it will consume the citadels of Kerioth;

And Moab will die amid tumult,

With war cries and the sound of a trumpet.

3 “I will also cut off the judge from her midst

And slay all her princes with him,” says the LORD.

4 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Judah and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they rejected the law of the LORD

And have not kept His statutes;

Their lies also have led them astray,

Those after which their fathers walked.

5 “So I will send fire upon Judah

And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

6 Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Israel and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they sell the righteous for money

And the needy for a pair of sandals.

7 “These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless

Also turn aside the way of the humble;

And a man and his father resort to the same girl

In order to profane My holy name.

8 “On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,

And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,

Though his height was like the height of cedars

And he was strong as the oaks;

I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below.

10 “It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,

And I led you in the wilderness forty years

That you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.

11 “Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets

And some of your young men to be Nazirites.

Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares the LORD.

12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,

And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’

13 “Behold, I am weighted down beneath you

As a wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves.

14 “Flight will perish from the swift,

And the stalwart will not strengthen his power,

Nor the mighty man save his life.

15 “He who grasps the bow will not stand his ground,

The swift of foot will not escape,

Nor will he who rides the horse save his life.

16 “Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,” declares the LORD.

All the Tribes Are Guilty  3:1 Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt:

2 “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth;

Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?

4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?

Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something?

5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it?

Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?

6 If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?

If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?

7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing

Unless He reveals His secret counsel

To His servants the prophets.

8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear?

The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

    9 Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria and see the great tumults within her and the oppressions in her midst. 10 But they do not know how to do what is right,” declares the LORD, “these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels.”
    11 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,

“An enemy, even one surrounding the land,

Will pull down your strength from you

And your citadels will be looted.”

12 Thus says the LORD,

“Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,

So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away--

With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!

13 “Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”

Declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts.

14 “For on the day that I punish Israel’s transgressions,

I will also punish the altars of Bethel;

The horns of the altar will be cut off

And they will fall to the ground.

15 “I will also smite the winter house together with the summer house;

The houses of ivory will also perish

And the great houses will come to an end,”

Declares the LORD.

MATTHEW 13

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Jesus Teaches in Parables  13:1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
    3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
An Explanation    10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;

YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,

WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,

AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,

OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,

HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,

AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,

AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
The Sower Explained    18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Tares among Wheat    24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
The Mustard Seed    31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”
The Leaven    33 He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
    34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES;

I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

The Tares Explained    36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Hidden Treasure    44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl    45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet    47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
    51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Jesus Revisits Nazareth    53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.