Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Amos 1:1–3:15; Revelation 2:1-17; Psalm 129:1-8; and Proverbs 29:19-20. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.
Amos 1-3:15 (Contemporary English Version)
Amos 1
pasturelands and Mount Carmel
dry up and turn brown.
Judgment on Syria
3The LORD said: I will punish Syria f] for countless crimes,and I won't change my mind.
They dragged logs with spikes g] over the people of Gilead.
4Now I will burn down the palaces
and fortresses
of King Hazael
and of King Benhadad. h] 5I will break through
the gates of Damascus.
I will destroy the people i] of Wicked Valley j] and the ruler of Beth-Eden. k] Then the Syrians will be dragged
as prisoners to Kir. l] I, the LORD, have spoken!
Judgment on Philistia
6The LORD said: I will punish Philistia m] for countless crimes,and I won't change my mind.
They dragged off my people n] from town after town
to sell them as slaves
to the Edomites.
7That's why I will burn down
the walls and fortresses
of the city of Gaza.
8I will destroy the king o] of Ashdod and the ruler of Ashkelon.
I will strike down Ekron, p] and that will be the end
of the Philistines.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Judgment on Phoenicia
9The LORD said: I will punish Phoenicia q] for countless crimes,and I won't change my mind.
They broke their treaty
and dragged off my people r] from town after town
to sell them as slaves
to the Edomites.
10That's why I will send flames
to burn down the city of Tyre
along with its fortresses.
Judgment on Edom
11The LORD said: I will punish Edomfor countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They killed their own relatives s] and were so terribly furious
that they showed no mercy.
12Now I will send fire to wipe out
the fortresses
of Teman
and Bozrah. t]
Judgment on Ammon
13The LORD said: I will punish Ammonfor countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
In Gilead they ripped open
pregnant women,
just to take the land.
14Now I will send fire to destroy
the walls and fortresses
of Rabbah. u] Enemies will shout and attack
like a whirlwind.
15Ammon's king and leaders
will be dragged away.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Amos 2
Judgment on Moab
1The LORD said: I will punish Moabfor countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They made lime from the bones v] of the king of Edom.
2Now I will send fire to destroy
the fortresses of Kerioth. w] Battle shouts and trumpet blasts
will be heard
as I destroy Moab
3with its king and leaders.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Judgment on Judah
4The LORD said: I will punish Judahfor countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They have rejected my teachings
and refused to obey me.
They were led astray
by the same false gods
their ancestors worshiped.
5Now I will send fire on Judah
and destroy the fortresses
of Jerusalem.
Judgment on Israel
6The LORD said: I will punish Israelfor countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They sell honest people for money,
and the needy are sold
for the price of sandals.
7They smear the poor in the dirt
and push aside
those who are helpless.
My holy name is dishonored,
because fathers and sons
sleep
with the same young women.
8They lie down beside altars
on clothes taken
as security for loans.
And they drink wine in my temple,
wine bought with the money
they received from fines.
9Israel, the Amorites x] were there when you entered Canaan.
They were tall as cedars
and strong as oaks.
But I wiped them out--
I destroyed their branches
and their roots.
10I had rescued you from Egypt,
and for forty years I had led you
through the desert.
Then I gave you the land
of the Amorites.
11I chose some of you
to be prophets
and others to be Nazirites. y] People of Israel,
you know this is true.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
12But you commanded the prophets
not to speak their message,
and you pressured the Nazirites
into drinking wine.
13And so I will crush you,
just as a wagon full of grain
crushes the ground. z] 14No matter how fast you run,
you won't escape.
No matter how strong you are,
you will lose your strength
and your life.
15Even if you are an expert
with a bow and arrow,
you will retreat.
And you won't get away alive,
not even if you run fast
or ride a horse.
16You may be brave and strong,
but you will run away,
stripped naked.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Amos 3
Now listen to my judgment
against you.
2Of all nations on earth,
you are the only one
I have chosen.
That's why I will punish you
because of your sins.
The Work of a Prophet
3Can two people walk together without agreeing to meet?4Does a lion roar in the forest
unless it has caught
a victim?
Does it growl in its den
unless it is eating?
5How can anyone catch a bird
without using a net?
Does a trap spring shut
unless something is caught?
6Isn't the whole city frightened
when the trumpet
signals an attack?
Isn't it the LORD who brings
disaster on a city?
7Whatever the LORD God
plans to do,
he tells his servants,
the prophets.
8Everyone is terrified
when a lion roars--
and ordinary people
become prophets
when the LORD God speaks.
Samaria Is Doomed
9Here is a message for the leadersof Philistia aa] and Egypt-- tell everyone to come together
on the hills of Samaria.
Let them see the injustice
and the lawlessness
in that city.
10The LORD has said
that they don't even know how
to do right.
They have become rich
from violence and robbery.
11And so the LORD God has sworn
that they will be surrounded.
Enemies will break through
their defenses
and steal their treasures.
12The LORD has promised
that only a few from Samaria
will escape with their lives
and with some broken pieces
of their beds and couches. ab] It will be like when a shepherd
rescues two leg bones
and part of a sheep's ear
from the jaws of a lion. ac]
The Altars at Bethel
13The LORD God All-Powerful told me to speak this messageagainst Jacob's descendants:
14When I, the LORD, punish Israel
for their sins,
I will destroy the altars
at Bethel.
Even the corners of the altar ad] will be left in the dirt.
15I will tear down winter homes
and summer homes.
Houses decorated with ivory
and all other mansions
will be gone forever.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Footnotes:
- Amos 1:1 Tekoa: In the hill country of Judah about five miles south of Bethlehem.
- Amos 1:1 Uzziah. . . Jeroboam: Uzziah was king of Judah 781-740 B.C., and Jeroboam II was king of Israel 783-743 B.C.
- Amos 1:1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has "Joash," another spelling of the name.
- Amos 1:1 Two years. . . earthquake: Possibly the earthquake of 760 B.C., which seems to have been especially violent.
- Amos 1:1 messages: Or "visions."
- Amos 1:3 Syria: The Hebrew text has "Damascus," the leading city of Syria.
- Amos 1:3 logs with spikes: These were dragged over grain to thresh it.
- Amos 1:4 Hazael. . . Benhadad: Two Syrian kings.
- Amos 1:5 people: Or "king."
- Amos 1:5 Wicked Valley: The Hebrew text has "Aven Valley," probably the fertile valley between the Lebanon and the anti-Lebanon mountains.
- Amos 1:5 I will. . . Beth-Eden: Or "I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley and the king who rules from Beth-Eden." Beth-Eden was a city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River.
- Amos 1:5 Kir: The exact location of this country is not known; in 9.7 Amos refers to Kir as the original home of the Syrians, and so the verse probably means that the Syrians will lose everything they have gained as a people.
- Amos 1:6 Philistia: The Hebrew text has "Gaza," one of the main Philistine cities.
- Amos 1:6 my people: The people of Israel.
- Amos 1:8 king: Or "people."
- Amos 1:8 Ashdod. . . Ashkelon. . . Ekron: Philistine cities.
- Amos 1:9 Phoenicia: The Hebrew text has "Tyre," which was one of the two Phoenician cities; the other was Sidon, which is not mentioned by Amos.
- Amos 1:9 my people: See the note at 1.6.
- Amos 1:11 their own relatives: The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites.
- Amos 1:12 Teman and Bozrah: These stand for all of Edom; Teman may have been a city or a district. Bozrah, the chief city of northern Edom, was thirty miles southeast of the Dead Sea.
- Amos 1:14 Rabbah: The capital city of Ammon.
- Amos 2:1 They. . . bones: They dug up the bodies of kings and made lime out of them to use as whitewash on their houses and walls.
- Amos 2:2 Kerioth: A leading city of Moab and a center for the worship of Chemosh, the chief god of Moab.
- Amos 2:9 Amorites: This word is used for all the people who lived in Canaan at the time Israel took over the land.
- Amos 2:11 Nazirites: People who promised the LORD that they would never drink wine or cut their hair or come in contact with a dead body.
- Amos 2:13 ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
- Amos 3:9 Philistia: The Hebrew text has "Ashdod," one of the leading cities of Philistia.
- Amos 3:12 some. . . couches: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Amos 3:12 lion: When a wild animal attacked and killed a sheep, the shepherd had to rescue part of the sheep and take it to the owner as proof that it had been killed by an animal. Otherwise, the shepherd had to pay the owner the cost of the sheep.
- Amos 3:14 altar: Altars were places of worship but also places of protection. People whose lives were in danger could grab hold of the corners of an altar, and no one was allowed to kill them.
Revelation 2:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)
Revelation 2
The Letter to Ephesus
1This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: I am the one who holds the seven stars in my right hand, and I walk among the seven gold lampstands. Listen to what I say.2I know everything you have done, including your hard work and how you have endured. I know you won't put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out that they were liars. 3You have endured and gone through hard times because of me, and you have not given up.
4But I do have something against you! And it is this: You don't have as much love as you used to. 5Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. If you don't turn back, I will come and take away your lampstand. 6But there is one thing you are doing right. You hate what the Nicolaitans a] are doing, and so do I. 7If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God's wonderful garden.
The Letter to Smyrna
8This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: I am the first and the last. I died, but now I am alive! Listen to what I say.9I know how much you suffer and how poor you are, but you are rich. I also know the cruel things being said about you by people who claim to be Jews. But they are not really Jews. They are a group that belongs to Satan.
10Don't worry about what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into jail, and you will be tested and made to suffer for ten days. But if you are faithful until you die, I will reward you with a glorious life. b] 11If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Whoever wins the victory will not be hurt by the second death. c]
The Letter to Pergamum
12This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: I am the one who has the sharp double-edged sword! Listen to what I say.13I know that you live where Satan has his throne. d] But you have kept true to my name. Right there where Satan lives, my faithful witness Antipas e] was taken from you and put to death. Even then you did not give up your faith in me. 14I do have a few things against you. Some of you are following the teaching of Balaam. f] Long ago he told Balak to teach the people of Israel to eat food that had been offered to idols and to be immoral. 15Now some of you are following the teaching of the Nicolaitans. g] 16Turn back! If you don't, I will come quickly and fight against these people. And my words will cut like a sword. 17If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To everyone who wins the victory, I will give some of the hidden food. h] I will also give each one a white stone i] with a new name j] written on it. No one will know that name except the one who is given the stone.
Footnotes:
- Revelation 2:6 Nicolaitans: Nothing else is known about these people, though it is possible that they claimed to be followers of Nicolaus from Antioch (see Acts 6.5).
- Revelation 2:10 a glorious life: The Greek text has "a crown of life." In ancient times an athlete who had won a contest was rewarded with a crown of flowers as a sign of victory.
- Revelation 2:11 second death: The first death is physical death, and the "second death" is eternal death.
- Revelation 2:13 where Satan has his throne: The meaning is uncertain, but it may refer to the city as a center of pagan worship or of Emperor worship.
- Revelation 2:13 Antipas: Nothing else is known about this man, who is mentioned only here in the New Testament.
- Revelation 2:14 Balaam: According to Numbers 22-24, Balaam refused to disobey the Lord. But in other books of the Old Testament, he is spoken of as evil (see Deuteronomy 23.4,5; Joshua 13.22; 24.9,10; Nehemiah 13.2).
- Revelation 2:15 Nicolaitans: See the note at 2.6.
- Revelation 2:17 hidden food: When the people of Israel were going through the desert, the Lord provided a special food for them. Some of this was placed in a jar and stored in the sacred chest (see Exodus 16). According to later Jewish teaching, the prophet Jeremiah rescued the sacred chest when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. He hid the chest in a cave, where it would stay until God came to save his people.
- Revelation 2:17 white stone: The meaning of this is uncertain, though it may be the same as a ticket that lets a person into God's banquet where the "hidden food" is eaten. Or it may be a symbol of victory.
- Revelation 2:17 a new name: Either the name of Christ or God or the name of the follower who is given the stone.
Psalm 129:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 129
(A song for worship.)
A Prayer for Protection
1Since the time I was young, enemies have often attacked!
Let everyone in Israel say:
2"Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
But they have not defeated me,
3though my back is like a field
that has just been plowed."
4The LORD always does right,
and he has set me free
from the ropes
of those cruel people.
5I pray that all who hate
the city of Zion
will be made ashamed
and forced to turn and run.
6May they be like grass
on the flat roof of a house,
grass that dries up
as soon as it sprouts.
7Don't let them be like wheat
gathered in bundles.
8And don't let anyone
who passes by say to them,
"The LORD bless you!
I give you my blessing
in the name of the LORD."
Let everyone in Israel say:
2"Since the time I was young,
enemies have often attacked!
But they have not defeated me,
3though my back is like a field
that has just been plowed."
4The LORD always does right,
and he has set me free
from the ropes
of those cruel people.
5I pray that all who hate
the city of Zion
will be made ashamed
and forced to turn and run.
6May they be like grass
on the flat roof of a house,
grass that dries up
as soon as it sprouts.
7Don't let them be like wheat
gathered in bundles.
8And don't let anyone
who passes by say to them,
"The LORD bless you!
I give you my blessing
in the name of the LORD."
Proverbs 29:19-20 (Contemporary English Version)
19Even when servants are smart,
it takes more than words
to make them obey.
20There is more hope for a fool
than for someone who speaks
without thinking.
it takes more than words
to make them obey.
20There is more hope for a fool
than for someone who speaks
without thinking.
Thought for the Day
“Instead, he will choose one of your own people to be a prophet just like me, and you must do what that prophet says.” (Deuteronomy 18:15 - Contemporary English Version) God entered our time and space in a way that we might understand him. He came like a a prophet, announcing that the victory has been won.
Quote for the Day
“Instead, he will choose one of your own people to be a prophet just like me, and you must do what that prophet says.” (Deuteronomy 18:15 - Contemporary English Version) God entered our time and space in a way that we might understand him. He came like a a prophet, announcing that the victory has been won.
Influential American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, a founder of the Lake Placid Club, and a chief librarian at Columbia University, Melvil Dewey wrote, “The librarian must be the librarian militant before he can be the librarian triumphant.”
Joke for Today
The banker fell overboard while taking a cruise on a friend's sailboat. The friend grabbed a life preserver, held it up, and not knowing if the banker could swim, shouted, "Can you float alone?"
"Of course!" the banker yelled back, "but this is a heck of a time to talk business."
A Prayer Request
As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.
That fathers and mothers in every American household would exercise godliness.
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