Amos 1; Amos 2; Amos 3; Revelation 6

Amos 1

1 These are the words of Amos, one of the sheep farmers from Tekoa. He saw [a vision] about Israel during the reigns of Judah's King Uzziah and Israel's King Jeroboam, son of Joash. This happened two years before the earthquake.

2 He said: The LORD roars from Zion, and his voice thunders from Jerusalem. The pastures of the shepherds are turning brown, and the top of [Mount] Carmel is dried up.

3 This is what the LORD says: Because Damascus has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Arameans have crushed [the people of] Gilead with iron-spiked threshing sledges.

4 I will send a fire on the house of Hazael and burn down the palaces of Ben Hadad.

5 I will break the bars [on the gates] of Damascus. I will cut off those living in Aven Valley and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden. The people of Aram will go into captivity at Kir. The LORD has said this.

6 This is what the LORD says: Because Gaza has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Philistines have taken all the people captive in order to hand them over to the Edomites.

7 I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza and burn down its palaces.

8 I will cut off those living in Ashdod and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn my power against Ekron. The rest of the Philistines will die. The Almighty LORD has said this.

9 This is what the LORD says: Because Tyre has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Tyrians have handed all the people over to the Edomites. The Tyrians didn't remember their treaty with their relatives.

10 I will send a fire on the walls of Tyre and burn down its palaces.

11 This is what the LORD says: Because Edom has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Edomites pursued their relatives with swords. They refused to show any compassion to them. Their anger was unstoppable. They refused to control their fury.

12 I will send a fire on Teman and burn down the palaces of Bozrah.

13 This is what the LORD says: Because Ammon has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Ammonites enlarged their territory by ripping open pregnant women in Gilead.

14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah and burn down its palaces while troops are shouting on the day of battle and winds are howling on the day of the storm.

15 Their king will go into captivity along with his officials. The LORD has said this.

Amos 2

1 This is what the LORD says: Because Moab has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Moabites have cremated Edom's king.

2 I will send a fire on Moab and burn down the palaces of Kerioth. Moab will die during the noise of battle while troops are shouting and rams' horns are blowing.

3 I will take their judges away from them. I will kill all their officials at the same time. The LORD has said this.

4 This is what the LORD says: Because Judah has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The people of Judah have rejected the LORD's Teachings and haven't kept his laws. They have been led astray by false teachings, the same ones their ancestors followed.

5 I will send a fire on Judah and burn down the palaces of Jerusalem.

6 This is what the LORD says: Because Israel has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The people of Israel sell the righteous for money and the needy for a pair of sandals.

7 They stomp the heads of the poor into the dust. They push the humble out of the way. Father and son sleep with the same woman. They dishonor my holy name.

8 Beside every altar, they spread themselves out on clothes taken as security. In the temples of their gods, they drink the wine that they bought with fines.

9 I destroyed the Amorites in front of them, although the Amorites were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed their fruit above the ground and their roots below it.

10 I brought you out of Egypt. I led you through the desert for 40 years so that you could take possession of the land of the Amorites.

11 I also sent you prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths. Isn't that so, people of Israel? The LORD has declared this.

12 You made the Nazirites drink wine. You commanded the prophets to stop prophesying.

13 I am going to crush you as an overloaded wagon crushes a person.

14 Runners will not be able to escape. Strong men will find that their strength is useless. Soldiers will not be able to save themselves.

15 Archers will not stand their ground. Fast runners will not be able to escape. Horsemen will not be able to save themselves.

16 Brave soldiers will run away naked that day. The LORD has declared this.

Amos 3

1 Listen to this message which I, the LORD, have spoken against you Israelites, against your whole family that I brought out of Egypt.

2 Out of all the families on earth, I have known no one else but you. That is why I am going to punish you for all your sins.

3 Do two people ever walk together without meeting first?

4 Does a lion roar in the forest if it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in its den unless it has caught something?

5 Does a bird land in a trap on the ground if there's no bait in it? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has caught something?

6 If a ram's horn sounds an alarm in a city, won't the people be alarmed? If there is a disaster in a city, hasn't the LORD done it?

7 Certainly, the Almighty LORD doesn't do anything unless he [first] reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.

8 The lion has roared. Who isn't afraid? The Almighty LORD has spoken. Who can keep from prophesying?

9 Announce in the palaces of Ashdod and in the palaces of Egypt, "Gather together on the mountains of Samaria. See the widespread confusion and oppression in Samaria."

10 Those who collect profits in their palaces through violent and destructive acts don't know how to do what is right, declares the LORD.

11 This is what the Almighty LORD says: An enemy will surround your land, strip you of your defenses, and loot your palaces.

12 This is what the LORD says: As a shepherd rescues two legs or a piece of an ear out of a lion's mouth, so the Israelites living in Samaria will be rescued, [having only] a corner of a bed or a piece of a couch.

13 Listen, and testify against the descendants of Jacob, declares the Almighty LORD, the God of Armies.

14 On the day I punish Israel for its disobedience, I will also destroy the altars at Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and will fall to the ground.

15 I will tear down winter houses as well as summer houses. Houses [decorated] with ivory will be destroyed. Mansions will be demolished, declares the LORD.

Revelation 6

1 I watched as the lamb opened the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Go!"

2 Then I looked, and there was a white horse, and its rider had a bow. He was given a crown and rode off as a warrior to win battles.

3 When the lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Go!"

4 A second horse went out. It was fiery red. Its rider was given the power to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.

5 When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Go!" I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider held a scale.

6 I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's pay or three quarts of barley for a day's pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine."

7 When the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Go!"

8 I looked, and there was a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death. Hell followed him. They were given power over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals on the earth.

9 When the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of God's word and the testimony they had given about him.

10 They cried out in a loud voice, "Holy and true Master, how long before you judge and take revenge on those living on earth who shed our blood?"

11 Each of the souls was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until all their coworkers, the other Christians, would be killed as they had been killed.

12 I watched as the lamb opened the sixth seal. A powerful earthquake struck. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair. The full moon turned as red as blood.

13 The stars fell from the sky to the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when it is shaken by a strong wind.

14 The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved from its place.

15 Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains.

16 They said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the lamb,

17 because the frightening day of their anger has come, and who is able to endure it?"