Amos 3 - 4 - Legacy Standard Bible

Amos 3 - 4

Yahweh Speaks Against Israel

Hear this word which Yahweh has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2

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

Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

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

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

Does a young lion give forth its voice from its den unless it has captured something?

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?

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

If a calamity happens in a city has not Yahweh done it?

Surely Lord Yahweh does nothing

Unless He reveals His secret counsel

To His slaves the prophets.

A lion has roared! Who will not fear?

Lord Yahweh has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

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

“An adversary, even one surrounding the land,

Will pull down your strength from you,

And your citadels will be plundered.”

12 Thus says Yahweh,

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

So will the sons of Israel inhabiting Samaria be delivered—

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

Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”

Declares Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts.

“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 in pieces,

And they will fall to the ground.

I will also strike 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 Yahweh.

Yet You Have Not Returned to Me

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria,

Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,

Who say to their husbands, “Bring now, that we may drink!”

Lord Yahweh has sworn by His holiness that,

“Behold, the days are coming upon you,

And they will take you away with meat hooks,

And the last of you with fish hooks.

And you will go out through breaches in the walls,

Each one straight before her,

And you will be cast to Harmon,” declares Yahweh.

“Enter Bethel and transgress;

In Gilgal multiply transgression!

Bring your sacrifices every morning,

Your tithes every three days.

And offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,

And call for freewill offerings; cause them to be heard about.

For so you love to do, you sons of Israel,”

Declares Lord Yahweh.

“But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities

And lack of bread in all your places,

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“And I also withheld the rain from you

While there were still three months until harvest.

Then I would send rain on one city,

And on another city I would not send rain;

One portion would be rained on,

While the portion not rained on would dry up.

So two or three cities would wander around to another city to drink water,

But would not be satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“I struck you with scorching wind and mildew;

And the gnawing locust was devouring

Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“I sent a pestilence among you after the manner of Egypt;

I killed your choice men by the sword along with your captured horses,

And I made the stench of your camp rise up even in your nostrils;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand delivered from a blaze;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind

And declares to man what are His thoughts,

He who makes dawn into gloom

And treads on the high places of the earth,

Yahweh God of hosts is His name.

Mark 4:1 - 5:20

The Parable of the Sower

And He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and it happened that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And after the sun rose, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 And other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they were yielding a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 10 And when He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, everything comes in parables, 12 so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, lest they return and be forgiven.”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

13 And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown: when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way, these are the ones being sown on the rocky places: those who, when hearing the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are those being sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for anything else enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones which were sown on the good soil: they who hear the word and accept it and are bearing fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 21 And He was saying to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be put on the lampstand? 22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Beware what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you. 25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

The Parable of the Seed

26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he sleeps and rises, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 And He was saying, “How shall we compare the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes largest of all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.” 33 And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34 and He was not speaking to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

Jesus Calms a Storm

35 And on that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37 And a great windstorm *arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling up. 38 And Jesus Himself was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion; and they *got Him up and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 And He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you so cowardly? Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they became very afraid and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus Saves a Man with Many Demons

Then they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones. 6 And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he *said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began pleading with Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. 11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. 12 And the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 And Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. 14 And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they *came to Jesus and *observed the demon-possessed man sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had the “legion”; and they became frightened. 16 And those who had seen it recounted to them how this had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to plead with Him to leave their region. 18 And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was pleading with Him that he might accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to preach in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was marveling.

Psalm 26

Give Justice to Me, O Yahweh

Of David.

Give justice to me, O Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity,

And I have trusted in Yahweh; I will not waver.

Test me, O Yahweh, and try me;

Refine my mind and my heart.

For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,

And I have walked in Your truth.

I do not sit with worthless men,

And I will not go with pretenders.

I hate the assembly of evildoers,

And I will not sit with the wicked.

I shall wash my hands in innocence,

So I will go around Your altar, O Yahweh,

In order to proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving

And to recount all Your wondrous deeds.

O Yahweh, I love the habitation of Your house

And the place where Your glory dwells.

Do not take my soul away along with sinners,

Nor my life with men of bloodshed,

In whose hands is a wicked scheme,

And whose right hand is full of bribes.

But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;

Redeem me, and be gracious to me.

My foot stands on level ground;

In the congregations I shall bless Yahweh.