Amos 7 - 8 - Legacy Standard Bible

Amos 7 - 8

Yahweh Will Rise Up Against Israel

Thus Lord Yahweh showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to come up. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. 2 And it happened when it had completed eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,

“Lord Yahweh, please pardon!

How can Jacob rise up,

For he is small?”

Yahweh relented concerning this.

“It shall not be,” said Yahweh.

4 Thus Lord Yahweh showed me, and behold, Lord Yahweh was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. 5 Then I said,

“Lord Yahweh, please stop!

How can Jacob rise up, for he is small?”

Yahweh relented concerning this.

“This too shall not be,” said Lord Yahweh.

7 Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a wall made with a plumb line, and in His hand was a plumb line. 8 And Yahweh said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am about to put a plumb line

In the midst of My people Israel.

I will pass over them no longer.

The high places of Isaac will be desolated

And the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste.

Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. 11 For thus Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” 12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and there do your prophesying! 13 But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal house.” 14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. 15 But Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’ 16 So now, hear the word of Yahweh: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel, nor shall you drip out words against the house of Isaac.’ 17 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, ‘Your wife will play the harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be divided up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean land. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”

A Famine for Hearing the Words of Yahweh

Thus Lord Yahweh showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then Yahweh said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel. I will pass over them no longer. 3 And they will wail with the songs of the palace in that day,” declares Lord Yahweh. “Many will be the corpses; in every place they will cast them forth in silence.” 4 Hear this, you who trample the needy, even to cause the humble of the land to cease, 5 saying,

“When will the new moon pass over,

So that we may sell grain,

And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market,

To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger,

And to cheat with a deceptive balance,

So as to buy the poor for money

And the needy for a pair of sandals,

And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

Yahweh has sworn by the lofty pride of Jacob,

“Indeed, I will never forget any of their works.

Because of this will not the land tremble

And everyone who inhabits it mourn?

Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile,

And it will be tossed about

And subside like the Nile of Egypt.

And it will be in that day,” declares Lord Yahweh,

“That I will make the sun go down at noon

And make the earth dark in broad daylight.

Then I will overturn your feasts into mourning

And all your songs into lamentation;

And I will bring up sackcloth on everyone’s loins

And baldness on every head.

And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son,

And the end of it will be like a bitter day.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares Lord Yahweh,

“When I will send a famine on the land,

Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,

But rather for hearing the words of Yahweh.

People will wander from sea to sea

And from the north even to the east;

They will go to and fro to seek the word of Yahweh,

But they will not find it.

In that day the beautiful virgins

And the choice men will faint from thirst.

As for those who swear by the guilt of Samaria,

Who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’

And, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives,’

They will fall and not rise again.”

Mark 7 - 8

God’s Commandments, Man’s Traditions

And the Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with defiled hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?” 6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’

8 Leaving the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” 9 And He was also saying to them, “You are good at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever you might benefit from me is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12 you no longer leave him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

The Heart of Man

14 And after He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [And if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”] 17 And when He had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples were asking Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you lacking understanding in this way as well? Do you not perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and goes to the sewer?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

A Gentile Woman’s Faith

24 Now Jesus stood up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He was wanting no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician descent. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

The Deaf Hear, the Mute Speak

31 And again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *pleaded with Him to lay His hand on him. 33 And Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue; 34 and looking up to heaven with a sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He was ordering them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. 37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and *said to them, 2 “I feel compassion for the crowd because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” 4 And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” 5 And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” 6 And He *directed the crowd to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them. And He kept giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the crowd. 7 And they also had a few small fish; and after He blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. 8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. 9 Now about four thousand were there, and He sent them away. 10 And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. 11 And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 And sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. 14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” 22 And they *came to Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *pleaded with Him to touch him. 23 And taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He was asking him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and was saying, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus Is the Christ

27 And Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He was asking His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” 29 And He continued asking them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter *answered and *said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And He warned them to tell no one about Him. 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Take Up Your Cross

34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Psalm 28

Yahweh Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

To You, O Yahweh, I call;

My rock, do not be silent to me,

Lest if You are hesitant toward me,

I will become like those who go down to the pit.

Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,

When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

Do not drag me away with the wicked

And with workers of iniquity,

Who speak peace with their neighbors,

While evil is in their hearts.

Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their actions;

Give to them according to the deeds of their hands;

Return their dealings upon them.

Because they do not regard the works of Yahweh

Nor the deeds of His hands,

He will tear them down and not build them up.

Blessed be Yahweh,

Because He has heard the voice of my supplications.

Yahweh is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart exults,

And with my song I shall thank Him.

Yahweh is their strength,

And He is a strong defense of salvation to His anointed.

Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;

Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.