Jonah 3

Nineveh Repents

1 Now the word of the Lordcame to Jonah the second time, saying,

2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.”

3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh wasan exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk.

4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.

6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, coveredhimselfwith sackcloth and sat on the ashes.

7 He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.

8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.

9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”

10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not doit.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JON/3-5ae6429f351ec612364587b27d3b6383.mp3?version_id=100—

Jonah 4

Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked

1 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.

2 He prayed to the Lordand said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in myowncountry? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.

3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”

4 The Lordsaid, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”

5 Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city.

6 So the LordGod appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant.

7 But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered.

8 When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged withallhis soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”

9 Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death.”

10 Then the Lordsaid, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work andwhichyou did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight.

11 Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not knowthe differencebetween their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JON/4-03af138d19e0796883bb50d9173ef172.mp3?version_id=100—

Obadiah 1

Edom Will Be Humbled

1 The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord Godconcerning Edom- We have heard a report from the Lord, And an envoy has been sent among the nationssaying,”Arise and let us go against her for battle”-

2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;

You are greatly despised.

3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,

You who live in the clefts of the rock,

In the loftiness of your dwelling place,

Who say in your heart,

‘Who will bring me down to earth?’

4 “Though you build high like the eagle,

Though you set your nest among the stars,

From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.

5 “If thieves came to you,

If robbers by night-

O how you will be ruined!-

Would they not stealonlyuntil they had enough?

If grape gatherers came to you,

Would they not leavesomegleanings?

6 “O how Esau will be ransacked,

Andhis hidden treasures searched out!

7 “All the men allied with you

Will send you forth to the border,

And the men at peace with you

Will deceive you and overpower you.

They who eatyour bread

Will set an ambush for you.

(There is no understanding in him.)

8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,

“Destroy wise men from Edom

And understanding from the mountain of Esau?

9 “Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman,

So that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.

10 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob,

You will be coveredwithshame,

And you will be cut off forever.

11 “On the day that you stood aloof,

On the day that strangers carried off his wealth,

And foreigners entered his gate

And cast lots for Jerusalem-

You too were as one of them.

12 “Do not gloat over your brother’s day,

The day of his misfortune.

And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah

In the day of their destruction;

Yes, do not boast

In the day oftheirdistress.

13 “Do not enter the gate of My people

In the day of their disaster.

Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity

In the day of their disaster.

And do not loot their wealth

In the day of their disaster.

14 “Do not stand at the fork of the road

To cut down their fugitives;

And do not imprison their survivors

In the day of their distress.

The Day of the Lord and the Future

15 “For the day of the Lorddraws near on all the nations.

As you have done, it will be done to you.

Your dealings will return on your own head.

16 “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain,

All the nations will drink continually.

They will drink and swallow

And become as if they had never existed.

17 “But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape,

And it will be holy.

And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions.

18 “Then the house of Jacob will be a fire

And the house of Joseph a flame;

But the house of Esauwill beas stubble.

And they will set them on fire and consume them,

So that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau,”

For the Lordhas spoken.

19 Thenthose oftheNegev will possess the mountain of Esau,

# Andthose oftheShephelah the Philistineplain;

Also, possess the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

And Benjaminwill possessGilead.

20 And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel,

Who areamongthe Canaanites as far as Zarephath,

And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad

Will possess the cities of the Negev.

21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion

To judge the mountain of Esau,

And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/OBA/1-35885c58fb7c386ae07e5416cce0eeb8.mp3?version_id=100—

Amos 1

Judgment on Neighbor Nations

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 Lordroars 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 itspunishment,

Because they threshed Gilead withimplementsof 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 thegatebar 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 itspunishment,

Because they deported an entire population

To deliveritup 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 itspunishment,

Because they delivered up an entire population to Edom

And did not rememberthecovenant 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 itspunishment,

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 itspunishment,

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.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/AMO/1-d349b00b059cb47562b989657460dec2.mp3?version_id=100—

Amos 2

Judgment on Judah and Israel

1 Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of Moab and for four

I will not revoke itspunishment,

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 itspunishment,

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 itspunishment,

Because they sell the righteous for money

And the needy for a pair of sandals.

7 “These who pant after theverydust 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 heightwaslike the height of cedars

And hewasstrong 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 standhis 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.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/AMO/2-80146ae1de3728894bb58684a1b5b08a.mp3?version_id=100—

Amos 3

All the Tribes Are Guilty

1 Hear this word which the Lordhas 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 capturedsomething?

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 Lorddone it?

7 Surely the Lord Goddoes nothing

Unless He reveals His secret counsel

To His servants the prophets.

8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear?

The Lord Godhas 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 seethegreat tumults within her andtheoppressions 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-

Withthecorner of a bed andthecover 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.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/AMO/3-cd2f964464615a06920b62f3c29abc10.mp3?version_id=100—

Amos 4

“Yet You Have Not Returned to Me”

1 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 your husbands, “Bring now, that we may drink!”

2 The Lord Godhas sworn by His holiness,

“Behold, the days are coming upon you

When they will take you away with meat hooks,

And the last of you with fish hooks.

3 “You will go outthroughbreachesin the walls,

Each one straight before her,

And you will be cast to Harmon,” declares the Lord.

4 “Enter Bethel and transgress;

In Gilgal multiply transgression!

Bring your sacrifices every morning,

Your tithes every three days.

5 “Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,

And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known.

For so you loveto do,you sons of Israel,”

Declares the Lord God.

6 “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 the Lord.

7 “Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you

Whilethere werestill three months until harvest.

Then I would send rain on one city

And on another city I would not send rain;

One part would be rained on,

While the part not rained on would dry up.

8 “So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water,

But would not be satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

9 “I smote you with scorchingwindand mildew;

And the caterpillar was devouring

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

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

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

I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses,

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

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

11 “I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

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

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

13 For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind

And declares to man what are His thoughts,

He who makes dawn into darkness

And treads on the high places of the earth,

The LordGod of hosts is His name.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/AMO/4-8e8a890dcbe3040fa687eb12b6017f4a.mp3?version_id=100—

Amos 5

“Seek Me that You May Live”

1 Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:

2 She has fallen, she will not rise again-

The virgin Israel.

Sheliesneglected on her land;

There is none to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord God,

“The city which goes forth a thousandstrong

Will have a hundred left,

And the one which goes forth a hundredstrong

Will have ten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says the Lordto the house of Israel, “Seek Me that you may live.

5 “But do not resort to Bethel

And do not come to Gilgal,

Nor cross over to Beersheba;

For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity

And Bethel will come to trouble.

6 “Seek the Lordthat you may live,

Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,

And it will consume with none to quenchitfor Bethel,

7 Forthose who turn justice into wormwood

And cast righteousness down to the earth.”

8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion

And changes deep darkness into morning,

Who also darkens dayintonight,

Who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the surface of the earth,

The Lordis His name.

9 It is He who flashes forthwithdestruction upon the strong,

So that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who reproves in the gate,

And they abhor him who speakswithintegrity.

11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor

And exact a tribute of grain from them,

Thoughyou have built houses of well-hewn stone,

Yet you will not live in them;

You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.

12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great,

Youwho distress the righteousandaccept bribes

And turn aside the poor in the gate.

13 Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live;

And thus may the LordGod of hosts be with you,

Just as you have said!

15 Hate evil, love good,

And establish justice in the gate!

Perhaps the LordGod of hosts

May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the LordGod of hosts, the Lord, “There is wailing in all the plazas, And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They also call the farmer to mourning And professional mourners to lamentation.

17 “And in all the vineyardsthere iswailing,

Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.

18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord,

For what purposewillthe day of the Lordbeto you?

Itwill bedarkness and not light;

19 As when a man flees from a lion

And a bear meets him,

Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall

And a snake bites him.

20 Willnot the day of the Lordbedarkness instead of light,

Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I reject your festivals,

Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,

I will not acceptthem;

And I will notevenlook at the peace offerings of your fatlings.

23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;

I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

24 “But let justice roll down like waters

And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?

26 You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.

27 Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/AMO/5-bbd1298e038aa82ac103a9c965e90a2e.mp3?version_id=100—

Amos 6

“Those at Ease in Zion”

1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion

And to those whofeelsecure in the mountain of Samaria,

The distinguished men of the foremost of nations,

To whom the house of Israel comes.

2 Go over to Calneh and look,

And go from there to Hamath the great,

Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.

Are they better than these kingdoms,

Or is their territory greater than yours?

3 Do you put off the day of calamity,

And would you bring near the seat of violence?

4 Those who recline on beds of ivory

And sprawl on their couches,

And eat lambs from the flock

And calves from the midst of the stall,

5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,

Andlike David have composed songs for themselves,

6 Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls

While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils,

Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

7 Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles,

And the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away.

8 The Lord Godhas sworn by Himself, the LordGod of hosts has declared:

“I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,

And detest his citadels;

Therefore I will deliver upthecity and all it contains.”

9 And it will be, if ten men are left in one house, they will die.

10 Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, will lift him up to carry outhisbones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will answer, “Keep quiet. For the name of the Lordis not to be mentioned.”

11 For behold, the Lordis going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.

12 Do horses run on rocks?

Or does one plow them with oxen?

Yet you have turned justice into poison

# And the fruit of righteousness intowormwood,

13 You who rejoice inLodebar,

# And say, “Have we not by ourownstrength takenKarnaim for ourselves?”

14 “For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you,

O house of Israel,” declares the LordGod of hosts,

“And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath

To the brook of the Arabah.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/AMO/6-d2c0bceadd7318cb16dd9d5ef25050d4.mp3?version_id=100—

Amos 7

Warning Through Visions

1 Thus the Lord Godshowed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring cropwasafter the king’s mowing.

2 And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,

“Lord God, please pardon!

How can Jacob stand,

For he is small?”

3 The Lordchanged His mind about this.

“It shall not be,” said the Lord.

4 Thus the Lord Godshowed me, and behold, the Lord Godwas calling to contendwith themby fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land.

5 Then I said,

“Lord God, please stop!

How can Jacob stand, for he is small?”

6 The Lordchanged His mind about this.

“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.

7 Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand.

8 The Lordsaid 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 spare them no longer.

9 “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, Answers

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sentwordto 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 residence.”

14 Then Amos replied 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 the Lordtook me from following the flock and the Lordsaid to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’

16 Now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore, thus says the Lord, ‘Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by ameasuringline and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.'”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/AMO/7-2d91a4ebfa7cc1b1a77ef07cb3dc5e72.mp3?version_id=100—