Today’s Reading :  Amos 4 – 6  and  Matthew 26   (KJV)      

 

 

Amos 4

Amo 4:1  Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

Amo 4:2  The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

Amo 4:3  And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the LORD.

Amo 4:4  Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

Amo 4:5  And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Amo 4:6  And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Amo 4:7  And also I have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

Amo 4:8  So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Amo 4:9  I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Amo 4:10  I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Amo 4:11  I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Amo 4:12  Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

Amo 4:13  For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

 

Amos 5

Amo 5:1  Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

Amo 5:2  The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

Amo 5:3  For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave a hundred, and that which went forth by a hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

Amo 5:4  For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

Amo 5:5  But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to naught.

Amo 5:6  Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

Amo 5:7  Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

Amo 5:8  Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Amo 5:9  That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

Amo 5:10  They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Amo 5:11  Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

Amo 5:12  For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

Amo 5:13  Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Amo 5:14  Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

Amo 5:15  Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

Amo 5:16  Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

Amo 5:17  And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

Amo 5:18  Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

Amo 5:19  As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Amo 5:20  Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Amo 5:21  I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Amo 5:22  Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

Amo 5:23  Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

Amo 5:24  But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Amo 5:25  Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

Amo 5:26  But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

Amo 5:27  Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

 

Amos 6

Amo 6:1  Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Amo 6:2  Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

Amo 6:3  Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

Amo 6:4  That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

Amo 6:5  That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David;

Amo 6:6  That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Amo 6:7  Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

Amo 6:8  The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

Amo 6:9  And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

Amo 6:10  And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

Amo 6:11  For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

Amo 6:12  Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

Amo 6:13  Ye which rejoice in a thing of naught, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

Amo 6:14  But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

 

Matthew  26

Mat 26:1  And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,

Mat 26:2  Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Mat 26:3  Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

Mat 26:4  And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him.

Mat 26:5  But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.

Mat 26:6  Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,

Mat 26:7  There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.

Mat 26:8  But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

Mat 26:9  For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

Mat 26:10  When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

Mat 26:11  For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

Mat 26:12  For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.

Mat 26:13  Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

Mat 26:14  Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

Mat 26:15  And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Mat 26:16  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Mat 26:17  Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

Mat 26:18  And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

Mat 26:19  And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

Mat 26:20  Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

Mat 26:21  And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

Mat 26:22  And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

Mat 26:23  And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

Mat 26:24  The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

Mat 26:25  Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

Mat 26:26  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

Mat 26:27  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mat 26:29  But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Mat 26:30  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

Mat 26:31  Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Mat 26:32  But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

Mat 26:33  Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Mat 26:34  Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Mat 26:35  Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Mat 26:36  Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

Mat 26:37  And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Mat 26:38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

Mat 26:39  And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Mat 26:40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mat 26:42  He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Mat 26:43  And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

Mat 26:44  And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Mat 26:45  Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Mat 26:46  Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

Mat 26:47  And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Mat 26:48  Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

Mat 26:49  And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.

Mat 26:50  And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

Mat 26:51  And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Mat 26:53  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

Mat 26:54  But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Mat 26:55  In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

Mat 26:56  But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

Mat 26:57  And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

Mat 26:58  But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.

Mat 26:59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

Mat 26:60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,

Mat 26:61  And said, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

Mat 26:63  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.

Mat 26:64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mat 26:65  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

Mat 26:66  What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.

Mat 26:67  Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

Mat 26:68  Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

Mat 26:69  Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.

Mat 26:70  But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.

Mat 26:71  And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.

Mat 26:72  And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.

Mat 26:73  And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee.

Mat 26:74  Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

Mat 26:75  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.