Day 320 of 365

¹"For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

²I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land,

³and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

⁴"Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head.

⁵Because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my finest treasures into your temples,

⁶and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.

⁷Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them, and will return your repayment on your own head;

⁸and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the men of Sheba, to a faraway nation, for the Lord has spoken it."

⁹Proclaim this among the nations: "Prepare for war! Stir up the mighty men. Let all the warriors draw near. Let them come up.

¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'

¹¹Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together." Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Lord.

¹²"Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

¹³Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great."

¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near, in the valley of decision.

¹⁵The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

¹⁶The Lord will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but the Lord will be a refuge to his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.

¹⁷"So you will know that I am the Lord, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass through her any more.

¹⁸It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters, and a fountain will come forth from the house of the Lord, and will water the valley of Shittim.

¹⁹Egypt will be a desolation, and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

²⁰But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

²¹I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwells in Zion."

¹The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

²He said: "The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither."

³Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron;

⁴but I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.

⁵I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from the house of Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir," says the Lord.

⁶Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole community, to deliver them up to Edom;

⁷but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its palaces.

⁸I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish," says the Lord God.

⁹Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole community to Edom, and did not remember the brotherly covenant;

¹⁰but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it will devour its palaces."

¹¹Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger raged continually, and he kept his wrath forever;

¹²but I will send a fire on Teman, and it will devour the palaces of Bozrah."

¹³Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border.

¹⁴But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces, with shouting in the day of battle, with a storm in the day of the whirlwind;

¹⁵and their king will go into captivity, he and his princes together," says the Lord.

¹Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime;

²but I will send a fire on Moab, and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab will die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet;

³and I will cut off the judge from their midst, and will kill all its princes with him," says the Lord.

⁴Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected the Lord's law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked;

⁵But I will send a fire on Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem."

⁶Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;

⁷They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed; and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name;

⁸and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

⁹Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

¹⁰Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

¹¹I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Isn't this true, you children of Israel?" says the Lord.

¹²"But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, 'Do not prophesy!'

¹³Behold, I will crush you in your place, as a cart crushes that is full of grain.

¹⁴Flight will perish from the swift; and the strong won't strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself;

¹⁵neither shall he stand who handles the bow; and he who is swift of foot won't escape; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself;

¹⁶and he who is courageous among the mighty will flee away naked on that day," says the Lord.

¹May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,

²send you help from the sanctuary, grant you support from Zion,

³remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah.

⁴May He grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your counsel.

⁵We will triumph in your salvation. In the name of our God, we will set up our banners. May the Lord grant all your requests.

⁶Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven, with the saving strength of his right hand.

⁷Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust the name of the Lord our God.

⁸They are bowed down and fallen, but we rise up, and stand upright.

⁹Save, Lord! Let the King answer us when we call!

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

²Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The Lord will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.

⁴He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall.

⁹He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰One winking with the eye causes sorrow, but a chattering fool will fall.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a spring of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has discernment, but a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.

¹⁴Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.

¹⁵The rich man's wealth is his strong city. The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The labor of the righteous leads to life. The increase of the wicked leads to sin.

¹⁷He is in the way of life who heeds correction, but he who forsakes reproof leads others astray.

¹⁸He who hides hatred has lying lips. He who utters a slander is a fool.

¹⁹In the multitude of words there is no lack of disobedience, but he who restrains his lips does wisely.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. The heart of the wicked is of little worth.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding.

²²The Lord's blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.

²³It is a fool's pleasure to do wickedness, but wisdom is a man of understanding's pleasure.

²⁴What the wicked fear, will overtake them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

²⁸The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright, but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.