Today’s Reading :  Amos 7 – 9  and  Matthew 27   (KJV)      

 

 

Amos 7

Amo 7:1  Thus hath the Lord GOD showed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

Amo 7:2  And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

Amo 7:3  The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.

Amo 7:4  Thus hath the Lord GOD showed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

Amo 7:5  Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

Amo 7:6  The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.

Amo 7:7  Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.

Amo 7:8  And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

Amo 7:9  And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

Amo 7:10  Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

Amo 7:11  For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.

Amo 7:12  Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

Amo 7:13  But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.

Amo 7:14  Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit:

Amo 7:15  And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

Amo 7:16  Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.

Amo 7:17  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

 

Amos 8

Amo 8:1  Thus hath the Lord GOD showed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

Amo 8:2  And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

Amo 8:3  And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

Amo 8:4  Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

Amo 8:5  Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

Amo 8:6  That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

Amo 8:7  The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

Amo 8:8  Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

Amo 8:9  And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

Amo 8:10  And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

Amo 8:13  In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

Amo 8:14  They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

 

Amos 9

Amo 9:1  I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

Amo 9:2  Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

Amo 9:3  And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

Amo 9:4  And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

Amo 9:5  And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

Amo 9:6  It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.

Amo 9:7  Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

Amo 9:8  Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

Amo 9:9  For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

Amo 9:10  All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

Amo 9:11  In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

Amo 9:12  That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

Amo 9:13  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

Amo 9:14  And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

Amo 9:15  And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

 

Matthew  27

Mat 27:1  When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

Mat 27:2  And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

Mat 27:3  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

Mat 27:4  Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

Mat 27:5  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Mat 27:6  And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

Mat 27:7  And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

Mat 27:8  Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

Mat 27:9  Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;

Mat 27:10  And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.

Mat 27:11  And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.

Mat 27:12  And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

Mat 27:13  Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

Mat 27:14  And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Mat 27:15  Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

Mat 27:16  And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

Mat 27:17  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

Mat 27:18  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

Mat 27:19  When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Mat 27:20  But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

Mat 27:21  The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

Mat 27:22  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

Mat 27:23  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

Mat 27:24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Mat 27:25  Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

Mat 27:26  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Mat 27:27  Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

Mat 27:28  And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

Mat 27:29  And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

Mat 27:30  And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

Mat 27:31  And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Mat 27:32  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

Mat 27:33  And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

Mat 27:34  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

Mat 27:35  And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

Mat 27:36  And sitting down they watched him there;

Mat 27:37  And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Mat 27:38  Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

Mat 27:39  And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

Mat 27:40  And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Mat 27:41  Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

Mat 27:42  He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

Mat 27:43  He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Mat 27:44  The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

Mat 27:45  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Mat 27:47  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elijah.

Mat 27:48  And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

Mat 27:49  The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.

Mat 27:50  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Mat 27:52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Mat 27:53  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Mat 27:54  Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

Mat 27:55  And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

Mat 27:56  Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

Mat 27:57  When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

Mat 27:58  He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

Mat 27:59  And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

Mat 27:60  And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

Mat 27:61  And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

Mat 27:62  Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

Mat 27:63  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

Mat 27:64  Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Mat 27:65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

Mat 27:66  So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.