Amos 8:4–14; Psalm 148; Psalm 149; John 7:14–36

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Amos 8:4–14

Hear this, iyou who trample on the needy

and bring the poor of the land to an end,

saying, When will jthe new moon be over,

that we may sell grain?

And kthe Sabbath,

that we may offer wheat for sale,

that we may make lthe ephah small and the shekel1 great

and deal deceitfully with false balances,

that we may buy the poor for msilver

and the needy for a pair of sandals

and sell the chaff of the wheat?

The Lord has sworn by nthe pride of Jacob:

Surely oI will never forget any of their deeds.

pShall not the land tremble on this account,

and everyone mourn who dwells in it,

qand all of it rise like the Nile,

and be tossed about rand sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?

And on that day, declares the Lord God,

sI will make the sun go down at noon

and darken the earth in broad daylight.

10  tI will turn your feasts into mourning

and all your songs into lamentation;

uI will bring sackcloth on every waist

uand baldness on every head;

vI will make it like the mourning for an only son

and the end of it like a bitter day.

11  Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord God,

when wI will send a famine on the land

not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,

xbut of hearing the words of the Lord.

12  xThey shall wander from sea to sea,

and from north to east;

they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,

ybut they shall not find it.

13  zIn that day the lovely virgins and the young men

shall afaint for thirst.

14  Those who swear by bthe Guilt of Samaria,

and say, As your god lives, O Dan,

and, As cthe Way of dBeersheba lives,

they shall fall, and never rise again.


Psalm 148

Praise the Name of the Lord

rPraise the Lord!

Praise the Lord sfrom the heavens;

praise him tin the heights!

Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his uhosts!

Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars!

Praise him, you vhighest heavens,

and you wwaters above the heavens!

xLet them praise the name of the Lord!

For yhe commanded and they were created.

And he zestablished them forever and ever;

he gave aa decree, and it shall not bpass away.1

Praise the Lord cfrom the earth,

you dgreat sea creatures and all deeps,

efire and hail, fsnow and mist,

gstormy wind hfulfilling his word!

iMountains and all hills,

jfruit trees and all kcedars!

10  lBeasts and all livestock,

creeping things and mflying birds!

11  Kings of the earth and nall peoples,

princes and all rulers of the earth!

12  Young men and maidens together,

old men and children!

13  oLet them praise the name of the Lord,

for phis name alone is exalted;

qhis majesty is above earth and heaven.

14  He has rraised up a horn for his people,

spraise for all his saints,

for the people of Israel who are tnear to him.

uPraise the Lord!


Psalm 149

Sing to the Lord a New Song

uPraise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord va new song,

his praise in wthe assembly of the godly!

Let Israel xbe glad in yhis Maker;

let the children of Zion rejoice in their zKing!

Let them praise his name with adancing,

making melody to him with btambourine and clyre!

For the Lord dtakes pleasure in his people;

he eadorns the humble with salvation.

Let the godly exult in glory;

let them fsing for joy on their gbeds.

Let hthe high praises of God be in their throats

and itwo-edged swords in their hands,

to execute vengeance on the nations

and punishments on the peoples,

to bind their kings with jchains

and their nobles with fetters of iron,

to execute on them the judgment kwritten!

lThis is honor for all his godly ones.

uPraise the Lord!


John 7:14–36

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up hinto the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore imarveled, saying, How is it that this man has learning,1 when he has never studied? 16 So Jesus answered them, jMy teaching is not mine, but his kwho sent me. 17 lIf anyone’s will is to do God’s2 will, mhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I nam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority oseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 pHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. qWhy do you seek to kill me? 20 The crowd answered, rYou have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you? 21 Jesus answered them, I did sone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 tMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ufrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, vare you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 wDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

Can This Be the Christ?

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, Is not this the man whom xthey seek to kill? 26 And here he is, yspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that zthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But awe know bwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, cno one will know where he comes from. 28 So Jesus proclaimed, das he taught in the temple, aYou know me, and you know where I come from. But eI have not come of my own accord. fHe who sent me is true, gand him you do not know. 29 hI know him, for I come ifrom him, and jhe sent me. 30 kSo they were seeking to arrest him, but lno one laid a hand on him, mbecause his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet nmany of the people believed in him. They said, oWhen the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd pmuttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent qofficers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, rI will be with you a little longer, and then sI am going to him who sent me. 34 tYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come. 35 The Jews said to one another, Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? uDoes he intend to go to vthe Dispersion among wthe Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, xYou will seek me and you will not find me, and, Where I am you cannot come?