Amos 2:6-3:8
New King James Version
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of (A)Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because (B)they sell the righteous for silver,
And the (C)poor for a pair of sandals.
7 They [a]pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And (D)pervert the way of the humble.
(E)A man and his father go in to the same girl,
(F)To defile My holy name.
8 They lie down (G)by every altar on clothes (H)taken in pledge,
And drink the wine of [b]the condemned in the house of their god.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the (I)Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the (J)height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I (K)destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
10 Also it was (L)I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And (M)led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons as (N)prophets,
And some of your young men as (O)Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the Lord.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets (P)saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’
13 “Behold,(Q) I am [c]weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves [d]is weighed down.
14 (R)Therefore [e]flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
(S)Nor shall the mighty [f]deliver himself;
15 He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not [g]escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
16 The most [h]courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.
Authority of the Prophet’s Message
3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 “You(T) only have I known of all the families of the earth;
(U)Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion [i]cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no [j]trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
6 If a [k]trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
(V)If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless (W)He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
(X)Who can but prophesy?
Footnotes
- Amos 2:7 Or trample on
- Amos 2:8 Or those punished by fines
- Amos 2:13 Or tottering under
- Amos 2:13 Or totters
- Amos 2:14 Or the place of refuge
- Amos 2:14 Lit. save his soul or life
- Amos 2:15 Or save
- Amos 2:16 Lit. strong of his heart among the mighty
- Amos 3:4 Lit. give his voice
- Amos 3:5 Or bait or lure
- Amos 3:6 ram’s horn
1 Kings 2:6-3:8
New King James Version
6 Therefore do (A)according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of (B)Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who (C)eat at your table, for so (D)they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
8 “And see, you have with you (E)Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But (F)he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and (G)I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 Now therefore, (H)do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but (I)bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”
Death of David(J)
10 So (K)David [a]rested with his fathers, and was buried in (L)the City of David. 11 The period that David (M)reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12 (N)Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was (O)firmly established.
Solomon Executes Adonijah
13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, (P)“Do you come peaceably?”
And he said, “Peaceably.” 14 Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.”
And she said, “Say it.”
15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was (Q)mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for (R)it was his from the Lord. 16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not [b]deny me.”
And she said to him, “Say it.”
17 Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me (S)Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”
18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”
19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and (T)bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; (U)so she sat at his right hand. 20 Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not [c]refuse me.”
And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”
22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my (V)older brother—for him, and for (W)Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, (X)“May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! 24 Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a [d]house for me, as He (Y)promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!”
25 So King Solomon sent by the hand of (Z)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.
Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed
26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to (AA)Anathoth, to your own fields, for [e]you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, (AB)because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, that he might (AC)fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab (AD)had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and (AE)took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, (AF)strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, “Thus says the king, (AG)‘Come out!’ ”
And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
31 Then the king said to him, (AH)“Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, (AI)that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. 32 So the Lord (AJ)will return his [f]blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous (AK)and better than he, and killed them with the sword—(AL)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and (AM)Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. 33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and (AN)upon the head of his descendants forever. (AO)But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.”
34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put (AP)Zadok the priest in the place of (AQ)Abiathar.
Shimei Executed
36 Then the king sent and called for (AR)Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. 37 For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross (AS)the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; (AT)your [g]blood shall be on your own head.”
38 And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.
39 Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to (AU)Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” 40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. 42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ 43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?” 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, (AV)all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the Lord will (AW)return your wickedness on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and (AX)the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”
46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the (AY)kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
Solomon Requests Wisdom(AZ)
3 Now (BA)Solomon made [h]a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her (BB)to the City of David until he had finished building his (BC)own house, and (BD)the house of the Lord, and (BE)the wall all around Jerusalem. 2 (BF)Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. 3 And Solomon (BG)loved the Lord, (BH)walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.
4 Now (BI)the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, (BJ)for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 (BK)At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon (BL)in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
6 (BM)And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he (BN)walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You (BO)have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a (BP)little child; I do not know how (BQ)to go out or come in. 8 And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You (BR)have chosen, a great people, (BS)too numerous to be numbered or counted.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 2:10 Died and joined his ancestors
- 1 Kings 2:16 Lit. turn away the face
- 1 Kings 2:20 Lit. turn away the face
- 1 Kings 2:24 Royal dynasty
- 1 Kings 2:26 Lit. you are a man of death
- 1 Kings 2:32 Or bloodshed
- 1 Kings 2:37 Or bloodshed
- 1 Kings 3:1 an alliance
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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