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

And he said, "Yahweh roars from Zion and he utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither and the top of Carmel dries up." Thus says Yahweh, "For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron! So I will send fire against Hazael’s house and it will consume the citadel fortresses of Ben-Hadad. I will break the gate bars of Damascus and I will cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Beth Eden, and the people of Aram will go into exile to Kir," says Yahweh.

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they exiled a whole community, handing them over to Edom! So I will send a fire against the wall of Gaza and it will devour its citadel fortresses. And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Ashkelon. I will also turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish," says the Lord Yahweh.

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Tyre and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole community to Edom and they did not remember the covenant of brotherhood! So I will send a fire against the wall of Tyre and it will devour its citadel fortresses."

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Edom and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword! He stifled his compassion and his anger tore them apart continually, and he kept his rage forever. So I will send a fire against Teman and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Bozrah."

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Ammon and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory! So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah and it will devour its citadel fortresses with a war cry on the day of battle, with a storm on the day of the violent tempest. And their king will go into exile, he and his commanders together," says Yahweh.

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. So I will send a fire against Moab and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Kerioth, and Moab will die amid uproar, amid war cries and amid the sound of a horn. And I will cut off the ruler from its midst and I will kill all of its officials with him," says Yahweh.

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of Yahweh and have not kept his rules, and their lies have led them astray, after which their ancestors walked! So I will send a fire against Judah and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Jerusalem.

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for money and the poor for a pair of sandals! Those who trample the heads of the powerless into the dust of the ground and turn aside the way of the destitute, a man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, so that they profane my holy name. They stretch themselves out beside every altar on clothing taken in pledge and they drink wine, bought with fines imposed, in the house of their God. Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, who was as tall as cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness forty years to take possession of the land of the Amorite. And I raised up some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is it not so, O people of Israel? This is the declaration of Yahweh! But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’ Look! I am going to press you down in your place just as a utility cart full of mature stalks of grain is pressed down. Flight will perish from the swift and the strong person will not muster his strength and the warrior will not save his life. And the one who takes hold of the bow will not stand and the one who is swift on his feet will not save himself, nor will the one who rides the horse save his life. Even those who are strong of heart among the mighty will flee away naked from the city on that day. This is the declaration of Yahweh!"

Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole clan that I brought up from the land of Egypt: "You only have I chosen of all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Do two walk together unless they have met? Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a fierce, young lion cry out from his den unless he has caught something? Does a bird fall into a trapping net on the earth when there is no snare for it? Does a trapping net spring up from the ground unless it has certainly caught something? Or is a horn blown in a city and people are not afraid? Or does a disaster occur in the city and Yahweh has not done it? Surely my Lord does not do anything unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? My Lord Yahweh has spoken, who will not prophesy? Proclaim to the citadel fortresses in Ashdod and the citadel fortresses in the land of Egypt and say: "Gather on the mountains of Samaria and see the great panic in her midst and the oppression in her midst!" "They do not know how to do right," declares Yahweh, "those who store up violence and destruction in their citadel fortresses." Therefore, thus says my Lord Yahweh, "A foe shall surround the land and bring down your strongholds, and your citadel fortresses shall be plundered." Thus says Yahweh, "Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or a piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria, with the corner of a couch and the damask of a bed." "Listen and testify against the house of Jacob," declares my Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts. "For on the day I punish Israel for its transgression, I will also punish the altars of Bethel and the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. I will ruin the winter house as well as the summer house, and the houses of ivory will perish and the great houses shall come to an end," declares Yahweh.

On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow, and while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it. And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. But when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain, this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. The one who has ears, let him hear!"

And the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered and said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,

But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!

"You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while, and when affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty."

He put before them another parable, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat and went away. So when the wheat sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. So the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, "No, lest when you gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, "First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse."’"

He put before them another parable, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches."

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,

Then he left the crowds and came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, "Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us." So he answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear!

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. And when he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind, which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and collected the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw out. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

"Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes." And he said to them, "For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things."

And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there. And he came to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, "From where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles? Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? From where then did this man get all these things?" And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household." And he did not perform many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.