"Acceptable Worship"
Amos 5 (NASB)
1 Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:2 She has fallen, she will not rise again-- The virgin Israel. She lies neglected on her land; There is none to raise her up.3 For thus says the Lord GOD, The city which goes forth a thousand strong Will have a hundred left, And the one which goes forth a hundred strong Will have ten left to the house of Israel.4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, Seek Me that you may live.5 But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble.6 Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,7 For those who turn justice into wormwood And cast righteousness down to the earth.8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name.9 It is He who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong, So that destruction comes upon the fortress.10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks with integrity.11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, You who distress the righteous and accept bribes And turn aside the poor in the gate.13 Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, Just as you have said!15 Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.16 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, There is wailing in all the plazas, And in all the streets they say, Alas! Alas! They also call the farmer to mourning And professional mourners to lamentation.17 And in all the vineyards there is wailing, Because I will pass through the midst of you, says the LORD.18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light;19 As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him.20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?21 I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.22 Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.24 But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.25 Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?26 You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.27 Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.
Isaiah 1 (NASB)
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.3 An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its masters manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.4 Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.5 Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint.6 From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.7 Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields--strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchmans hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.11 What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me? Says the LORD. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.12 When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?13 Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.14 I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.15 So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.18 Come now, and let us reason together, Says the LORD, Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.19 If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;20 But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.21 How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.22 Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water.23 Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widows plea come before them.24 Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My foes.25 I will also turn My hand against you, And will smelt away your dross as with lye And will remove all your alloy.26 Then I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city.27 Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness.28 But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away Or as a garden that has no water.31 The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them.
Acts 18 (NASB)
1 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth.2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,13 saying, This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you;15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat.17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.18 Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.19 They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,21 but taking leave of them and saying, I will return to you again if God wills, he set sail from Ephesus.22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
1 Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:2 She has fallen, she will not rise again-- The virgin Israel. She lies neglected on her land; There is none to raise her up.3 For thus says the Lord GOD, The city which goes forth a thousand strong Will have a hundred left, And the one which goes forth a hundred strong Will have ten left to the house of Israel.4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, Seek Me that you may live.5 But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to trouble.6 Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,7 For those who turn justice into wormwood And cast righteousness down to the earth.8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name.9 It is He who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong, So that destruction comes upon the fortress.10 They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks with integrity.11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, You who distress the righteous and accept bribes And turn aside the poor in the gate.13 Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, Just as you have said!15 Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.16 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, There is wailing in all the plazas, And in all the streets they say, Alas! Alas! They also call the farmer to mourning And professional mourners to lamentation.17 And in all the vineyards there is wailing, Because I will pass through the midst of you, says the LORD.18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light;19 As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him.20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?21 I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.22 Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.24 But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.25 Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?26 You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.27 Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.
Isaiah 1 (NASB)
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.3 An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its masters manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.4 Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.5 Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint.6 From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.7 Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields--strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchmans hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.11 What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me? Says the LORD. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.12 When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?13 Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.14 I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.15 So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.18 Come now, and let us reason together, Says the LORD, Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.19 If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;20 But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.21 How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.22 Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water.23 Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widows plea come before them.24 Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My foes.25 I will also turn My hand against you, And will smelt away your dross as with lye And will remove all your alloy.26 Then I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city.27 Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness.28 But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away Or as a garden that has no water.31 The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them.
Acts 18 (NASB)
1 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth.2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,13 saying, This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you;15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat.17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.18 Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.19 They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,21 but taking leave of them and saying, I will return to you again if God wills, he set sail from Ephesus.22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.