Saturday in Season after Pentecost

1Verse 1. Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes. 2Verse 2. Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to the great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours? 3Verse 3. You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence. 4Verse 4. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall. 5Verse 5. You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments. 6Verse 6. You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7Verse 7. Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end. 8Verse 8. The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself— the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.” 9Verse 9. And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die. 10Verse 10. And when the relative who is to burn the bodies picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, “Is anyone else with you?” “None,” that person will answer. “Silence,” the relative will retort, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.” 11Verse 11. For the LORD gives a command: “The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.” 12Verse 12. “Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood— 13Verse 13. you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’ 14Verse 14. For behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” “and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”

1Verse 1. In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim 2Verse 2. went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3Verse 3. The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea ). 4Verse 4. For twelve years they had been subject to Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5Verse 5. In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6Verse 6. and the Horites in the area of Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is near the desert. 7Verse 7. Then they turned back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar. 8Verse 8. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim 9Verse 9. against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar— four kings against five. 10Verse 10. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country. 11Verse 11. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food, and they went on their way. 12Verse 12. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since Lot was living in Sodom. 13Verse 13. Then an escapee came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were bound by treaty to Abram. 14Verse 14. And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan. 15Verse 15. During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16Verse 16. He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.