Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ I will listen to what God will say;
surely the Lord will declare peace
to His people, His godly ones,
and not let them go back to foolish ways.^(A)
9 His salvation is very near those who fear Him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.^(B)

¹⁰ Faithful love and truth will join together;
righteousness and peace will embrace.^(C)
11 Truth will spring up from the earth,
and righteousness will look down from heaven.^(D)
12 Also, the Lord will provide what is good,
and our land will yield its crops.^(E)
13 Righteousness will go before Him
to prepare the way for His steps.^(F)

I will not relent from punishing Israel^(A)
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals.^(B)
7 They trample the heads of the poor^(C)
on the dust of the ground
and block the path of the needy.^(D)
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,^(E)
profaning My holy name.^(F)
8 They stretch out beside every altar^(G)
on garments taken as collateral,^(H)
and in the house of their God,
they drink wine obtained through fines.^(I)

⁹ Yet I destroyed the Amorite^(J) as Israel advanced;
his height^(K) was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit^(L) above and his roots beneath.
¹⁰ And I brought you from the land of Egypt^(M)
and led you 40 years in the wilderness^(N)
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.^(O)
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets^(P)
and some of your young men as Nazirites.^(Q)
Is this not the case, Israelites?
This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹² But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.”^(R)
13 Look, I am about to crush^[a] you in your place^(S)
as a wagon full of sheaves crushes grain.
¹⁴ Escape will fail the swift,^(T)
the strong one will not prevail by his strength,^(U)
and the brave will not save his life.
¹⁵ The archer will not stand his ground,^(V)
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life.^(W)
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day^(X)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.