Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ I am listening carefully to all the Lord is saying—for he speaks peace to his people, his saints, if they will only stop their sinning. ⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who reverence him; our land will be filled with his glory.

¹⁰ Mercy and truth have met together. Grim justice^[a] and peace have kissed! ¹¹ Truth rises from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.

¹² Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings on the land, and it yields its bountiful crops. ¹³ Justice goes before him to make a pathway for his steps.^[b]

⁶ The Lord says, “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished anymore. For they have perverted justice by accepting bribes and sold into slavery the poor who can’t repay their debts; they trade them for a pair of shoes. ⁷ They trample the poor in the dust and kick aside the meek.

“And a man and his father defile the same temple girl, corrupting my holy name. ⁸ At their religious feasts they lounge in clothing stolen from their debtors, and in my own Temple they offer sacrifices of wine they purchased with stolen money.

⁹ “Yet think of all I did for them! I cleared the land of the Amorites before them—the Amorites, as tall as cedar trees, and strong as oaks! But I lopped off their fruit and cut their roots. ¹⁰ And I brought you out from Egypt and led you through the desert forty years, to possess the land of the Amorites. ¹¹ And I chose your sons to be Nazirites^[a] and prophets—can you deny this, Israel?” asks the Lord. ¹² “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by urging them to drink your wine, and you silenced my prophets, telling them, ‘Shut up!’

¹³ “Therefore, I will make you groan as a wagon groans that is loaded with sheaves. ¹⁴ Your swiftest warriors will stumble in flight. The strong will all be weak, and the great ones can no longer save themselves. ¹⁵ The archer’s aim will fail, the swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to flee, and even the best of horsemen can’t outrun the danger then. ¹⁶ The most courageous of your mighty men will drop their weapons and run for their lives that day.” The Lord God has spoken.

2 I wish you could know how much I have struggled in prayer for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for my many other friends who have never known me personally. ² This is what I have asked of God for you: that you will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love, and that you will have the rich experience of knowing Christ with real certainty and clear understanding. For God’s secret plan, now at last made known, is Christ himself. ³ In him lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴ I am saying this because I am afraid that someone may fool you with smooth talk. ⁵ For though I am far away from you my heart is with you, happy because you are getting along so well, happy because of your strong faith in Christ.