Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ I will listen to what God the Lord says.
    He promises peace to his faithful people.
    But they must not turn to foolish ways.
⁹ I know he’s ready to save those who have respect for him.
    Then his glory can be seen in our land.

¹⁰ God’s truth and faithful love join together.
    His peace and holiness kiss each other.
¹¹ His truth springs up from the earth.
    His holiness looks down from heaven.
¹² The Lord will certainly give what is good.
    Our land will produce its crops.
¹³ God’s holiness leads the way in front of him.
    It prepares the way for his coming.

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again.
    So I will judge them.
They sell into slavery those who have done no wrong.
    They trade needy people
    for a mere pair of sandals.
⁷ They grind the heads of the poor
    into the dust of the ground.
    They refuse to be fair to those who are crushed.
A father and his son have sex with the same girl.
    They treat my name as if it were not holy.
⁸ They lie down beside every altar on clothes they have taken.
    They lie on those clothes
    until the owner pays back what is owed.
In the house of their God
    they drink wine that was paid as fines.

⁹ “Yet I destroyed the Amorites
    to make room in the land for my people.
The Amorites were as tall as cedar trees.
    They were as strong as oak trees.
But I cut off their fruit above the ground
    and their roots below it.

¹⁰ “People of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt.
    I led you in the desert for 40 years.
    I gave you the land of the Amorites.
¹¹ I raised up prophets from among your children.
    I also set apart for myself some of your young people to be Nazirites.
Isn’t that true, people of Israel?”
    announces the Lord.
¹² “But you made the Nazirites drink wine.
    You commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

¹³ “A cart that is loaded with grain
    crushes anything it runs over.
    In the same way, I will crush you.
¹⁴ Your fastest runners will not escape.
    The strongest people will not get away.
Even soldiers will not be able
    to save their own lives.
¹⁵ Men who are armed with bows will lose the battle.
    Soldiers who are quick on their feet will not escape.
Horsemen will not be able
    to save their own lives.
¹⁶ Even your bravest soldiers
    will run away naked on that day,”
    announces the Lord.