Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁸ I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying,
    for he speaks peace to his faithful people.
    But let them not return to their foolish ways.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    so our land will be filled with his glory.

¹⁰ Unfailing love and truth have met together.
    Righteousness and peace have kissed!
¹¹ Truth springs up from the earth,
    and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
¹² Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.
    Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
¹³ Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
    preparing the way for his steps.

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver
    and poor people for a pair of sandals.
⁷ They trample helpless people in the dust
    and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
    corrupting my holy name.
⁸ At their religious festivals,
    they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their gods,^[a]
    they drink wine bought with unjust fines.

⁹ “But as my people watched,
    I destroyed the Amorites,
though they were as tall as cedars
    and as strong as oaks.
I destroyed the fruit on their branches
    and dug out their roots.
¹⁰ It was I who rescued you from Egypt
    and led you through the desert for forty years,
    so you could possess the land of the Amorites.
¹¹ I chose some of your sons to be prophets
    and others to be Nazirites.
Can you deny this, my people of Israel?”
    asks the Lord.
¹² “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
    and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’

¹³ “So I will make you groan
    like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.
¹⁴ Your fastest runners will not get away.
    The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
¹⁵     The archers will not stand their ground.
The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape.
    Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.
¹⁶ On that day the most courageous of your fighting men
    will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”
    says the Lord.