Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Psalm of Asaph
Asking God for Justice
2 “How long will you judge partially
by showing favor on the wicked?[c]
3 “Defend the poor and the fatherless.
Vindicate the afflicted and the poor.
4 Rescue the poor and the needy,
delivering them from the power of the wicked.
5 They neither know nor understand;
they walk about in the dark
while all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “Indeed I said, ‘You are gods,
and all of you are sons of the Most High.
7 However, as all human beings do, you will die,
and like other rulers, you will fall.’
8 Arise, God, to judge the earth,
for all nations belong to you.
Amos is Called to Prophesy
1 The words of Amos,[a] who was among the sheep breeders of Tekoa, which he spoke[b] concerning Israel during the reign of[c] Uzziah, king of Judah and during the reign of[d] Joash’s son Jeroboam, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 He said, “From Zion the Lord roars,
and from Jerusalem he shouts aloud.
The shepherds’ pastures will languish,
and Carmel’s summit will wither.”
A Warning to Damascus
3 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Damascus
—and now for a fourth—
I will not turn away;
because they have trampled down[e] Gilead
with ironclad threshing sleds.
4 So I will send down fire upon the house of Hazael,
and it will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
5 I will shatter the gate bars of Damascus,
and I will cut off the residents of the Aven Valley,
along with the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;
and the people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,”
says the Lord.
A Warning to Gaza
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Gaza
—and now for a fourth—
I will not turn away;
because they exiled the entire population,
delivering them to Edom.
7 So I will send down fire upon the wall of Gaza,
and it will devour their fortified citadels;
8 and I will cut off the inhabitants of Ashdod,
along with Ashkelon’s ruler.[f]
I will turn to attack[g] Ekron,
and the rest of the Philistines will die,”
says the Lord God.
A Warning to Tyre
9 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Tyre
—and now for a fourth—
I will not turn away;
because they delivered the entire population to Edom,
and did not remember their covenant with their relatives.[h]
10 So I will send down fire upon the wall of Tyre,
and it will devour their fortified citadels.”
A Warning to Edom
11 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Edom
—and now for a fourth—
I will not turn away;
because he[i] pursued his brother with a sword,
refusing to be compassionate.[j]
His anger was raging[k] continuously;
he kept up his unending wrath.
12 So I will send down fire upon Teman,
and it will devour the fortified citadels of Bozrah.”
A Warning to Ammon
13 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of the Ammonites
—and now for a fourth—
I will not turn away;
because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to enlarge their national borders.[l]
14 So I will send down fire upon the wall of Rabbah,
and it will devour their fortified citadels
with an alarm sounding in the time of battle,
and with a whirlwind in the time of storm.
15 Their king will go into captivity—
he and his princes together,”
says the Lord.
A Warning to Moab
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Moab
because they[m] cremated the bones of the king of Edom,
burning them[n] to lime.
2 So I will send down fire upon Moab,
and it will devour the fortified citadels of Kerioth.
Moab will die in the uproar of battle,[o]
with a war cry
and with the trumpeting of the ram’s horn.
3 I will execute their rulers among them,
killing all of their officials as well,”
says the Lord.
Faith is Shown by Actions
14 What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it? 15 Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food 16 and one of you tells them, “Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily.” If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.
18 But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have actions.” Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions. 19 You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear. 20 Do you want proof, you foolish person, that faith without actions is worthless? 21 Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? 22 You[a] see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. 23 And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[b] And so he was called God’s friend. 24 You[c] observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. 25 Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers[d] and sent them away on a different road, wasn’t she? 26 For just as the body without the spirit[e] is dead, so faith without actions is also dead.
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