Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 You have brought (A)a vine out of Egypt;
(B)You have cast out the [a]nations, and planted it.
9 You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the [b]mighty cedars with its (C)boughs.
11 She sent out her boughs to [c]the Sea,
And her branches to [d]the River.
12 Why have You (D)broken down her [e]hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13 The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
(E)Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong (F)for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
(G)They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17 (H)Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
3 For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
(A)Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
(B)The[a] stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
2 (C)The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
3 The captain of fifty and the [b]honorable man,
The counselor and the skillful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.
4 “I will give (D)children[c] to be their princes,
And [d]babes shall rule over them.
5 The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the [e]elder,
And the [f]base toward the honorable.”
6 When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
“You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your [g]power,”
7 In that day he will protest, saying,
“I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people.”
8 For (E)Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as (F)Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
10 “Say to the righteous (G)that it shall be well with them,
(H)For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! (I)It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be [h]given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! (J)Those who lead you [i]cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.”
Oppression and Luxury Condemned
13 The Lord stands up (K)to [j]plead,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
“For you have [k]eaten up (L)the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (M)crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
16 Moreover the Lord says:
“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with [l]outstretched necks
And [m]wanton eyes,
Walking and [n]mincing as they go,
Making a jingling with their feet,
17 Therefore the Lord will strike with (N)a scab
The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
And the Lord will (O)uncover their secret parts.”
32 But (A)recall the former days in which, after you were [a]illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33 partly while you were made (B)a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while (C)you became companions of those who were so treated; 34 for you had compassion on [b]me (D)in my chains, and (E)joyfully accepted the plundering of your [c]goods, knowing that (F)you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves [d]in heaven. 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, (G)which has great reward. 36 (H)For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, (I)you may receive the promise:
37 “For (J)yet a little while,
And (K)He[e] who is coming will come and will not [f]tarry.
38 Now (L)the[g] just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those (M)who draw back to [h]perdition, but of those who (N)believe to the saving of the soul.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.