Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ The True God stands to preside over the heavenly council.
    He pronounces judgment on the so-called gods.
² He asks: “How long will you judge dishonestly
    and be partial to the wicked?”

[pause]^[a]

³ “Stand up for the poor and the orphan;
    advocate for the rights of the afflicted and those in need.
⁴ Deliver the poor and the needy;
    rescue them from their evil oppressors.”

⁵ These bullies are ignorant; they have no understanding of My ways.
    So as they walk in darkness,
    the foundations of the earth tremble.

⁶ I said, “Though you are gods^[b]
    and children of the Most High,
⁷ You will die no differently than any mortal;
    you will fall like one of the princes.”

⁸ Rise up, O True God; judge the rulers of the earth,
    for all the nations are Yours.

Eternal One: For three crimes of Judah,
        no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
    Because they have rejected the teachings of the Eternal One
        and have not kept His commandments,
    But they have walked away to follow the same lying idols
        their ancestors pursued.
⁵     So I will send down fire on Judah
        and burn down all the fortresses of Jerusalem.

Eternal One: For three crimes of Israel,
        no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
    Because they have sold the right-living for silver
        and the poor and their property for a pair of sandals.
⁷     They have trampled the heads of the weak into the dirt
        and pushed the oppressed even further down.
    A father and his son sleep with the same girl,
        trampling My holy name in the process.
⁸     And the religious lie beside every altar
        on garments taken as collateral from their debtors;
    And in the house of their pagan god, they drink
        wine bought with the fines they have imposed on others.

⁹     Still I destroyed all of Canaan’s Amorites before them,
        those Canaanites who were as tall as the towering cedars,
        as strong as the mighty oaks.
    As entrenched as they were, I still destroyed their fruit above
        and their roots underneath My promised land.
¹⁰     And I brought you up out of the land of Egypt
        and led you safely through 40 years of wilderness wandering
        to take possession of the land of the Amorites.
¹¹     I took some of your children and raised them up as prophets,
        and I called some of your youth to be Nazirites, set aside to My service.
    Isn’t this true, people of Israel?