Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his kindness^[c] endures forever.”
² Let this be the prayer of the redeemed of the Lord,
    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe
³ and gathered together from the lands,^[d]
    from east and west, north and south.
^4 [e]Some wandered in a barren wilderness,
    unable to discover a path to an inhabited city.
⁵ They were hungry and thirsty,
    and their life was wasting away.
⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their anguish,
    and he saved them from their distress.
⁷ He led them by a direct route
    to a city in which they could dwell.
⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his kindness^[f]
    and for the wonders he does for people.
⁹ He has satisfied the thirsty
    and filled the hungry with good things.

⁴³ Let whoever is wise reflect on these things
    and understand the merciful love of the Lord.^[a]

¹ Israel is a luxuriant vine
    bringing forth a great bounty of fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
    the more altars he built.
The more prosperous his land became,
    the richer he made the sacred pillars.
² Their heart is false;
    now they must pay the penalty for the guilt.
God himself will destroy their altars
    and demolish their sacred pillars.
³ Then they will say,
    “We have no king
    because we did not serve the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us?”
⁴ They make many empty promises,
    swear false oaths and draw up treaties.
Thus litigation spreads like poisonous weeds
    in the furrows of the fields.
⁵ The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
    for the calf of Beth-aven.
The people mourn for it,
    and its idolatrous priests mourn over it,
    over its glory that has departed from it.
⁶ It will be carried to Assyria
    as an offering to the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced,
    and Israel will be shamed by his schemes.
⁷ The king of Samaria will float away
    like a flimsy twig drifting on the water.
⁸ The high places of Aven will be destroyed,
    the shrines where Israel sinned.
Thorns and thistles shall flourish
    and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
⁹ Since the days of Gibeah,
    you have sinned, O Israel,
    and there you have remained.
Did not war overtake
    the evildoers in Gibeah?
¹⁰ I have come to confront the rebels
    and to chastise them.
Nations shall mass against them
    to punish them for their two crimes.
¹¹ Ephraim was a trained heifer
    that loved to thresh grain.
I myself laid a yoke
    upon her fair neck.
However, I will harness Ephraim;
    Judah will be forced to plow,
    and Jacob will harrow the land.
¹² Sow righteousness for yourselves,
    and reap a harvest of steadfast love.
Break up your fallow ground;
    it is time to seek the Lord
    so that he may come and rain down righteousness upon you.
¹³ However, you have plowed wickedness
    and reaped depravity;
    you have eaten the fruit of falsehood.
Because you have trusted in your chariots
    and in your multitude of warriors,
¹⁴ the tumult of war will engulf your people,
    and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Salman^[a] devastated Beth-arbel on the day of battle
    when mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.
¹⁵ Thus shall it be done to you, O Bethel,
    because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
    will be utterly destroyed.