Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for the Nation
80 Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joseph like a flock! You Who sit on Your throne above the angels, let Your light shine! 2 Stir up Your power in front of Ephraim and Benjamin and Manassah, and come to save us!
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and You planted it. 9 You cleared the land for it. And its roots went deep and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shadow. And the tall trees were covered with its branches. 11 It sent out its branches to the sea, and its new branches to the River. 12 Why have You broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit? 13 The wild pig from among the trees eats it away. And whatever moves in the field eats from it.
14 O God of all, we beg You to return. Look down from heaven and see. Take care of this vine. 15 Take care of the root Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You have raised up for Yourself. 16 They have burned it with fire. It is cut down. May they be lost when they hear Your strong words. 17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, the son of man you have made strong for Yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from You. Give us new life again, and we will call on Your name. 19 O Lord God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.
God Will Remove the Leaders of Judah
3 See, the Lord, the Lord God of All, is going to take away from Jerusalem and Judah all they have to keep themselves alive and safe, all the bread and all the water. 2 He will take away the strong man, the man of war, the man who judges, the man who tells what will happen in the future, the man who uses secret ways, and the leader. 3 He will take away the captain of fifty, the man of honor, the wise man, the able workman, and the one who uses secret powers. 4 I will make boys their rulers. Foolish children will rule over them. 5 The people will make it hard for each other. Each one will hurt the other, and each one will be hurt by his neighbor. The younger will show anger toward the older. And the man who is not respected will show anger toward the man of honor.
6 A man will take hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a coat. You will be our ruler. This destroyed city will be under your rule.” 7 In that day he will call out, “I can not be of help to you. For in my house there is no bread or coat. You should not choose me to be ruler of the people.” 8 For Jerusalem has no strength, and Judah has fallen, because their speaking and their actions are against the Lord. They have turned against His shining-greatness. 9 The look on their faces speaks against them. They show their sin like Sodom. They do not even hide it. It is bad for them! For they have brought trouble upon themselves. 10 Tell those who are right and good that it will go well for them. For they will enjoy the fruit of what they do. 11 It will be bad for the sinful man! It will not go well for him, for what he has done will be done to him. 12 O My people! Children make it hard for them. And women rule over them. O My people! Your leaders lead you in the wrong way. You do not know which path to take.
The Lord Will Judge His People
13 The Lord is ready to say what He thinks and stands to judge the people. 14 The Lord judges the leaders and rulers of His people: “It is you who have destroyed the grape-field. What had belonged to the poor is in your houses. 15 What do you mean by crushing My people, and grinding the faces of the poor?” says the Lord God of All.
Women of Jerusalem Will Suffer
16 The Lord said, “The daughters of Zion are proud. They walk with heads held high and a wrong desire in their eyes. They walk with short steps, making noise with the chains on their ankles. 17 So the Lord will make sores come upon the heads of the daughters of Zion, and take the hair from their head.
32 Remember how it was in those days after you heard the truth. You suffered much. 33 People laughed at you and beat you. When others suffered, you suffered with them. 34 You had loving-pity for those who were in prison. You had joy when your things were taken away from you. For you knew you would have something better in heaven which would last forever.
35 Do not throw away your trust, for your reward will be great. 36 You must be willing to wait without giving up. After you have done what God wants you to do, God will give you what He promised you. 37 The Holy Writings say, “In a little while, the One you are looking for will come. It will not be a long time now. 38 For the one right with God lives by faith. If anyone turns back, I will not be pleased with him.” (A) 39 We are not of those people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith to be saved from the punishment of sin.
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