Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
82 (0) A psalm of Asaf:
(1) Elohim [God] stands in the divine assembly;
there with the elohim [judges], he judges:
2 “How long will you go on judging unfairly,
favoring the wicked? (Selah)
3 Give justice to the weak and fatherless!
Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor!
4 Rescue the destitute and needy;
deliver them from the power of the wicked!”
5 They don’t know, they don’t understand,
they wander about in darkness;
meanwhile, all the foundations of the earth
are being undermined.
6 “My decree is: ‘You are elohim [gods, judges],
sons of the Most High all of you.
7 Nevertheless, you will die like mortals;
like any prince, you will fall.’”
8 Rise up, Elohim, and judge the earth;
for all the nations are yours.
1 The words of ‘Amos, one of the sheep owners in T’koa, which he saw concerning Isra’el in the days of ‘Uziyah king of Y’hudah and Yarov‘am the son of Yo’ash, king of Isra’el, two years before the earthquake; 2 he said:
Adonai is roaring from Tziyon
thundering from Yerushalayim;
the shepherds’ pastures will mourn,
and Mount Karmel’s summit will wither.
3 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Dammesek’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they threshed Gil‘ad
with an iron-spiked threshing-sledge;
4 I will send fire to the house of Haza’el,
and it will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break the bars of Dammesek’s gates.
I will cut off the inhabitants from Bik‘at-Aven,
and him who holds the scepter from Beit-‘Eden.
Then the people of Aram will go into exile
in Kir,” says Adonai.
6 Here is what Adonai says:
“For ‘Azah’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they exiled a whole population
and handed them over to Edom;
7 I will send fire to the wall of ‘Azah,
and it will consume its palaces.
8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand against ‘Ekron,
and the rest of the P’lishtim will perish,”
says Adonai, God.
9 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Tzor’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they exiled a whole population to Edom
and did not remember the covenant with kinsmen;
10 I will send fire to the wall of Tzor,
and it will consume its palaces.”
11 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Edom’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because with sword he pursued his kinsman
and threw aside all pity,
constantly nursing his anger,
forever fomenting his fury;
12 I will send fire on Teman,
and it will consume the palaces of Botzrah.”
13 Here is what Adonai says:
“For the people of ‘Amon’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because they ripped apart pregnant women
just to expand their territory,
14 I will set fire to the wall of Rabbah,
and it will consume its palaces
amid shouts on the day of battle,
amid a storm on the day of the whirlwind.
15 Their king will go into exile,
he and his princes together,” says Adonai.
2 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Mo’av’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because he burned the bones of the king of Edom,
turning them into lime;
2 I will send fire on Mo’av,
and it will consume the palaces of K’riot.
Mo’av will die with turmoil and shouting,
along with the sound of the shofar.
3 I will cut off the judge from among them
and kill all his princes with him,” says Adonai.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to prove it? Is such “faith” able to save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, 16 and someone says to him, “Shalom! Keep warm and eat hearty!” without giving him what he needs, what good does it do? 17 Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead.
18 But someone will say that you have faith and I have actions. Show me this faith of yours without the actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions! 19 You believe that “God is one”?[a] Good for you! The demons believe it too — the thought makes them shudder with fear!
20 But, foolish fellow, do you want to be shown that such “faith” apart from actions is barren? 21 Wasn’t Avraham avinu declared righteous because of actions when he offered up his son Yitz’chak on the altar? 22 You see that his faith worked with his actions; by the actions the faith was made complete; 23 and the passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled which says, “Avraham had faith in God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness.”[b] He was even called God’s friend.[c] 24 You see that a person is declared righteous because of actions and not because of faith alone.
25 Likewise, wasn’t Rachav the prostitute also declared righteous because of actions when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another route? 26 Indeed, just as the body without a spirit is dead, so too faith without actions is dead.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.